Yebo meets Jane Goodall

In July this year Jane Goodall visited the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre where Yebo were staying at the time.  This was part of her travels to mark the 50th anniversary of her work with chimpanzees.

Jane started her work as a 23 year old in 1960 where she began her research on chimpanzees.  No-one had ever entered into this area of study, and she bravely began her work where wild chimpanzees were living.  Over a period of time and patience and a very brave soul, she won the trust of chimpanzees. The work that she was doing highlighted many issues and behaviours of chimpanzees which the public became fascinated about, which still carries on.

Her work today works to protect all chimpanzees and wildlife who are endangered, and also the famous chimpanzees from Gombe national park, combining the needs for the local people, working together with them in sustainable development programs that bring together communities to work in partnership with them.

The Roots and Shoots program developed as a youth action program was started in 1990 and is now spread across over 100 countries.

As Dr Goodall visited the Ugandan Wildlife Education Centre in Entebbe, Uganda, we felt extremely honoured and privileged to be part of the visit.  Andrew Seguya and his team at UWEC were there to greet and take Dr Goodall to their chimpanzee island, where she spent time with 2 of the chimpanzees on the island.

After the visit to the chimpanzees we were lucky enough to speak to her briefly, where we spoke about Yebo, our aims, and the Roots and Shoots program.  We also presented her with a small gift of a cuddly toy  chimpanzee. We were thrilled to hear her say that she would love to accept this.

A big  thank you goes to the staff and organisation as a whole at UWEC for letting us be part of this.

So we must say a big thank you to Dr Goodall for giving us some of her time, we were more than honoured to meet such an amazing woman, who has had such a massive impact around the world in the work that she has been doing for the past 50 years.

Being around the animals and swimming

Today we set off at 10.00 to help he children at Letaba school get on the bus to go to Daktari animal sanctuary near Gravelotte. The sanctuary is owned by Michelle ad Ian who started the project to help animals, and also children in the local village.  A lot of their aims are very similar to ours, and when we are working with the children on each trip we will take them to Daktari to visit the animals where they are allowed to have hands on contact with some of the smaller ones.

10 children had been selected to go on the trip as we helped them on their bus.  When arriving at the sanctuary the children ate their lunch, being helped by some of the volunteers, although most of the children are very independent.  One young boy who we thought would need our help,  is unfortunate to have no hands, and also cannot walk.  As we went to help him when he was sat in his wheel chair to eat, the teacher who came with us, explained that he did not need any help and found it easier to sit on the floor when he ate, which he managed very well on his own.  Again, we are learning how independent many of these children are.

After lunch we started a tour around the sanctuary.  Some of these children have never seen such animals and others we have taken before.  The children were allowed contact with the tame mongoose, who was handled by the staff at the sanctuary when letting the children touch them.  Some of them giggled, and others were slightly worried but relaxed after watching their friends.  The children met a variety of animals and were also able to touch and hold the tortoise which they also appeared to enjoy and were very inquisitive of this.

The next stop was meeting one of the donkeys who was blind in one of his eyes.  One of the children who had been before was laughing as he hid behind a tree as we approached the donkey.  He laughed, telling us about the last time that he had been when we held him on the donkeys back who decided he didn’t like him very much! we soon learnt and of course had hold of him at the time.  We giggled with him about it and he then came and said hello to the donkey.

After going to see all of the animals, the children all appeared to have enjoyed it.  One little girl though, remained unsure throughout the time we spent with them so did not want to get too close.  She seemed to be a very quiet girl.

We then decided to give the  children the option if they would like to go swimming. Many of them wanted to, so Ruth, Lucy, Lisa and Nichola went into the pool with some of the children.  As some of the children have a wide spectrum of disabilities, the children with high needs needed more support than others.  One of the children who cannot verbalize well and has a lot of energy loved swimming and as we supported him around the pool, kicked and splashed as much as he could.

Others had the chance to move their legs and arms in the pool, as the water helped them to loosen their joints and muscles.  They did really well and when we explained to them to kick their legs and move their arms, they did just that, and were full of smiles.  This also taught us a-lot about some of the children whom we thought had no understanding of what we were saying when previously working with them.  They now appeared to be very understanding of what we were saying and very quick to respond too.

After swimming we all warmed up in the sun and then drove home.

We all really enjoyed the day and hope that the children enjoyed it as much, if not more than we did, we had a really good day.

189 children, 12 volunteers and a showground

Today we had a great day at Tzaneen show with the children from Letaba special needs school.  The night before we were told by the teachers that they would be taking all 189 children to the show which they would also like us to come too so we could help out as there were only 20 or so teachers with the children.

4 buses  later the children arrived with lots of smiles, excitement and laughter.  We expected that we would be helping them to move around the showground by pushing their wheelchairs and helping them to communicate using some of the sensory toys that we would find around the show on the different stalls that they had there.

The children that we knew appeared excited to see all of the volunteers as we did our best to push lots of wheelchairs and hold hands of alot of the children as we went around.  At first we had decided that we must stay together and would try to keep all of the children we were looking after together, but it soon appeared that we were out of a job as the children seemed to want to push their friends and carry their own friends who could not walk on their own.  We were worried at first that some of the children were missing out, and those that struggled to walk would need our attention.  We compared this attitude to the UK, as because of many of our backgrounds with children, this is very unusual and different to how we would work and the guidelines and rules that we would work to.

As we started pushing some of the children in wheelchairs, we were often pushed away by one of the childs friends who then wanted to  push the chair instead of us.  We found this very interesting, and funny at the same time.  We did look around us at one point and see some very happy and laughing children in the following mode of transport going past some of the show stalls.  A child in a wheel chair had another friend on his lap, who then also had another smaller friend on his lap who was being held on by the young boy who was first sitting in a chair. On the bottom of the chair a much smaller boy sat on the foot rests.  On the back of the chair a young boy was standing on the ledge at the back whilst a much older boy was pusing them along at top speed!  We laughed and soon realised that these children were just incredibly independent, and again, it was us that were more worried about the children not coping with their disabilities than them or their teachers.  This did upset us at times as we could see some of the children that may have been left out of things.  This was difficult for us to accept and we struggled to hold ourselves back from trying to help these less able children who looked as though they had a very big struggle with trying to walk such a long way.

At lunch time, all of the children who had been going around the showground alone suddenly appeared and met at the end of the field and arranged themselves into groups of their classes.  The teachers of the groups then gave them all food.  Some of the teachers gave our volunteers a small amount of money to go and buy a child food if they had run out.  After this we decided that during lunch we were causing more disruption than  good so stepped back even though we wanted to help.  We ate our lunch and returned to the show, not really understanding our role here.

After deciding to speak to one of the teachers to ask them what they would want us to do and that we felt like we should be helping more, the teachers giggled and told us that this is a normal day, that the children love this independance and do not like to be looked after.  She said this was a great opportunity for them to have some freedom in this safe area with their friends, which we then understood.

Our role had now turned into making sure that all the children were happy and managing well around the show grounds, so we did not interfere with their independence too much.  Again, with some of the less able bodied children, we found very interesting and amazing to observe this. We also became aware that by the children pushing their friends in their wheel chairs, that they found this could help them walk as they used this as an aid as if it were a walking frame!

We did help the children a bit by taking them to get some water with the teachers and then proceeded to meet them all in a great big tent where the showground had started to have a party with some dancing competitions.  As we walked into the tent we saw most of the 189 children sat in the audience with a lot of other children from other schools.  We heard a lot of cheering as we walked in, only to find 4 of the older children from Letaba up on the stage of the dancing competition. This was amazing and we could not beleive how wonderful they were at dancing and the moves that they came out with!  They even had a hula hoop competition which was also great.  All the children dancing and all of those in the audience were laughing so much and all dancing in their seats to the music.  This was so great as we saw how much this day had benefited their moods and minds as well as giving them independence and good exercise!

It may not have been what we are used to in the UK, as far as our safty rules and special equipment to help children with disabilities, but it made us notice, that if in certain situations, that cannot be changed, the children will all adapt and make the most of the environment and capabilities that they have, as well as being so caring and helpful to all of their friends.  It seemed to us that they felt relaxed and natural with each-other when they were helping one another, and that this was something they would always do for each-other.  We then saw in this environment, when the children were all together, what a big family they all were.

Another day for us, at first a feeling that we were not needed, but then seeing that we were able to observe and help these children in a different way, and giving us a more wider understanding of their capabilities and culture in this school.

Animal,sensory,arts and crafts day for children with disabilities

Today was breakfast at 7am, so not quite as early as yesterday! Today was our first day of activities, which we started at 11am at Letaba special needs school.

Before our start with the school we had a trip into town to pick up some more materials for the art and craft activities that we had decided to do.

Today the children had been split into 2 groups, this was a sensory group for the less able children and the arts and craft group for the more able bodied children. The children were in different rooms so this gave us a good chance to work one to one with the children.  In the morning we worked with the younger children, and in the afternoon groups we had the older children.

The craft group had planned to make some primate based paper chains with the children, allowing them to relate this to monkeys who swing from a tree. However the children decided that they wanted to wear these instead of hanging them around the room. They then became very creative with all of their activities, making other items to go with their monkey necklaces.  One little gil even decided to make a belt, so I’m sure she will be in the fashion industry one day! These activities were great fun, and again, taught us alot about the children that we had been working with and their abilities and needs.

Recording their emotions and behaviours was a very important part of our role in working with the children as this is something that the teachers have less knowledge on, due to the short staffing issues and no therapists.  These behaviours will then be given to the teacher, Susan who is running the project with us.

The sensory group also had some great activities and used music and singing to start the day.  This gave them them an opportunity to see which children were more aware and interactive before they started other activities.  It was great for us as volunteers to have a smaller group with these children as we could spend more time with them, helping and focusing them with their needs. They had made up a hello song about monkeys.

They then moved on to make a collage of monkey based pictures , using different sensory materials such as grass and sticks to put on their pictures.  These were good for the children to touch and feel the different textures of the materials they were putting on the pictures.  The volunteers helped the children make the pictures, helping them to press on items onto the paper with their hands and paint that also they could feel on their hands.

The observations were paticulary important with this group, due to the less able children not getting enough attention in class.  Again this is due to lack of staff that have been provided by the government to the school.  This is something they are desperately trying to fight against.

The older children then worked with us after their lunch, which was a different group with different activities applying to their ages and again their abilities. The volunteers worked with the arts and craft group using an animal based concept  with lots of drawings and making things. 2 of the children made a picture and wrote a letter to a previous volunteer that they had remembered from March for us to give to them.  The pictures said that they loved their friend who they had met the last time.  This was nice as it made us realise that the children remembered well when Yebo were at the school a few months ago, and also last year.

The sensory group again did a lot of painting and some singing, the children drew lots of monkeys in their drawings and other animals.  We are looking forward to taking them to the animal sanctuary this coming Friday.

During the break between each group there were a lot of children gathering arund us, who wanted to get into each of the rooms.  Some of this behaviour began to get difficult as the children started trying to fight each-other to get inside of the doors to the activities rooms which were both locked.  A few of the children would hit each-other and their behaviour became very attention seeking and angry at times.

The day was great fun and we are looking forward to working with them again in the next week, developing activities that can hopefully be used in a sustainable program which we will try to acheive for the school while we are visiting.

The beginning of South Africa

Here we are in South Africa,  waking up to a view of the Drakensburg mountains.

5.30 AM and the alarm goes off, and bleary eyed we wake up and have a very quick breakfast, pack our lunches for the day and go for a meeting with the teachers at Letaba special needs school where we will be working for this trip.  It was a short 10 minute drive from where we are staying and Chris, our driver got us there for 7.10am which we had been asked to arrive for this time.

We met the teachers in what they call their morning assembly which is just for them.  On arrival to the school we are greeted with a lot of bright excitable smiles from a big group of children before we spoke to the teachers.

The teachers start their own assembly with a prayer and a song which was a hymn.  (Something you would never see in a staff room in the UK!) The meeting was great and we spoke about the children that the teachers would like us to work with and who would benefit from the work we would be doing with them, which had been explained to them in a previous meeting when we were having discussions with the school. Since visiting the school in March they have started a great process to investigate and try to improve why there are no therapists in the schools for children with disabiliities.  They thought that our project would fit in nicely to what they were trying to acheive.

The teachers that we spoke to as a group had given us 25 children for us to work with us, who had been selected as those who may be able to best benefit our work.  We discussed with Susan, one of the teachers who would be helping to coordinate this project while we were here, how we could recognise all of the children, so we had a meeting and were introduced into the room that we would be working in while we waited for her.  She began to write down all of their ages and disabilities and names for us so we were able to have more of an idea of the needs of the children.

In an earlier meeting the staff had let us know that we could start whenever we were free. Luckily we had brought with us some art and craft materials, as while we thought we were waiting for Susan to arrive back to the room, we were greeted with 25 excitable and curious children of a wide range of disabilities, looking forward to having some time with us to work on activities.  We decided that this day would be better spent using activities to introduce ourselves to one another so that we were able to bond better with the children before we started the further activities with them.  This would help us build up a good understanding of their needs so we would be able to work well with them in their groups.

The activities started with a ‘Hello’ song to introduce everybody to each other.  Everyone went around singing and telling us their names, and those who could not talk were helped out by their freinds who would sing their name for them.  They would then communicate with us through smiles and laughter.  We then introduced a game using a ball which was passed around the circle giving us a chance to remember names of everyone we passed the ball to.  The ball was thrown to different children, and we tried to help those who we thought would struggle,including a young boy who did not have any arms.  He laughed at us and shook his head as he balanced the ball with his chin and picked it up and kicked it with his legs! This showed us that most of these children were very independant and capable, and it was us that were more worried about them and their abilities affecting the activities.

We then played a game of duck duck goose and whizzed around the circle with the children in the wheelchairs, being chased by the more able bodied children.

Through all of these activities, we were able to build more of a relationship with the children to familiarize ourselves with the level of support that each individual child would need.

We then went to plan activities and were split into 2 groups, one of us planning sensory activities and the other planing the arts and crafts which would then be used on the different disabilities of the children.

We then looked forward to the next day where we would be able to put these activities in place with the children.

Ngamba Island chimpanzee sanctuary…with the children

Today was an amazing day as we set off early with 16 children from Raising up hope Orphanage Uganda to Ngamba Island Chimpanzee sanctuary.

None of the children had ever experienced a boat trip before so this in itself was an amazing experience for them and for us to be part of this with them. The children seemed nervous but excited getting onto the boat, not knowing what to expect as they all put on their life jackets ready for the journey which took nearly 2 hours.

On arrival to the island, the children appeared very silent and when getting off the boat were just looking around them, taking in the scenery and the amazing experience of being at Ngamba Island which, in itself is a very unique and special place for anyone to visit.

We went with the children to have a drink and then they had a talk from Silver about many of the rules while they were on the island and also a bit about chimpanzees.  All of the children were around 10-14 years of age so had a good understanding and were very eager to learn about chimpanzees. The talk was given from Silver in a great way, which focused on feelings and traumas to match the work that we had been doing with the children. The children seemed well focused and listened well to what they were being told.

As soon as this had finished after lunch the children were given a tour of the sanctuary, looking at all the different things that harm chimpanzees like snare traps and were shown how the integration of chimpanzees can help them live happily after their traumas.  Silver showed the children how they teach chimpanzees who have not been left with their mother in the wild, how to build nests, as they would do this naturally in the tree.  In the rehabilitation cages they have hay/straw in the bottom and then have a hammock at the top for them to sleep in, encouraging them to sleep in a bed like other chimpanzees do and making it like a nest.  The children were told that this is a bit like their bunk beds!

The children were shown where the vets do their work if a chimpanzee gets sick or needs treatment for some wounds.  This seemed to be a great place for the children to see as they asked many questions to Silver about chimpanzees and veterinary treatment.  They appeared very interested in everything that they have been told.  After this the children were asked what they would like as a career when they are older.  Many of them said they wanted to work with animals to help them, work with chimpanzees and help make it better for them in the wild. Other children said they wanted to be vets.  This was great as it showed us that they were also being educated through the activities that we were helping them take part in.

We were then able to see the chimpanzees at feeding time which was a great experience for all of us.  Some of the children appeared very overwhelmed and scared at first as the chimpanzees were very noisy as they came over very excited for their food.

We spent around 30 minutes watching the chimpanzees and the children appeared very excited and interested in seeing them.  Patrick and William again talked to them about the chimps.  Silver was pointing out to them the different noises and behaviours that were going on while they were there, and showed them the different ranking of the group of chimps.

After this Silver then took us all to play some chimpanzee games with the children where we had chimp masks and played games such as making a nest, where the children had to try and collect as much food for their nests as they possibly could.  These all aimed to have an educational yet different approach to the children as the stories were related to their lives.

After lots of fun and a great day the children and volunteers all got back onto the boat for a long ride back to UWEC ready for them to get on the bus and go home to their orphanage.  The boat ride was a fantastic one and great fun as the children , Patrick and William taught us great songs which we were singing for the whole of the journey.

As we reached the shore and the children got on the bus there was a lot of cheering and laughter and GOODBYES! shouted and waved.  As the bus drove off, we all suddenly became silent and realised this was the last time we would see the children on this trip.