13日 3月 2025

2025年度新学年スタ～ト、1か月少々経過 More than one month into the new school year

　 “新学年度”を迎えるにあたっての、1月下旬から始まって、今3月半ばに至るおよそ2か月のメチャクチャ大々オオ忙しの日々の出口がよ～やく見えてきました。子供一人に付き家庭訪問数回、学校訪問3，4回以上、中には入院中の保護者に会いに病院やポリスのCFPU(Child Family Protection Unit)やLC(Local Council)オフィスに各々数回の訪問が必要な子も多数いて、アッ暑～くて昼間は目まいがしそうな日々、夜間～就寝中も暑苦しさで目が覚めてしまう夜々、ヘトヘトでした！　Baba(マイ夫)は、「扇風機、かけっぱなしで寝れば？」と簡単に言いますが、こちら停電頻発！ということを忘れたようです。
　この間、支援子供たちの顔ぶれが大きく変わりました！　Babaにも見覚えのない新顔がたくさん!!!　Babaは昨年8月に帰国しましたので。

 We have been really busy for more than a month, ever since the start of the new school year in late January. But things are finally starting to settle down. Several visits to each child’s home and at least three or four visits to the child’s school are necessary. In many cases, we must also pay several visits to guardians who are hospitalized, to the police department’s Child Family Protection Unit, or to the offices of the local council. These days it is dizzyingly hot. Even at night it’s hard to sleep, so I’ve been exhausted. Baba (my husband) suggested sleeping with the fan on all night. He seems to have forgotten that the power frequently goes off here.

There are a lot of new faces among the children supported by the library, many of whom Baba didn’t recognize because he went back to Japan last August.

 　今年度の寺子屋組。一気に人数が2倍以上に増えました！　というのは、昨年まで多くの貧しい家庭の子供を引き受けていたSPEED　Learning（ヨーロッパのNGOが提供する小学校教育補助プログラム。当ブログ2024年3月8日付をご再読下さい）学級が、今年は、Kitgum 県内でも、もっと奥地の更に教育の機会に恵まれない子供たちへの活動に注力するので、Kitgumタウンでは開設されないから、です。新顔組のナゼか、多分“男の子優先”のタメ、ほぼ全員が女の子。男の子は一人！

 The number of students at the library this school year has more than doubled because the Speed Learning program that many students from poor families took advantage of through last year is no longer being offered in Kitgum. (Run by a European non-governmental organization, the program offers assistance to children in elementary school. Refer to the blog entry for March 8, 2024.) This year’s program will focus on children in more remote areas who have even fewer opportunities to learn. For some reason, most of the new students at the library this year are girls. There’s only one new boy!　

P.1 grade　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　P.2 grade

P.3 grade　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　P.4 grade　

P.6 grade


今年度正規通学を支援する12名、Primary10名とSecondary2名（本日2名は欠席）。

We are officially supporting the regular attendance of 12 students this school year, 10 in primary school and two in secondary school. (Two were absent on the day this photo was taken.)

Ogenrwot Daniel Comboni　オゲンルウォット　ダニエル　コンボニ（P.7　３人目　白黒柄シャツ）2年前にP.7途中で、父（中程後方、出稼ぎ先の南スーダンで心身ともに病を得て帰国、今も治療中）が学費を払えなくなり退校。まだ寺子屋通い年数は短いのですが、もし試験（面接と実力テスト）に受かれば、あと1年でPLE（小学校卒業認定テスト）受験可！なので正規通学支援をしようと編入テスト受験。成績が良くないと、”6年生に編入！“と言われてしまいますが、見事7年生に‼　右隣とその隣、そのまた隣は従弟や近所の子たち、彼らはほぼ全員寺子屋組です。

 Ogenrwot Daniel Comboni (7th grade, third from left, black and white shirt) dropped out of the 7th grade two years ago when his father (center rear) could no longer pay the school fees. (He became mentally and physically ill while working in South Sudan and returned to Uganda. He is still undergoing treatment.) Daniel has only been studying at the library for a few months, but if he passes the test (interview and an academic proficiency test) in another year he will be able to take the Primary Leaving Examination. So, he took the entrance exam for transfer students so that he could get PR Africa’s support. If his grades had not been good, he would have been admitted to 6th grade, but he was able to enter the 7th grade! To his right are three cousins. They are studying at the library.

 

今年度から新しく正規通学支援生になったOmara Oscarオマラ  オスカー (P.6), Okema Denishオケマ  デニシュ(P.3), Agenorwot Mercy アゲノルゥオット  マーシー(P.3), Oola Peter Ronaldオーラ ピーター ロナルド（P.4）
皆、数年もの長～い間、寺小屋に通い続けて、遂に、正規通学生に！　全員生まれて初めての制服姿！寺子屋でのガンバリの成果、皆、予想より上の学年に編入できました！　特にMercyは、全く初めての学校、普通は1年生から、良くて2年生からなのにいきなり3年生になってしまいました‼　

 Omara Oscar (6th grade), Okema Denish (3rd grade), Agenorwot Mercy (3rd grade), and Oola Peter Ronald (4th grade) have the support of PR Africa to attend school starting this year. All four of them have studied at the library for several years and are finally able to go to school and wear uniforms for the first time. Thanks to their hard work in their studies at the library, all of them were able to enter a higher grade than expected. In particular, Mercy, who is going to school for the first time, would have been expected to start in the first grade or, at best, second grade. But she was able to go right into the third grade!

 Ocen Michealオチェン マイケル、 Rwot Omiya Innocent ルゥオットオミヤ イノセント、Wokorach Dick　ウォコラチ ディク。
Ocen は　PRAfrica初の就学支援生！　兵隊だった父は既に亡く、母は彼を保護者のオジに残しどこかに…オジ宅が火災全焼し移転、隣県の知人に引き取られ…この間3校転校（PRAfricaはずっと支援してきました！）しましたが、死んだと聞いていた母親がGuluにいるという噂を聞き、「そこへ行く」と出奔、その後音信不通、行方知れずになって早や10ン～年‼!　最近Kitgum県に戻り、大工見習いをしていると。タウンに用があって来て、図書館のことを聞き、懐かしくて立ち寄ったと…。Omiyaも数年の寺子屋組を経て、PRAfricaが通学支援を。３，４年後、母親がミシンを得て仕立屋として生計が立てられるようになり、PRAfrica支援を卒業。今年　Secondary 2年生。彼も図書館の話を聞き・・・。Dickは既にこのブログで何度かご紹介済み。昨年は、家族のゴタゴタで、S.4を中退、UNEB（Secondary Ordinaryレベルの修了認定テスト）受験もできませんでしたが、今年S.４に復学、UNEB再挑戦します！　3人とも言わばPRAfrica同窓生、偶然の再会です!!

 Ocen Micheal, Rwot Omiya Innocent, and Wokorach Dick. Ocen was the first child to receive support from PR Africa. His father, who was in the military, had died, and his mother left him in the care of an uncle and went away. His uncle’s house burned down, and they had to move. They were taken in by an acquaintance in the neighboring district. During that time, Ocen changed schools three times (while continuing to receive support from PR Africa). After hearing that his mother was in Gulu, he took off for that city. We lost contact with him after that and did not hear anything for more than 10 years. He recently returned to Kitgum and is an apprentice carpenter. He came into town to take care of some business, and hearing something about the library, felt nostalgic, and decided to stop by.
Omiya also went to school with the support of PR Africa after studying at the library for several years. After three or four years, his mother got a sewing machine and was able to make a living as a tailor, so Omiya no longer needed support from PR Africa. This year he is in the second year of secondary school. He also stopped by after hearing something about the library.
We have written about Dick in this blog several times. Last year, family troubles forced him to drop out of school in the fourth year of secondary school, so he could not take the exam administered by the Uganda National Examinations Board to get the Uganda Certificate of Education. But he has re-entered the fourth year of secondary school and hopes to take the exam this year. These three students, all products of the PR Africa program, met again by chance.
カテゴリ： 2025