Riding the boda boda (motorbike) towards Hebron Junior School was an eye opening experience in itself. The long dusty road, seemingly heading into the middle of nowhere, was definitely something that I wasn’t used to. However, at the side of the road I noticed a bunch of smiling children and low and behold that was Hebron Junior School.
My duty with the school was to coach the football (soccer) team and try to develop the children as much I could in my short time there. The first issue that arose was the long distance to the playing field. The field was a 25 minute walk away from the school, which to me felt like an eternity in the Ugandan sun. After arriving at the field I discovered more issues. Firstly, the field had no grass on it, it was very bumpy and there were dangerous materials such as nails and glass scattered around. Secondly, hardly any of the boys possessed suitable footwear to play football, which I was concerned about on such a dangerous surface. And thirdly the lack of sporting equipment made it very difficult to achieve anything as a coach. Within the school’s repertoire of equipment was 3 footballs and 5 cones. This made coaching the high numbers of children (sometimes up to 48) a bit of a challenge. Having said that, these children just loved to play football and as soon as they were on the field, you could sense that this was many of the children’s relief from the stresses and troubles of everyday life. As an onlooker, the first thing I noticed was how unorganized the football was, it was utter chaos! Therefore, I made it my aim to try and structure the training sessions, and make them as fun and as competitive as possible.
After speaking with Director of the school and learning more about the situation that the school was in, I found out that there was so much more that I could help with. I was told about the amount of children wanting to be educated at the school, and also about the amount of teachers that were waiting to teach at the school. I was also given a tour of a skeletal structure which was intended to be 3 classrooms and educate 150 children. However the finances had run out and it was not even half complete. I started connecting with locals and asking their opinion on such matters, and made the determination to finish off the building with money raised by the Road2Uganda campaign. What could be more profound than helping educate 150 children per term and help give local teachers an opportunity for employment? Therefore, after discussions about finances and how the process works, I was at the building company, purchasing equipment for the construction to be built.
The final concern I had about Hebron school in general was the living conditions for the children who boarded there. Coming from England, the term ‘ boarding school’ is always used for more privileged and better off children, however the room for the boys and the room for the girls was a real shock. There were nearly 20 girls and 20 boys who lived in tiny living quarters, many of them had to sleep on the concrete floor. If the weather was bad, then water leaked in through the roof. If I was able to have done something extra, I would have loved to have been able to improve the living situations, so that the children could at least sleep in a more comfortable environment. Yet, not one of the children I came across complained about the situation. In fact they were grateful for anything the school provided, as it was giving them an opportunity for a better life.
On the last day I was given the honour of having the surprise company of the entire school. They asked me to come into one of the larger class rooms, where they had packed themselves and celebrated as I walked in. One of the students “Alan” had a speech prepared and it really hit home how much a difference the Road2Uganda campaign had made in so many lives. Knowing that each and every person who had contributed from all around the world, and all different faiths and religions had helped change the lives of so many people truly hit home. It made me realise that every single 3 am training session, whilst still having to coach soccer, study and work, and every single mile that was run was totally worth it.
Since I have completed the Road2Uganda run, people have asked me two main questions. Firstly, was it worth it? And secondly, what do you hope has come from this?
My answers to these questions have been as follows: It was 100% worth it. If I had the chance to do it again I would as it helped so many people. The answer to the second question is: if the Road2Uganda inspired just one person to help another person in whatever environment, then that is the most important. I wanted people to realise that despite their living conditions or work life (mine at the time was hectic) you can encourage and help people. Now if I can do outside of my immediate environment then surely the least anybody can do is encourage one person, and help them realise that they can better their situation.