A Children’s Class at Unifat School
A few years ago my grandmother, Abitimo Rebecca Odongkara, created a children’s RC class at Unifat School here in Northern Uganda. She also invited the teachers at the school to talk and share with each other. With or without her presence, the teachers had their sessions. Some decided to join an RC class outside of school. Others also managed to attend a workshop with Pamela Haines and Chuck Esser.[1]
Abitimo carried on[2] with her children’s class every Saturday afternoon. She would always talk with me about it. On learning that she would be away for a long period of time, she introduced me to her class. Because of the love she had, she wouldn’t call it off[3] because of her absence. There was a teacher who had always been with her. That teacher and I learnt how Abitimo dealt with the class and the various activities, like taking turns and demonstrating discharging distress. We continued with the class from the time she left in the summer until the last week of October, when I had to say farewell and wish the children success in their exams.
I had never known children to be good RCers, but these children were good clients—honest and flexible. I enjoyed how they would express their distresses and come out with a suitable solution without being told what to do. Guiding questions, like “How do you feel about this particular step you want to take?” and “Is this the best way to handle that?” helped them distinguish the good from the bad in the decision they wished to make.
They discharged fear of exams, on how to deal with anger in class and outside the school environment, about education and social life outside the Unifat[4] community, and more. On our last Saturday, the topic was “How prepared are you for your examinations?” We had mini-sessions and support groups and took a lot of photos.
A big thanks to Grandma for initiating such a wonderful class at the school—so exceptional and different from all the other RC classes—and to all RCers for their support.
Atunu Naume
Gulu District, Uganda
Reprinted from the e-mail discussion
list for RC Community members
[1] Pamela Haines is the Area Reference Person for the Schuylkill I Area
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Chuck Esser is the Regional Reference Person for New Jersey, USA, and the International Commonality Reference Person for Family Work.
[2] “Carried on” means continued.
[3] “Call it off” means cancel it.
[4] Unifat School