Africa

Richard Dowden’s recent book ‘AFRICA. Altered States, Ordinary Miracles’ is well worth reading. It begins like this:

‘I have watched the sun set, shrunken and mean, over a cold, drab London street and stood outside a mud hut next morning on a Kenyan hillside and seen it rise in glory over the East African plains. Africa is close. Few go there. Africa has a reputation: poverty, disease, war. But when outsiders go they are often suprised by Africa’s welcome, entranced rather than frightened…’

Africa Altered States Ordinary Miracles

His book and indeed his opening paragraph hint at why we are going and what we hope to learn. Whatever we do actually learn, we hope to share this learning experience with others. Through this blog and particularly via the resources that will be built on the Google Maps section, students, parents, teachers – and anyone else for that matter – will be able to track our progress and share in our experiences.

Two teachers from The Warriner School recently visited KHS Uganda. I was one of them and on return I have read Richard Dowden’s ‘Africa’. Michael Buerk’s review says this: ‘At last – a book about Africa the way it is, not the way the idealistic aid workers, lofty international bureaucrats, or doom-laden day-trip journalists think it is. A continent bursting with life… A place too big and varied for easy generalisations, full of paradoxes…’

I hope that our expedition will not slip into these ‘easy generalisations’ but will help us to begin to understand more of this stunning country set in the heart of this mysterious continent. Soon, teaching materials will be available from this site. They are designed to begin exploring preconceptions about Africa. Aimed at both primary and secondary teachers, we hope they will be useful and will help your students to engage with our expedition and so understand more of the real, complex, Uganda.