Me in Three

If you were asked to describe yourself as you see yourself, as others see you, and as you truly are, would you know what to say?

This week at Police Primary School, the P6 class took a shot at answering these tough questions. I sat at the back of the classroom and observed while so many students eagerly raised their hands to contribute. They seemed to know exactly who they were, or at least they were trying to understand. “I am a fat girl. I am stubborn. I am strong,” one student said. ‘Others say I am a polite girl. I am a hard working girl,’ another added.

This lesson is part of a complete unit regarding ‘identities’. Identity is said to relate to self-image, self-esteem, and individuality. Throughout our lives we are often changing and questioning our identities but in adolescence, it is when youth first begin to distinguish themselves as individuals. It is a critical time for one to ask themselves these questions, especially if they have never lived in a peaceful society. In northern Uganda, over 25,000 children were abducted to become combatants or sex slaves during the 20-year conflict; 7,500 of those children were girls of whom 1,000 returned from LRA captivity having conceived children of their own (United Nations). During that time, I’m sure many of them questioned who they were, where they were going and if they would even survive. Their identity was so construed that many didn’t even have the chance to ask the questions a typical child should ask.

This is why the Insight Peace Education Project has taken the unique approach to providing students with the opportunity to raise these questions. ‘Who are you in your own thinking? What does it mean?’ Instead of someone defining their roles in society, they have a chance to think for themselves. Now, more than ever, northern Uganda must continue to promote peace. These students need to continue to ask these questions. They need to question who they are and try to understand it. These students are the future of Uganda, and when they have peace, the entire nation will too.

On the outside looking in...

My name is Gwen Bögels and I’m an anthropology student from The Netherlands. For my masters I am required to do 12 weeks of in-depth research. Over the past few years I have grown more and more interested in peace education and I decided I wanted to research this topic. I am trying to find out what the perceptions of children are on war and peace and what their strategies are to resolve conflicts between each other, but additionally between themselves and their parents or teachers. This is why, over the past few weeks, I have chosen to talk to the oldest children of the two schools where the Insight Peace Education Project is implementing their peace education curriculum.

My interest in peace education started when I was taking a course called Education and Development, and the professor introduced me to the topic of education in conflict areas. Education is, according to me, an important feature of a child’s development. In school, children not only learn how to read, write and add numbers, but also how to interact with other children. School is where children learn how to share, how to quarrel, and how to resolve these quarrels. Next to that, children represent the future, so we should invest in them; even when a country is at war. Or maybe it is even more important to invest in education when a country is at war? School makes life a little bit more normal and it is a place where children can be themselves within these ‘bad surroundings’[1].

Since the beginning of this century, many organizations have begun to see education as a part of humanitarian aid. Next to food, medical care and shelter, more organizations support education in conflict affected areas. Although Gulu is a post-conflict area now, there are many NGO’s here working with education, children or youth. One of the first things I noticed driving north to Gulu from Kampala was that all signs featured the name of one or even two NGOs. But now, five years after the conflict ended, many of these NGOs say their work is finished and the number of organizations is decreasing. Luckily, and hopefully, the Insight Peace Education Project will continue with their good work, at least if there is funding for the next year(s).

As I mentioned before, I have been interested in Peace Education for a while now. I have read about it, wrote about it and now I finally see it ‘in real life’. It is amazing to see how the children and the teachers respond to the Insight Peace Education Project. In January my time at the project started with a two day workshop for local teachers. After the workshop, the teachers were asked if they wanted to stay involved, and they all did. I have also observed a couple of Peace Education in-class lessons. These lessons are unique because finally, the children don’t have to sit at their desks. They can also go in front of the class to sign their class contract. The contract is simple; the children make their own class rules, and with the contract the children all sign these rules. This allows them to stay engaged. It’s amazing to see how accurate these young children can describe peace.

The first thing I noticed, when I started talking to the children at both schools, is that they are incredibly smart. Sometimes I think they know more about the world than I do. Actually, I’m sure they do. These children grew up in a world that I could never imagine growing up in. War has affected all aspects of their lives. And even now, when I ask them if they think that Uganda is a peaceful nation, some say there is no peace in Uganda. They still cannot go out in the night to the bathroom (because it is too dangerous) and people are still displaced. Uganda is officially in peace (although the LRA never signed the peace agreement), but some children and even teachers still say it’s not.

That makes you ask: What is peace and what makes a country peaceful? I don’t think I know the answer, but I think some of these children do. They say they can make peace, can be good to their friends and the people of their community. And yes, I do think that when you want to make a country peaceful, you should start with the people who make the future: the children. My hope is that the war in northern Uganda will not return. What I know for sure is that the people in Gulu do want peace, and they try to be peaceful. But is that possible after seeing all the misery of a 20-year war? Let’s hope so!

Apwoyo matek,

Gwen

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[1] The title of the book about the war in Northern Uganda: ‘Living in Bad Surroundings: War, History and Everyday Moments in Northern Uganda’ by Sverker Finnström.

The North is Another Country

According to travel writer Philip Briggs, “Education in northwest [Uganda] and associated prospects of employment were deliberately stifled by the British, in order that the region might remain a ready source of military recruits and manual laborers.”

Northern Uganda is acutely and obviously impoverished. For those of us who work in the region, being aware of this problem becomes like breathing. Hunger, abuse and disease are all around. But in our isolated Gulu, relative comparisons become scarce. This is poverty in a vacuum.

It wasn’t until I recently went on holiday in Uganda’s southwest that I realized, after 9 months of work in the north, just how damaged and disadvantaged this region is.

In the south, impenetrable forests contrast dried up croplands in the north. Nearly thriving tourism in the south juxtaposes an onslaught of foreign aid workers in the north. Children vibrant with health, energy and crisp colorful new school uniforms stand out against distended bellied toddlers wearing stained scraps of second-hand t-shirts. Brilliant green tea plantations stretch for miles across southern farmland, contrasting the squalid IDP camps that desertified the north (pictured below).

The scenarios make sense – the Civil Society Organizations for Peace in Northern Uganda estimated the cost of the war in Northern Uganda to be $1.3 billion, with 90% of people in Acholiland forced out of their homes. These are catalysts of long-term, widespread damage that can be seen, felt and heard simply by moving from one end of this Oregon-sized country to the other.

As we moved through protected, profiting national parks and lively, stable towns, I felt defensive of the north and protective of the people suffering there. Maybe it doesn’t matter whether this kind of deep contrast happens across borders or within them. But seeing the difference in the south and knowing this was still Uganda gave me pause and incited frustration outside of the familiar concern I have for poverty and war devastation per se.

Shortly after South Africa’s transition from Apartheid to democracy, Allister Sparks said of the emerging system: “Tomorrow is another country.” Here, the north - south divide makes Uganda feel like two different nations, governed by two different administrations and run on two different economies.

Healing a region after repeated offense takes time and attention. The Ugandan government, the shepherd of the nation in its entirety, would do well to strive for a less conspicuous rift by giving Northerners what they need to fulfill their potential and match their compatriots to the south.

Peace,

Holly

Proving Peace Education Works

Development work is often volatile- we pour our hearts and souls into a program, and hope that our efforts will result in sustained impact. But even the most effective organization, complete with dedicated staff and deep community integration can find itself without sufficient funding and thereby paralyzed o continue their work.

As we’ve been labored over grant proposals aimed at securing funding for such continuance for our own impact, I’ve asked myself what the future will hold for the Insight Peace Education Project, and for myself as one of its staff. What could we do with 50k? 100k? 500k? What could we do, what do we want to do, and what would make for a quality continuation?

Beyond having ideas, the most important factor to ensuring a continued impact is having proof that the project is both affective and effective. While we’ve been following expert monitoring and evaluation protocols, I never expected to have any “evidence” that our materials worked within a mere few months.

When we recently sat down with our teachers for our monthly meeting, we were humbled to hear them report (unprompted, might I add) several significant changes that they’ve observed among their students since we began curriculum implementation. Female class participation has increased significantly. There is more order both inside the classroom and during break-times. Students have gained a sense of peer-enforced accountability. More students than ever before are making their way to the school libraries, requesting to take out books.

Could this all really be a result of our program? It’s both relieving and rejuvenating to know that our efforts have led to visible positive change. It’s rare to see the impact of one’s work so quickly, and these changes support the core beliefs behind our project- that children are malleable, and that through youth education we can positively affect the future.

Kaa Salama,

Miriam

Are We Together?

During our week of teacher training workshops, we used various methods to get to know the five teachers we would be working with at our two pilot schools. As we moved through our sections on Identities and Communities, we gained insight into their lives. Our concern coming out of the workshop: How do you relay the same lessons and build the same trust and collaboration in a class of one hundred and fifty students effectively? Now that we’ve begun our classroom implementation phase, the answer is clear: you leave it to the professionals.

In the past four weeks, I’ve spent most of my time with the Primary 6 classes at Police Primary, watching their teacher, Nyerere, dominate the classroom in a way I could have never imagined. The first time I walked into his class, I had a heavy feeling at the bottom of my stomach, the same one I often get right before a big game. After the class greeted me, Nyerere wrote “Peace Education” on the board, and soared away with the planned lesson, while I sat in the corner and watched the show. As we discussed different ideas surrounding the meaning of the word peace, a hundred hands flew up in the air, and in forty short minutes, I had heard from virtually every student in the classroom. Looking around the classroom, I felt that each student had been touched by the lesson in one way or another.

The curriculum that we’ve offered the teachers is beyond interesting; it is educative, exciting and motivating. Still, a great classroom needs more than a great lesson plan. Typically, Nyerere opens his class with a review of what we talked about in our last lesson. As he emphasizes what’s important, he somehow finds little ways to relate his words to every single student, making the classroom erupt in laughter. Before you can blink, Nyerere has moved on and the children are quiet and attentive, and most importantly, extremely engaged. As he walks up and down the narrow isles in his classroom, he asks the class “Are we together? Are we together?” As the children say “Yes,” in unison, Nyerere offers a mellow “Ah,” and class continues.

It’s just about the most peaceful thing I’ve ever seen.

- Kijana

Mantra

"[Children] construct knowledge; they don’t swallow it."

Some things are universal. This recent op-ed in the New York Times captures core principles that compel the work we're doing. Enjoy, share, repeat.

Peace,

Holly

New Arrival

This month, we are thrilled to welcome a new member of the team - Kijana will be interning with the project for the next 4 months, helping on everything from workshop facilitation to impact monitoring and day to day interfacing with local stakeholders. Here are her first impressions of life in Northern Uganda:

Although I had been greatly anticipating my arrival in Gulu for several months, I was constantly reminding myself to stay away from creating a false picture in my mind. It was hard not to be anxious, excited, and nervous, knowing that every minute of my eighteen hour voyage across the North Atlantic would bring me closer and closer to my new African abode. I had so many questions about this foreign land: What will it look like? What will the locals be like? How will I be received? What will my new family be like? What will my work be like?

Our short stay in Kampala showed me a beautiful, busy city- but I was happy to hear that our final destination would be a lot slower, and a lot calmer. In my previous inquiries about Gulu, the typical response was a shrug and a short line about “understanding when you get there.” The truth is: Gulu is an impossible place to describe, but I will try to do it some justice. The city itself is a small grid, with several villages surrounding it. Riding down Acholi Road, you might see local women carrying huge jerry cans of water on their heads, a group of boda-boda motorcycle drivers huddled on each corner, and young children kicking around a football on the side of the road. As you head to Senior Quarters on the other side of town, you begin to see sign after sign for the hundreds of NGO’s which Gulu houses, as well as expatriates and locals alike walking in and out of the popular cafés and restaurants. Although the roads are rocky and uneven, the African dirt is red, rich, and beautiful. The trees are green and the sky is clear blue. While the sun does blaze for hours after midday, the atmosphere is ever welcoming and easygoing. It certainly isn’t an exotic paradise, but it is not a war-torn hell either. There is a strong sense of peace and hope in the dusty air, which makes every interaction that much more fulfilling.


Life here has been an interesting learning experience so far. My host family was immediately welcoming, and we connected almost instantly. They have introduced me to their culture in several ways, including cooking delicious local dishes for me, bringing me to church, and taking me to a traditional Acholi wedding. Working with Insight on the Peace Education Project has also been educative and intriguing. Our week of teacher training workshops were eye opening, and hopefully their success is indicative of what our upcoming work will be like in our two pilot schools. As we head into the first week of the term, I am eager to meet the students we will be working with for the next couple of months, and hopeful that our curriculum will be able to teach them as much as I’m sure they have to teach me.