Being the Acting Team Site Leader does have benefits... like hijacking a town parol to go visiting the Wouth With A Mission Redeem Nurseery/Primary school again. Last week I got a nice phone call and email from the Head Master, telling me that the furniture the old Team Site Leader donated money for before he went home to Denmark have arrived and is in use. So because I promised to take photos, and because I had a couple of envelopes from my family (on both sides of the Atlantic) to hand over, I decided that since the patrol today was going in that direction anyway... well, it's good to be the boss at times.
Both the teachers and pupils were thrilled to see us; it's not often a white face shows up in their compound. School have but recently started up after the referendum, so when I arrived the headmaster was busy explaing the rules of behaviour to the new pupils. And when I was asked to say a few words, I took the opportunity to reinforce his message: pay attention to your teacher, study dilligently, stay in school and get a good education. I skipped the bit about telling them to thank God and Jesus though... it's not my place to tell people what they should believe, weither I agree with it or not. A very Scandinavian point of view, I know, but I am Norwegian...
The pupils in the Primary School was very proud of their new building, even if they still dont have windows, doors or plastered walls... but it's their schoolhouse and their new desks, and they love the fact that they can go to a school that has a schoolhouse with desks in the classrooms. Later this week or next week I will bring the G5 - civil-military cooperations - officer with me to the school so he can write up a new Quick Impact Project; hopefully we can get some money from the UN to help with doors and windows. it shouldn't be impossible - going by the numbers in the old QIP (which was turned down due to lack of money), the remaining work to make the new building as good as the old one is "only" 31500 pounds - or about 10500 USD. The UN uses more on stupier stuff...
Both the teachers and pupils were thrilled to see us; it's not often a white face shows up in their compound. School have but recently started up after the referendum, so when I arrived the headmaster was busy explaing the rules of behaviour to the new pupils. And when I was asked to say a few words, I took the opportunity to reinforce his message: pay attention to your teacher, study dilligently, stay in school and get a good education. I skipped the bit about telling them to thank God and Jesus though... it's not my place to tell people what they should believe, weither I agree with it or not. A very Scandinavian point of view, I know, but I am Norwegian...
The pupils in the Primary School was very proud of their new building, even if they still dont have windows, doors or plastered walls... but it's their schoolhouse and their new desks, and they love the fact that they can go to a school that has a schoolhouse with desks in the classrooms. Later this week or next week I will bring the G5 - civil-military cooperations - officer with me to the school so he can write up a new Quick Impact Project; hopefully we can get some money from the UN to help with doors and windows. it shouldn't be impossible - going by the numbers in the old QIP (which was turned down due to lack of money), the remaining work to make the new building as good as the old one is "only" 31500 pounds - or about 10500 USD. The UN uses more on stupier stuff...
New, solid desks. And since the kids are more well behaved* than the school kids back home, should last a lifetime and then some.
*) It's easy to be well behaved when the switch is hanging behind the blackboard... and even easier when the one punishment for repeat offenders is being ejected from the school.
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