コロナの影響で、より住居費、食費など生活費がかかるタウンから、多くの子供たちが、奥まった地域、村々に移り住みました。 
 UGでは、郵便制度が未発達、タウンにも一軒しかない郵便局で投函はできたとしても、配達サービスはありませんので、受け取るには私書箱を所有していなければなりません。そもそも奥地、村々には郵便局自体が無く、第一、私書箱を持てるような“お金持ファミリー”は、村に一軒あるかないかでしょう。私どもが支援する子供たちのところで、郵便局を利用できるようなファミリーは皆無・・・、
 という訳で、 2019年には、タウンにいて、お便りできた子どもたちのうち、10名ほどの子どもたちは、残念ながら今回は参加できないので、タウンに残った子供たちが、一人でお二人以上の支援者の皆様に書きました！
 3名のスタッフが手取り足取り補助しましたが、まだ未完成、意味不明、ミスだらけかもしれませんが、お受け取りいただいた皆さま、はがき一枚でも、日本語ででも、どうぞ、お返事くださいますよう心からお願いいたします。　尚、引き続き世界的に郵便事情が混乱しています。日本⇔UG、航空便で、片道2か程かかります。
 Because of the pandemic, many children moved from the town, where the cost of food and housing is higher, to remote regions and villages.  
 In Uganda, the postal system is rudimentary, and even if mail can be sent from the town's lone post office, there is no delivery service. So the only way to receive mail is by having a post office box. In remote regions and villages, there are no post offices, and at most one well-to-do family in a village may have a post office box. None of the families of the children for whom we provide support is able to use the post office in town.
 Thus, unfortunately, 10 of the children who were in town and able to write letters in 2019 were unable to do so this time. So, each of the children who has remained in town wrote letters to at least two supporters.  
 Three staff members provided help along the way, but the letters may still have incomplete or unclear parts or other mistakes. We sincerely hope the recipients will send a reply. A postcard is fine.  
 Postal services around the world are still in disarray, and air mail between Uganda and Japan can take two months.

　3学期はエボラ対策のため、通常より2週間短く切り上げられました。今年度は、コロナのため1学期のスタートが大幅に遅れたので、年間を通じ、正味は通常の3分の１程度の授業日数だったのではないでしょうか？　学校閉鎖中もPCやTV,ラジオなどで学習できたような恵まれた子供たちと、何とか食べて生きるのが精いっぱい、学習の機会はゼロだったような子供たちと、格差がますます広がった感の否めない年月だったと思います。ともあれ、図書館と子供たちの近影をご覧ください。       
　To prevent the spread of the Ebola virus, the third term ended two weeks earlier than usual this year. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the school year was considerably delayed, so only about one third of the usual number of school days were held. While schools were closed, some children were fortunate to be able to learn via personal computers, television or radio whereas others had no opportunity to learn and it was all they could do to get enough to eat. This gap seems to have widened in recent months. Anyway, please enjoy these recent photos of the library and the children.

新図書館内に設けた”幼児ルーム”。兄姉が読書中、小さい子はここで、おもちゃで遊んだり、お昼寝したり・・・。手すきの時は、スタッフがお相手をしたり...

In the new library’s nursery, small children can play with toys or nap while their big brothers and sisters read. Staff members play with them when they’re not busy.

コロナ禍に端を発した経済停滞、社会不安の影響で、多くの人々が、私どもが支援する子どもたちも保護者と一緒に、または子供たちだけで食費住居費のかかる町暮らしを止め、さらに奥まった村々に移り住んでいます。
探すツテ、手掛かりがなく今も音信不通になったままの支援子供も5人ほどいますが、Joyceなどの奮闘で探し当てた子供たちを、数か月続いている雨季で、４WDの大型タイヤが埋まってしまうドロドロ泥土の悪路を1日1件ずつ、丸一日がかりで訪問‼、等々のリポートです。
やはり、“百聞は一見にしかず”、写真と説明でご覧ください。

As a result of the economic stagnation and social unrest caused by the pandemic, many people have given up living in town, where the cost of living is higher, and have moved to villages farther inland. Among them are children supported by us, who relocated either with their parents or on their own.
Though we had lost touch with five children we support and had no way of finding them nor any clue as to their whereabouts, Joyce and others had located almost all of them.
During the months-long rainy season, we spent nearly an entire day traveling to see each child, our four-wheel drive vehicle getting stuck in the mud of the bad roads along the way. Here is the report. As the saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” So, please take a look. 

2020年早春、例年並みの一時帰国のつもりで日本に戻りましたが、直後に世界中で拡がったコロナ感染のせいで、UGに戻れなくなり、2年半が経ってしまいました！　この間に失ったモノ、コトの回復に奔走、早くも1カ月強が過ぎました！　K’LAのアチコチの省庁を右往左往して、ようやく、クルマの再登録など肝心カナメの用件を済ませ、KITGUMに戻り1週間。失った、損なわれたモノ、コトの大きさにア然としながらも、少～しずつ前に進んでいる感じがする毎日です。その様子を、“百聞は一見にしかず”…　写真で、ご覧ください。
In the early spring of 2020, just after we returned to Japan for our annual visit, the coronavirus pandemic broke out and we were unable to return to Uganda for two and a half years. Already one month has passed since we came back. During that time, we have been busy recovering all sorts of things that were lost. After running from one government office to the other in Kampala, we were finally able to re-register our car and take care of other essential matters. We have been back in Kitgum for one week. While we were shocked by the magnitude of how many things – both tangible and intangible – we had lost, we are moving forward little by little. “Seeing is believing,” as they say. So here are some photos.   

ブッシュ化しつつある植込み。故EMMAのリーダーシップで苗木を植えたのが、もう2メートルほどにも成長！　木々の間に、ヘビの抜け殻も発見！　奥のTRC（古い図書館）には、サソリも‼
Overgrown shrubbery. Planted under the leadership of the late Emma, these shrubs are now almost two meters tall, and we found snake skins amid them. There were scorpions in the old library building in the background.   

成長が遅い日陰では、踏みつけられ、ゴミ捨て場と化していたので、ゴミを取り除き新しく植え直しを。 こちら雨期が始まったので、根付くことを期待して。
The trees in the shade, which were growing slowly, had been trampled down and trash was being dumped there. So we cleared the trash and replanted. The rainy season has begun, so we hope the trees will take root.  

ターマイト（こちらの白アリは日本の白アリと比べ、大きく非常に活動的。冬が無い熱帯の気候が関係しているのでしょう。見た目は違いますが、木材、家具、本などを食い荒らすことは同じ）やネズミ、ゴキブリなどに蹂躙された本棚、机、椅子、そして多数の本…。　壁、机、椅子に強力な薬剤を散布、固形剤を置くなど、シロアリ、ネズミ、ゴキブリETC対策、全てバッチリしていたつもりでしたが、3年は長すぎました…。一冊一冊手に取り中まで丁寧に確認し、焼却するかどうか決めますので、大変時間がかかっています。
Termites, mice and cockroaches had overrun the bookshelves, desks, chairs and many books themselves. (The termites here are bigger than those in Japan and much more active, perhaps because there is no winter here. Though they look different, the way they devour wood, furniture, books, etc. is the same.) We had applied strong chemicals to the walls, desks and chairs and set out bait in an effort to thwart the pests, but three years had passed. We are carefully checking all the books to determine which must be incinerated, but it is a time-consuming process.

緊急の招集に応じて集まったPRIMARY P/S, PUBLIC P/S、PRISON P/Sに通学中の支援子供たち。3年近くの間にすっかり成長しました！でも面影表情はそのまま!!　奥にBABA OGENの顔も。
Students supported by the library who attend Primary, Public and Prison primary schools hastily assembled at our request. They had grown a lot in nearly three years. But their facial expressions were still the same. Baba Ogen can be seen in the background.　

2020年2月以降、KITGUMに届き、郵便局の私書箱で眠っていた支援者の方々からのお手紙、ようやく支援子供( ABER FORTUNATEとOTEMA BRIAN）の手に渡りました！　あと2通（LATABU JACKLINE宛てとOPOKA BRIAN宛）が本人の来館を待っています。
左からPIKICA MARVIN,　ABER FORTUNATE, OTEMA BRIAN, AGENORWOT MERCY OYELLA, LUBANGANYEYO EMMANUEL　
 Letters from supporters that had been sitting in our postal box since February 2020. We were finally able to give them to the recipients, Aber Fortunate and Otema Brian. Letters to Latabu Jackline and Opoka Brian will be given to them when they come to the library.    
(l. to r.) Pikica Marvin, Aber Fortunate, Otema Brian, Agenorwot Mercy Oyella, Lubanganyeyo Emmanuel 

正面入り口のドアのガラスに大きな穴と縦横に長～いひび割れが‼!　詳しい人たちの話では、Flying Stone（草刈りやクルマが跳ね上げ飛ばす石）で、よくあることと。原因も、いつなったのかも、全く分かりませんが、ガラス屋を呼び、リペア中です。
There was a large hole and many long cracks in the glass of the front door. According to knowledgeable people, they were caused by rocks kicked up when mowing and by passing cars – a common occurrence. We don’t know the exact cause or when this damage occurred, but we hired a glazier to do repairs.  

　１学期に続き今回もJoyceが、雨期の赤土の泥流、泥濘に手を焼き足を取られながらもBodaBodaや乗り合いタクシー(Mini Bus)で、UG全国土の半分ほどの広い地域を東奔西走し、Ktg県内の4地域に加え、他の9県に、四散してしまった子供たちを訪ね、校納金支払いを済ませ、写真を撮ってきてくれました。
　Following on her travels during the first term, Joyce once again traveled over a wide area by boda boda and minibus. This time she covered nearly half of Uganda, slipping and sliding through rivers of red mud in the rainy season. In addition to four parts of the Kitgum District, she visited nine other districts to see children who are now scattered over a wide area. She paid their school expenses and took photos. 

      今学期から通学を再開できた2名(Anywar Joel, Aryemo Sunday）を加え、計20名を支援中です!! しかしながら、手掛かりがなくたどり着けない子が2名(Aketowanga Beatrice,  Aweko Babra), さらに、祖母や年少の子供たちのため、日雇いなどして、食費などを稼がなければならない2名(Ajok Scovia, Opoka Brian)もいます。日本などなら、夜間学校とかもあるのですが、何か手が無いものかと思案するばかり…もしお知恵があれば、お知らせください。
              Including two children, Anywar Joel and Aryemo Sunday, who resumed attending school this term, the library is supporting a total of 20 children. We have no information on Aketowanga Beatrice and Aweko Babra, so they could not be found. Ajok Scovia and Opoka Brian are working by day to support their grandmothers or younger children. In Japan or many other countries, they would be able to attend night or correspondence school. We are trying to think of a way for them to return to school. If anyone has a suggestion, please let us know.

　中でも一番心が痛むのは、『Amoi Robinaが結婚した！』という話。彼女が初めて図書館に来たのは、2019年の3学期頃、既に12，3歳でした。実父が亡くなった後、彼女や妹たちを連れて再婚した母に連れられて、Lira県からKtgに来て、図書館のことを知り、『勉強がしたい』と通ってくるようになり、学校にはほとんど行ったことがないので、1，2年生位の小さい子たちに交じって図書館寺子屋のメンバーに。通常なら、1年位、最短でも6か月位は様子を見て、就学支援をするかどうか判断するのですが、まじめでひたむきな態度に、『彼女には時間が無い、待たせるのはかわいそう…』と、2020年2月1学期から2年生として就学支援を始めました。2年生用の椅子に大きな身体を小さくして、恥ずかし気に座り、でも、変わらぬ真摯な通学、学習ぶりでした。  
――なのに、1カ月もたたないうちに、コロナで学校閉鎖。KTGにいる理由がないからと、彼女たち姉妹は、Lira県の亡父の親類に戻され、そして、結婚…。コロナがなければ、あのままずっとKtgで実の母と暮らし学校も続けていられただろうに…とかわいそうでなりません。ただ、彼女が望んだのでないかも、強いられたのかも知れないけど、相手がよい人で、彼女が幸せであればと祈るばかりです。　ＵＧに戻ったら、一度はLira に尋ねてみたいと思っています。  
   The story that saddened us the most was that of Amoi Robina, who has married. She first came to the library around the third term in 2019 when she was 12 or 13. After her father died, her mother remarried and brought her and her sisters from the Lira District to Kitgum. After she learned of the library, Amoi Robina began coming, saying she wanted to learn. She had very little education, so she studied with the small children at first- or second-grade level. Ordinarily, children are observed for six months to a year before a decision is made as to whether the library would support them go to school. But Amoi Robina was a serious student and devoted to her studies. Because of her age, we felt that she had little time and it was a shame to make her wait. So in February 2020 she entered school as a second grader with the library’s support. She squeezed her much larger body into a small second-grader’s chair. Though she was embarrassed, she attended regularly and studied diligently.
  But within one month or so the school was closed on account of the coronavirus. As there was then no reason to stay in Kitgum, she and her sisters were sent back to the Lira District to live with relatives of her deceased father. …Then she was married. If not for the pandemic, she would likely have stayed in Kitgum with her mother and continued to study. It’s very unfortunate. It may not have been what she wanted, and she may have been married against her will. We just hope her husband is a good person and she is happy. When we get back to Uganda, we’d like to visit her in Lira.  

　1回目（2/27付）に続き、さらに多くの支援孤児たちの近況、近影が送られてきました。
今回は、Ktg県内のもっと奥まった地域、また別のいくつかの県の僻地に散り散りになっている子供たちに、公共交通や、連絡通信手段もない中、土埃と汗にまみれて、Bodaboda（バイクや自転車の後部に客を乗せて運ぶ、クルマの無い一般庶民のアシ）で、辿り着き、1学期分の学費を納金してくれました。
   今の住居での暮らしは？、その場所で、2学期以降も、引き続き通学し続けられるのだろうか？  など不確実ですし、さらに、足跡が辿れなかった、連絡が取れなかった、直接会えなかった4人、さらに、家族のため生活費を稼がなくてはならない、病人や幼い子供たちの世話をしなければならない、等々で、通学が難しい状況の2名などに対して、どうしたらよいか思案に暮れています。
   とにかく、元気でいてくれることを祈るばかりです。
  　Since our report of Feb. 27, we have received more news and photographs from Kitgum of children supported by PR Africa.  
    This time Joyce and Astrid traveled to the deeper interior of the Kitgum District and to remote areas of other districts without public transportation or a means of communication, covered in dust and sweat, to locate children scattered over a wide area. They traveled by boda boda (bicycle and motorcycle taxis commonly used by those who don’t have a car) and paid the 19 children’s first-term school expenses. 
    We are not sure how the children are doing in their new locations or whether or not they will be able to continue going to school from the second term on. There are four children who about whom there has been no news, with whom contact has been lost, or who could not be seen in person. Two other children are unable to go to school because they must earn money for their family’s support or take care of ill family members or younger siblings and relatives. We are trying to figure out a way for them to return to school...  We just hope they will be well.

  4月2日はアンデルセンの誕生日で『国際子どもの本の日』とか。「家庭に良書があれば子どもは育つ」---とのこと。また、古代ギリシャ ラムゼス2世の図書館のドアに、『魂の癒し場所』との文字があったそうです。早くKitgumに戻り、この文字を我々の図書館に掲げ、本どころか、紙切れ、筆記具も手にするのが難しいthe poorest of the poor childrenが、本に触れられるほぼ唯一の場所=図書館を一日も早く再開できるように、と願っています。
   April 2nd, H.C.Andersen's birthday is International Children’s Book Day. It is said that children grow up well when there are good books in their home. Above the door of the library of Pharaoh Ramses II in ancient Greece was the inscription “the house of healing for the soul.” We hope to return to Kitgum as soon as possible, inscribe this motto on our library, and reopen the facility, the only place the poorest of the poor children, who have no access to pens, pencils or paper much less books, can contact with books. 

　およそ２年続いた学校閉鎖が解除され約１カ月が経ちました。今までのところPR Africaが支援する子供たちの内、12名（写真をご覧ください）が通学を始めています。UGでは、始業日に生徒たちが一斉に登校するということはなく、日々、徐々に通学し始め、ほぼ全員が揃うのは、1カ月後くらい、というのが常です。
　通学を希望する学校に、まず3000～5000ugx(ugシリング）位を払って登録しなければならないので、登録料が払えるまで、登校できないからです。
　JoyceとAstridが、乾季の炎天下、汗と土埃にまみれて、徒歩でプライマリー(小学校）4校と＋セカンダリー（中高校）1校を訪ね、子供たちの通学状況を報告してくれました。
　登校が確認できていない子供たち13人については、Drop out　とか、Not reported と区分され、そう書き込まれているだけで、その子供本人が、お金の支援が受けられても「もう学校に通う気はない。」と思っているのか、お金があれば、「できれば通いたい。」と思っているのか、保護者の意向は？など確かめてもらっています。
 After being closed for nearly two years, schools reopened about one month ago. So far, 12 of the children supported by PR Africa have returned to school.  
 In Uganda, children do not all return to school on the first day but instead return over a period of days. It takes about one month for all of them to start attending school. Because students must first pay between 3,000 and 5,000 shillings to enroll at the school they wish to attend, they cannot start school until this amount has been paid.
 Joyce and Astrid visited four primary and one secondary school and reported on the status of the children going there.  
  Thirteen students who have not returned to school are merely listed as “Dropped out” or “Not reported.” Does the child have no desire to go back to school even if financial support is available? Or does the child want to go to school if funds are available? What are the wishes of the parent or guardian? This is being investigated.

Aber Fortunate, Pikica Marvine, Agenorwot Mercy Oyella, Otema Brian,Lubanga nyeyo Emmanuel

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Rubanga kene Dauzi

　　　　　　　Can wat Brian,  Latabu Jackline,  Laker Sunday,  Anenocan Mirriam

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Omara James