DEAR Day at Hamukuku

Ever hear of DEAR Day? I didn't until coming to Uganda, but who knows, maybe it's a global thing and I was just out of the loop.

DEAR Day stands for Drop Everything And Read Day. It happens every year on April 12 (I'm a bit behind on creating my blog posts). It is a campaign to promote literacy and is not only held in school settings, but is encouraged to be celebrated in all businesses throughout the country. The participants are suppose to drop everything they are doing and read something for a minimum of 20 minutes. In my village we celebrated the day at the local primary school, Hamukuku. These are just a few pictures of the kids from the school.

This shot gives you an idea of how crowed the schools here are. Hamukuku has 125 first grade students for one teacher! It also shows that I am literally the only white person in my village. The children stare at me, they just never knew people came in different colors. I think little by little they are getting used to me and although they still stare, they no longer seem so afraid of me.

Many classes are held outside, which is a nice break from the crowded classrooms.