Hello from the other side

 What a wonderful start to the day.  3 years ago when I tried pen pals between Ugandan and American students, things did not always go well. So why not try again? 

I did remember some young student expressing disappointment that the letters for me.Ugandans were only from boys.  I do not remember who told me that.But your message got through.  So the top girls' school in Gulu is thought to be Sacred Heart Secondary School and I dressed the part my favorite teaching shirt and a tie.  

Sister Helen is still the head teacher and she greeted me, "Big John, you are welcome here." and we sat and talked about the old days of invisible children and teachers we'd both have known.  Sister Helen is not only the head teacher of Sacred Heart she has also started her own school in town for children who were falling through the cracks.  John Gabriel you have some catching up to do.

She introduced me to a wonderful math teacher named Vincent and soon Vincent and I were off to see some classrooms snd talk of mathematics. It was great because we were soon  joined buy five S6 students imcluding the Head girl.  They enjoyed my enthusiasm. So of course, I showed them the sum and product method of solving quadratics.  Hopefully there a St. Gabriel student reading this that has seen me geek out on math and my enthusiasm for teaching students wonderful new things.  These girls were wonderful, and I soon had them participating in a solution of a problem and finding, of course, that half of eleven sixths is of course eleven twelfths.  Hopefully, I remember to add their picture to Facebook so you can see them.  When we debriefed on the problem Vincent asked me if all teachers in America write upside down.  

Several hours later, I returned to sacred heart with 79 different pages of St. Gabriel's student names.  I asked for 10 volunteers and of course, 25 students. Immediately surrounding me wanting to be the first to start their letters.  "You have Amaya Bellon, I said she loves to draw and is very talented." The S1 student smiled broadly and held the the single piece of paper high. ( big thanks to Rick Lundak for snapping pictures so all of these students could see a picture of their new  American friends). For two  and a half hours i handed out papers and took pictures of the Ugandans and said things like, "You have Lucia,  she works super hard and is talented in all she tries."  There was only supposed to be 85 students in the room. But I bet you there was a hundred and thirty. And I only had a 79 names. So a couple of you,  might have two pen pals and I am hoping Mrs. Slama and others will help me find kind studebts who are curious and want to hear what Ugandans are doing.

I had, I brought a water bottle along because I knew it was going to be a long night. But the enthusiasm of the Sacred Heart girls  prevented me from taking even 15 seconds away from the task at hand.  Collecting papers at the end of the night,  was tough because the students wanted to keep writing and did not want to stop. Much like the end of an algebra test.  "Who has Adelaide Weller please turn in hour letter, who has Molly Cochran this is your third request."  I will come home with about 105 pieces of gold in my carry on bag and maybe we will have a pizza party in the cafeteria to hand out letters.  

It is almost time for breakfast but one more story.  Several S4 students came into the hall when we were leaving.  There was a tall girl wearing a green Mountain Dew sweater, that contrasted greatly, with the red and pink uniforms worn by the rest of the students. Knowing students I believe it was intentional1. She boldly came up to me and  informed me that she would be in america in two years working at an airport. I encouraged to hold on to that dream and pursue it.  It was funny because she followed me and Vincent back to the staff room but did not dare come inside, she kind of hid behind the portal of the door and just smiled.  So add one more student to  you prayer list.

So many times these students come into my heart for just a brief moment and they are wonderful, they are curious, they will work hard to accomplish their goals. So I just pray. Luckily I have a helper now.   Mom, please watch over these ones she will be easy to spot, she is tall and you always had a soft spot in your heart for the tall ones.

THANKS TO ALL THOSE AT SACRED HEART. and to Anne Hatahaway and Leo McGarry for encouragement and inspiration on a night filled with insomnia.

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving

Lesson Plans

     How do I teach my students what I have learned in the last week in Gulu.  Maybe I start with an article I read, about how towns in America are adopting World Cup teams with open arms. (The article is on my FB page).  The sisters of St. Joseph pride themselves on providing " a place of extraordinary welcome".  I hope Dory or Lyla or CC stumble upon these words because you have the ability to make those welcomed happen.  There was sometimes more energy in you then, the rest of the eighth grade combined.

I think about the wonderful dinner Ronald just made for the five of us or how Aliker David shared Nile beers with me or more importantly the camraderie of his good friends. Laughter between old friends is the best...sometimes with Fool's Overture playing in the background. 

     So you found your solution,

     What would be your last contribution

I just realized that Paul and Nanci are my St. Louis Ugandans.  In a tough year, they always knew when to call and give me that extraordinary welcome.  The two of them always come running to the door, wagging their tails, and acting like this is the 6 time they met me (okay that is actually the dogs but Paul and Nanci do the same in human terms)

Who do I give the extraordinary welcome to?

....I'm thinking......

Well I told Leysen and Marianna, the couple from Cuba who I i'm told I would take him out to dinner when I got back.  I have to hear More about two people who traveled over land so i'm chile to are southern border.

And I i am going to take the Nerinx girls out to dknner, I so value their humor and their friendship.  Their love and support  have been a constant for more than twenty years. All will be excited to be there except maybe Holly ( maybe this'll change her mind).

The thing is I am going to be in Uganda for ten more days and I know more extraordinary welcomes will happen.

And each in their own way, will give me something to teach my students,  the lesson plans will write themselves.

Ronald

        Some time in your future, a good man or a good woman, is going to suggest something to you.They're going to really encourage you to try.  They are going to  recognize something in you,  a talent or a passion, and direct you somewhere. A task ...a request.

Do it.

A teacher and I think his name is Josh Robinson told me about the wonderful time, he had at Atanga Secondary School and of a student he was teaching named Kwoyelo Ronald.  He told me next year. You need to go to Atanga and teach.  I have not seen Josh since he gave me this advice.  Right now, he's probably coaching girls soccer in Northern Illinois maybe we can find him through the power of the internet.   

I met Kwoyelo Ronald the next summer as a student. He did not disappoint.  In fact, Ronald has never disappointed me since the day I have met him.  Disappoint  is an interesting word. Because the world has not been kind to Ronald. when I think of this young man,  So many disappointments have been heaped on this young man.  

And still he rises.

Ronald overcame several hurdles to become a teacher.  Even though on his journey, he had to take a step or 2 off his dream path to provide income for his family.  He was finally settled in and was a teacher And if you know ronald like I know ronald he was putting all of his time and his considerable talents into giving his best to his students.

Meanwhile, far far and away from Ronald some men (and unfortunately they are always men) decided they would make decisions about things, they knew nothing about.  The DOGE boys decided we do not need USAID.   The rippl effects of those decisions made by unserious men in a serious matter made their way to Gulu.  Ronald was teaching in a school that needed more teachers,  there were forty three on the staff.  Because the money dried up, the staff went from 43 to 21.  Ronald and his cohorts did what ronald always does, kept working,  kept teaching, kept giving their best. Alas, in a second round of cuts Ronald was let go.   

A math problem. What percentage of the US annual spending was USAID?  And if you took that percentage away from John Magee's height, how tall would he be? ANSWER AT THE BOTTOM.

Yesterday,  we  traveled to ronald's place to see his house that he has built, enjoy food he prepared, and of course to meet his daughter .  Lagum Bridget Magee now almost six years old. Students remind me when I'm back in the classroom and you don't quite you feel like square roots today to tell you the story about this day and ronald's triumphs.  

Today in saint louis  gathered around a BBQ pit are young men talking about their houses, their mortgage rates and how they are going to make their houses better. Julius and Amos have big plans for their future and we were sitting in Ronald's front yard, enjoying the nice weather in Gulu and having a similar conversation.  If you remember from me yesterday Amos sometimes walks two and a half hours into town to save money (for perspective 5000 shillings or about $1.42) for his future. The boys talked about ronald's purchase of land for his home and their own plans for their future. It really was not that much different. Then, conversations in south saint louis, around the barbecue pit, dreaming about a better life for you and your family.

Ronald was cooking and soon brought out beans, rice, and beef for his 4 friends. It was a wonderful meal and the beef melted in my mouth like a good piece of stew meat.  I think if you would ask Ronald, when's the last time he had beef, It would be many months.  But he had it today for us, because we were his friends and his generosity for his friends were worth the sacrifices he has made.

So like most struggling Ugandans, ronald has become the master of the side hustle.  He has a motorcycle that is occasionally for hire. He has built himself a piggery and is raising the four small pigs to bring to the market.  Ronald is a quiet man, a man who always thinks of others,  a thoughtful man, and when you catch him, he is quick with a smile. And a laugh.

So thank you josh robinson for giving me the suggestion to go to Atanga and meet their head boy,  Ronald.

ANSWER: He would be 6'11".

NOTE: If you are a student or St. Gabriel's family and found this blog. Can you please direct your classmates and neighbors to this slightly different address.

A Teacher

 I come back to gulu for several reasons, one i feel like I can make some steps to help my friends and the students of Gulu.  More and more the true reason I think I come back to Gulu is the friendships i've made. And I guess the most prominent of those friendships havec been with  four young men who many years ago, i met at the same age as my current students. Amos, Ronald, Julius, and Geoffrey.

This post it's about Amos.  Since i'm in the old blog and have not figured out quite how to get to the new blog. You can probably read more stories about him.  He still struggles, and when money is tight. And he needs something in town. He walks for two and a half hours to get there.  He just smiled when he told me this story.  No complaints, just the way it is.

That is not the main story here. The main story is a young man who is in love with teaching and loves his students.  At the end of the school year, I got a little complacent, and did not wear a tie every day.  I don't think that will happen this year because a young man named Amos clearly demonstrated what professionalism is.

I fought hard this year to get three eighth grade classrooms.  So I could teach seventeen students instead of twenty three.  This morning Amos i taught a hundred and thirty fourth graders we were jumping out of their seats to get him to review their work or to answer a question.  

Amos  has only been at the school since august  and he has already been promoted to director of studies.   I have the address of his primary school Akonyibedo and I suspect we will find ways to send this school things that will help these students learn.  We had a wonderful conversation with Head Teacher at Akonyibendo, Lucy a wonderful educator and a very amicable host.

I always like to tell my students. I am a lifelong learner, and today I was taught by a wonderful teacher, my friend, Orach Amos.

Gulu half a world away but so close

It is 4:30 in the morning and i'm wide awake . Yesterday, at this time, I followed the nba finals via just a box score and a written play by play, but it still felt like a gut punch in the final minutes.  Today was a good day Geoffrey helped me obtain a Ugandan  phone so it is easier for me to communicate with my Ugandan friends.  We also met julius and his wife Ketty.  Julius, it is a charismatic preacher and one of the most grounded and practical man I've met in any part of the world.  Oh by the way the Immodium worked.  So I ordered plain rice at 1 of my favorite restaurants Pagoda .

Pagoda has new management and they were not too friendly after the chair was sitting on, I broke into pieces.  Just call me goldilocks. But I paid for the chair, and we learned a lesson today. Large men should be careful on plastic chairs.

And tonight, I got to meet my friend. Aliker David Martin.  We think it might have been 10 years since we have seen each other. But we settled in quickly like old friends. The cold Nile beers may have helped.  It is interesting that I i call my friend both Aliker and David drew interchangeably.  His good friends did we one better by occasionally calling him Martin also. Aliker has started a school called Saint Sylvester and I hope to visit next week.  Our dinner consisted of oxtail, millet bread and greens coomed with a peanut sauce.  The immodium held the line.  I first met David years ago with a group of 25 teachers at a Buffet lunch.  He loudly announced that he would get next to John in line, " I want to see if he can defend his mass."

NOTE: i have not yet figured out how to post to my new blog. So I am again posting here.  I wanted to share these stories with my St. Gabriel students past and current.  If you have found these via Facebook. Then please share with the others in our community.

1st Day in Gulu 2026

 I am relaxing at Palm Gardens in the exact room I had 3 years ago.  Last night I could not sleep and ended up watching the Spurs blow that big league.  By watching I mean watching the box score change. So today started out with the breakfast of spanish omelet which every hotel in Uganda makes. With a sliced Mango, it turns out I like this one because I did not have to pick it the strings out of my teeth.  Jeffrey has arrived bright and early to help me in town with some errands.  I realized this is on the other blog, but I haven't figured out how to publish them both yet.  All is well in gulu, but I have not really seen it.

Go See the World — So many Wonderful, Wonderful People.: Yin Aye Iber

   What a day!! Maybe one of the best ever, so a couple of odds and ends at the market than back to my room.  Something that did not agree with me, so rush to the bathroom.   I decided to take my anti-biotics and several other pills and just rest for 2 hours, I had planned on taking the boys swimming at Bomah hotel.  This short trip is mostly connecting with old friends and setting things up for future trips (Stephens, Hellwig).  Last year the guys and I had such a wonderful trip to the pool I was hoping a little rest would help me answer the bell.  The pool was totally calm when Ronald and Geoffrey showed up and I told them a Ugandan mist pierce the stillness, I would follow but they must start.  Ronald, Geoffrey, and Amos have different levels of skill and comfort in the water so we spent some time this year actually teaching them how to swim and be more comfortable in the pool, they made amazing progress in just 45 minutes time.  I was showing them how to just be comatose in the water and how relaxing it could feel.  Soon I heard another voice asking them questions about me. It was my host for the evening Julius. He had invited me to dinner, as we left the pool we travelled together as a team.  It soon dawned on me that we were all going to dinner together.  I should have known, Julius is a preacher and a man of God, and he certainly would INCLUDE all. What would Christ have done?

          It is amazing what Julius had done and how many people he brings with him.  He is now preaching in his home to over 100 people every Friday and Sunday. Tonight at midnight he is riding a bus to Kampala to make sure his wife has a passport.  They will spend no time in Kampala after the passport office and immediately take another 8 hour bus ride home, so Julius can preach on Friday.  Joyce his wife and her friend just prepared the best meal I ever had in Uganda.  We had deep fried chicken and fried pork, roasted pork, american salad, Irish potatoes and more.  All of the dishes were cooked in a way I have not had in Uganda.  Unbelievable, the thought of going slow with my weakened stomach immediately vanished.  Oh and the pineapple was wonderful.  The boys and I had the most wonderful conversation all evening and were joined by a 22 year old student teacher at the end of the meal.

     We all started walking home in the dark to our 5 different homes.  Ronald even went the wrong way for awhile to continue this amazing evening. I am so blessed to have not one, but all 4 of these men in my life.    I will try to update this with more details later, but I am joining Amos at his school tomorrow morning and have to go to bed.   Of course, Julius called a boda boda driver he knew to make sure I got home.  Samuel was his name and he described Julius as his Father, the one who leads him to God.  1 kilometer from home the headlight on the motorcycle  went out.  Samuel asked me to get off the bike, I told him I could finish on foot, but he insisted no.  He picked up the heavy motorcycle shook it twice and the opened up the gas tank put his mouth on the opening and tried to suck the gasoline up.  (For us Gulu boda boda riders this is not all that uncommon).  The motorcycle rose to a start and we finished our journey.  For those of you who know a boda ride through the cool Ugandan night with the wind whipping at your face is a experience like no other.

After, arriving home and grabbing my iPad to FaceTime mom, I noticed two selfless kind colleagues at home Gail and Lisa had both come through.   

Get out see the world—people are quite something.