Solar TV show in Uganda

Linkhttp://www.uwa.or.ug/about.html

Back in February I described the official opening of the new solar unit that we had donated to the little primary school at Kasenyi in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. Like a daft idiot I got so tied up in the show & the reaction of the children that I failed to take pictures of the event, other that the ribbon cutting by Dr. Jo Haigh & Dr. Margaret Driciru, who is in charge of research and monitoring in the park,. and was acting chief warden that day.
Here are some shots that i missed that day (taken by Jo). First, the gifts that we gave the children, an exercise book, pencil and teddy bear or other toy for the older children, then the speeches by various officials, first Margaret and then Wilson, the Community Conservation warden, then drinks and lunch for everyone who could be fitted into the classroom, and finally, the actual TV working.
All the staff, including Kiiza George, the headmaster, were delighted with the show, and if you take a close look at the last picture you will see that Jo pressed the shutter at exactly the right moment to show the head of a hippo. I had chosen to show a DVD about fisheries conservation and the importance of not killing hippos as they are the keystone species in the lakes of Africa's heartland. Wilson and Margaret are keen to get copies of the video, as it is a great example of the sort of thing that gives a powerful message for all.

Kasenyi Primary School, Uganda, solar system

Linkhttp://www.uwa.or.ug/

Today (Saturday, as I write, although posted on Sunday) was the big day for the children at Kasenyi Primary School where we have been helping out with gifts of school supplies, sports equipment, musical instruments and toys for the kids for several years. One of these has been the generous donation of teddy bears for the smaller children that were knitted by a Saskatoon group of ladies who call themselves Teddies For Tragedies. This year we had been able to raise enough funds to set the school up with a solar energy system that will run four 7-watt bulbs and a 32-inch television along side a combination DVD/tape deck. The funds, a total of about $5000 US dollars came from such simple things as bake sales organized by the WCVM students to the sale of over 150 calendars, and a silent auction held at the WCVM. A major component was the generosity of many alumni of the Uganda Wildlife experience who dug deep to help out, and a few very generous corporate sponsors in the Saskatoon area.

First came a series of speeches village elders and Kiiza George, the school principal. Then it was the turn of park authorities. Dr. Margaret Driciru, who is herself a veterinarian, but works as the research and monitoring warden in the park was there as acting chief warden and had performed the ribbon ceremony with Dr. Jo Haigh (pictured here), challenged to school and the students to use the gifts of educational material to achieve as high a standard of academic excellence as possible and aspire to reach their life goals, which might even include warden status in their own park.

Then a highlight. The children put on a small concert and the one of our own, Leighton Coma, performed his wonderful new composition accompanied on his guitar. The leading line of the chorus goes like this “Uganda - The Pearl of Africa.” I will be recording it on my iPod and posting it later.

Then came the big moment – the playing of a video on hippo conservation. About 25 adults and some 40 children watched the whole thing as they ate big lunch that we had funded. An important element was that part of the meal had been cooked by Gorrit, the music teacher at the school and wife of George, in a solar oven that we had also supplied.

Many people present, including all the children, were seeing television for the first time. Unbelievably we do not seem to have a picture of the actual TV watching thing, although it is possible that there is one photo on a student camera that I have not been able to get at. This is because the students are out today with Dr. Ludwig Siefert as he tries to find a lioness whose radio collar needs to be changed as the battery is running down. For some reason the students chose to go with him, despite the fact that they have a day off. ☺ Furthermore they wanted to take their cameras with them. Amazing! ☺

The sessions ended up with a soccer game on the village pitch. Once again the school 1st XI trounced us, but luckily we only played 15 minutes each way. At the time the temperature was a steamy +35 degrees, so we were quite happy to just play the short version. A full match would have had to be ended with a mercy rule, mercy on score grounds, and mercy for rehydration of our team.

Queen Elizabeth National Park #1

Linkhttp://blogs.usask.ca/awe/

This is the first of two blogs that I am posting on Sunday the 15th, as I have not had time to get to the Wi-Fi at the beautiful Mweya Lodge over the last couple of days. although the posting comes on Sunday, I am writing this on Friday morning early, as the first of the them.

We are now starting our fifth day in Queen Elizabeth National Park where the ten final year students form the Western College of Veterinary Medicine are continuing their studies on the wildlife x livestock x human interface. They too are struggling with the intermittent and rather slow Internet access, but have been trying to keep up their blog, which you can find here or at the above link

On Thursday I went with two students to Kasenyi Primary school where we met up with Robert, the installation technician from Ultratec who was there to install the new solar system that we have funded. It looks good, and we will do a formal opening on Saturday with the local village dignitaries and park authorities.

On Friday morning after our animal work visit to the school we paid a quick and checked that the power worked at the school. It did.

Here I have tried to add a short (44 second) video clip of a bull elephant's bullying attack on a hippo pod. The connection speed is too slow, and the link would not work. So, until we get to something faster, you'll just have to imagine it.

The Friday afternoon was set aside for the two-hour boat trip on the Kasinga channel that runs between Lake Edward and Lake George. The Canadians also paid for the two Makerere University veterinary students who have joined us. As usual it was a magic time, with tour guide Janet pointing out the dozens of bird species as we went along, and the snorting of hippos accompanying us along the shore. One very unusual sight was a bad-tempered and totally unwarranted attack by a big bull elephant on a pod of hippo. He seemed to be trying to stamp on one unfortunate juvenile that emerged as a tumbling rolling mass, and escaped, apparently unharmed, in the midst of the forest of legs that the bull must have presented. This clip was taken by Leighton Coma, one of our Canadian students