UgandAshis 50 Fort Portal jazz

UgandAshis 50

August 14, 2009

Fort Portal jazz

Over the last weeks I have been talking more and more with professor Ecke about the public health school. For its 4 years a lot has been achieved and a lot more needs to be done. There is a team of about 9 lecturers who all have another full time job to assure proper income. Institutional memory is in the mind of the staff and is not available on paper. As I write this we are one week away from starting a long distance course yet a lot of the teaching material is not yet ready.

Coming in as a foreigner and imposing your way of working without considering the local customs and culture obviously will not work and at the same time some of the western mindset is required to assure a proper learning environment for the students. I shall give an example; to streamline the lectures and modules it is of utmost importance all the lecturers come together to discuss their individual preparation of the topics, avoiding repetition and assuring gaps are minimal. Aiming for common methodology and use of materials yet calling a meeting where all show up is near impossible given the prior responsibilities of other jobs.

It is easy to criticize yet to remain constructive is much more difficult. I did not come to Uganda assuming I know everything better. As much as I learn on a day to day basis there are things I can contribute at the same time. And how do you contribute to a teaching module when you receive the goals and objectives of the module after asking for them for 4 weeks? One can say that things arrange themselves in Africa yet for the quality of preparation of lectures it is of the utmost importance that there is clarity in what is required.

What I am doing is what I love doing – teaching and the topics are near to my heart; culture and health and control of communicable diseases in the first semester. With the help of professor Ecke and the local doctors and lecturers I am sure I will have a blast while lecturing.

The house I am staying in right now in Fort Portal is the base for 4 muzungus helping the university to move forward. It is never to be underestimated how much the university as a whole and the public health department in specific has achieved. It is at the same time a state of mind to wish the courses get better and more elaborated. Eventually the university is aiming for different health science related courses as well as well as a master’s level course.

To achieve all those reachable goals there has to be a strengthening of the way we work. A do-able job and one that at the same time is a process that will need to take place over the next days, weeks, months and year to come.

Namaskar,

Ashis Brahma