Grandma, 67, back to school
Jun 26, 2005
THIS is not fiction, but reality. Grandma has gone back to primary school. Does it tickle your ears? There is a saying that goes: <i>Obutasoma buluma bukulu</i>, literary meaning that you feel the pinch of being uneducated during your old age.
By Moses Musaazi
and Moses Nsubuga
THIS is not fiction, but reality. Grandma has gone back to primary school. Does it tickle your ears? There is a saying that goes: Obutasoma buluma bukulu, literary meaning that you feel the pinch of being uneducated during your old age.
Faustus Nyandera, 67, a resident of Kasambya B village in Wattuba sub-county, Kiboga district has come out to challenge the odds.
Dressed in a blue uniform that goes beyond her knees, a pair of brown shoes, maroon socks and with a black schoolbag, Nyandera shares a bench comfortably with her classmates.
Mukaikuru Fautus as she is referred to in the school is due to sit her Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) this year at St. Balikudembe Primary School, Kasambya under index number 49/135/020. She has vowed to demonstrate that even at such an age, one can still go to school.
“It is not the age that matters, but the commitment that one has towards his or her education,†she says.
Described as the eldest person in school, Nyandera narrates that one-day she was challenged by the words contained in the song about literacy and the benefits of UPE that their women’s group sang on the Women’s Day celebrations in Vvumba parish in Mulagi sub-county five years ago.
“When I pondered on the words in this song, I felt challenged as a woman leader on the village committee to set a precedent.
Having stopped in Primary One, I made determination to go back to school by joining P2 in March 2000 in a UPE school that was close to my home,†she says.
Nyandera also recalls a day when she went to take driving lessons with Honey Pot Enterprises Driving School.
“When I was given an interview of reading words against the road signs I stared at the instructor because I could neither read nor write,†she adds.
During her break time, she interacts with the children, who tease her by calling her nicknames such as Jjajja.
Nyandera says that she enjoys running with the children as well as teaching them how to weave baskets and mats.
Born on April 4, 1938 to the late Tito Kiiza and Benaleeta Nyamahumbi of Kisiiga village, Kiziramfumbi sub-county in Hoima district, Nyandera did not have the opportunity to go to school due to poverty.
According to Solomon Pande, the school headteacher, Nyandera is a woman among many who has demonstrated exemplary behaviour since joining the school five years ago. He described her as a time conscious person who has never missed any lessons from P.2. to date.
Flossy Nalunga, her class teacher, also describes her as an active person class who never shows any disappointment even when she gets 2 out of 50 in any given test.
When I asked her what ambitions she had in pursuing primary education at her age, she says, “We are living in a generation that require people at various levels to be literate.
“As long as I am living, depending on the availability of funds to support me in school, I will read books until I get to university,†she responds with a smile.
On a sad note, Nyandera’s husband, Baziriyo Kalunda, whom she says has been very supportive in her struggle to acquire education, has not lived to see its fruits. He died last month after a short illness.
On whether she will pass her PLE, Nyandera says that if she has been able to study up to Primary Seven, what will fail her?
and Moses Nsubuga
THIS is not fiction, but reality. Grandma has gone back to primary school. Does it tickle your ears? There is a saying that goes: Obutasoma buluma bukulu, literary meaning that you feel the pinch of being uneducated during your old age.
Faustus Nyandera, 67, a resident of Kasambya B village in Wattuba sub-county, Kiboga district has come out to challenge the odds.
Dressed in a blue uniform that goes beyond her knees, a pair of brown shoes, maroon socks and with a black schoolbag, Nyandera shares a bench comfortably with her classmates.
Mukaikuru Fautus as she is referred to in the school is due to sit her Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) this year at St. Balikudembe Primary School, Kasambya under index number 49/135/020. She has vowed to demonstrate that even at such an age, one can still go to school.
“It is not the age that matters, but the commitment that one has towards his or her education,†she says.
Described as the eldest person in school, Nyandera narrates that one-day she was challenged by the words contained in the song about literacy and the benefits of UPE that their women’s group sang on the Women’s Day celebrations in Vvumba parish in Mulagi sub-county five years ago.
“When I pondered on the words in this song, I felt challenged as a woman leader on the village committee to set a precedent.
Having stopped in Primary One, I made determination to go back to school by joining P2 in March 2000 in a UPE school that was close to my home,†she says.
Nyandera also recalls a day when she went to take driving lessons with Honey Pot Enterprises Driving School.
“When I was given an interview of reading words against the road signs I stared at the instructor because I could neither read nor write,†she adds.
During her break time, she interacts with the children, who tease her by calling her nicknames such as Jjajja.
Nyandera says that she enjoys running with the children as well as teaching them how to weave baskets and mats.
Born on April 4, 1938 to the late Tito Kiiza and Benaleeta Nyamahumbi of Kisiiga village, Kiziramfumbi sub-county in Hoima district, Nyandera did not have the opportunity to go to school due to poverty.
According to Solomon Pande, the school headteacher, Nyandera is a woman among many who has demonstrated exemplary behaviour since joining the school five years ago. He described her as a time conscious person who has never missed any lessons from P.2. to date.
Flossy Nalunga, her class teacher, also describes her as an active person class who never shows any disappointment even when she gets 2 out of 50 in any given test.
When I asked her what ambitions she had in pursuing primary education at her age, she says, “We are living in a generation that require people at various levels to be literate.
“As long as I am living, depending on the availability of funds to support me in school, I will read books until I get to university,†she responds with a smile.
On a sad note, Nyandera’s husband, Baziriyo Kalunda, whom she says has been very supportive in her struggle to acquire education, has not lived to see its fruits. He died last month after a short illness.
On whether she will pass her PLE, Nyandera says that if she has been able to study up to Primary Seven, what will fail her?