3:57 pm on Sunday 13th of September, 2014
clocked as I was gazing at the beautiful building surrounded by magnificent
scenery in the compound of Luigi Giussani High School (call it LGHS).
Dumbfounded by the architecture of the building, the finishes to the structure
and the detail to cover every aspect you could think about (be it the light
from the sun) I stood in awe. I was only wondering why we were at this place
and what kind of project we were going to do. Were we here to offer scholastic
material, start an interact club or talk to the students of the school? I had
many questions running through my head. But having escorted mother club for
their project, I simply looked on as I awaited further information about the
project. By the looks on the faces of the Rotaractors and Rotarians, I could
tell many had questions but no one wanted to judge. We stood in the compound as
we awaited the DHL team.
Our colleagues from DHL later arrived and we were
ready to start on the project. I had seen the program, and few speeches were lined up, I hoped that someone was going to explain to us what kind of
project this was. Probably, the various questions people had would be answered.
The Director of the school (an Italian gentleman) then
invited us to take a tour with him around as we headed for the main hall which
was a few flights of stairs above. He had to explain to us what the school was
about, and why it was as it was. His opening remarks, “this school is beautiful
and clean, and we wish to keep it that way” later followed by “we hope to take
in as many children from the slums of Kireka as we can” hit me hard. I could
now tell partly what the project was about but I did not figure out why the
kind of structure (triple storied building spanning over 100 meters in length)
that was very aesthetically appealing.
Further to this, how were these children going to keep the structure as
tidy (considering the various schools I have visited, this seemed impossible).
As we ascended, we couldn’t help but notice the
paintings in the buildings, replicas of paintings hang on the walls. “The calling
of St Mathew by Caravaggio” is one of the paintings that had been hung. These were
paintings that had been purposely placed to remind the students every day of
their purpose and value. They were paintings that had value (a word we later
got to learn had a big role in the school). In addition to this, was a painting
of Father Luigi, a person after whom the school had been built, his painting
also had a story to it (a story for another day).
On arrival into the main hall, we were received by
students who were singing happily and cheerfully a song in a language we were
not familiar with. But looking at the people singing, and how they were
singing, we were sure they were happy to receive us. “Wiki, wiki……wiki, wiki”
are words I remember from the song. It was here that the story about LGHS was
told to us by one of the ladies from AVSI (one of the bodies behind the
project).
Having been displaced during the war in northern
Uganda by the LRA, many ladies were moved to a slum in Kireka now known as the
Acholi village because of the language being spoken there. Many of the women
had not only lost their loved ones during the war, but also contracted HIV
AIDS. Many of these women viewed life as meaningless because of their state.
The coming of AVSI into their lives was a life changing opportunitiy for these
people. AVSI presented hope to these people, not in monetary means per say, but
rather teaching them about the value of life. What they had, and what they
meant to those around them.
The women in this area began viewing life
differently, they began using available resources to make a living. They also
began appreciating the use of ARVs to help them live a better life.
At one point after Hurricane Katrina, these ladies
collected the little they had, others went to the streets to beg, and after
collecting what they could; they approached their coordinator with AVSI and
asked her to take their collections to the people affected by the hurricane.
All they had to say was as much as we have little, those people need help too.
But with all of this, they wanted their children to
have a better life than theirs, they wanted their children to study from good
schools, to have access to facilities like all other children did. It was a
dream they longed for.
To achieve this dream, the women of Acholi village
started making paper beads, these they sold in the European market with the
help of AVSI at a 15 – 20 Euros a piece, 48,000 pieces were made. The money
from these sales contributed majorly to the setting up of LGHS. Donations were
received to complete the school and their children had the gift of a school
before them. Their dream was realized and the women can proudly say, they
contributed to their children’s future.
LGHS is a school that has been built on a basis of
“value”, everything about it is related to value. It is a school where the
children not only go to read and pass exams, but rather realize the value of
education to life. To make the best of the opportunity presented to them. It is a school where the chair and the table
have value.
