Wake-up call

I admit, I often wake up to find a small child's face staring directly into mine. Our night-time parenting does include sharing our bed on occasion with one or more of our darling children. But I draw the line at cockroaches. This morning, not 4 inches from my face was this not so little guy, walking calmly along the inside of our mosquito net. GROSS. Hopefully your wake-up call this morning was more pleasant!

Orphan Sponsorship

While almost every family in Bundibugyo needs help to pay secondary school fees, there are some children who have no hope. War, disease, or other unforeseen tragedy has made them orphans. While many are cared for by extended family members and friends, secondary schooling is a luxury that is not provided. (It is difficult enough to provide this for one’s own children.) When we first opened CSB our hearts were drawn to these children who in local lingo “had something in their heads, but nothing in their pockets.” They were the ones who poured themselves into primary school, excelling under UPE (universal primary education). But after sitting for their exams and receiving top scores, they had nowhere to go. No father to pay the needed fees for secondary school. These were bright, hard-working kids, trapped. We decided, that first year, to step out in faith and ask friends and family in the US if they would be interested in helping us to give 10 such orphans sponsorship in S1. The response was immediate and wonderful. Each year we have added 10 new orphans in S1 and continued to ask for sponsorship for those who excelled at CSB when given the chance. These orphans are our top students. Some of those first ones are now at university.

We usually have over 200 applicants that come with requests for sponsorship in the months leading up to the opening of school. (Please read Aguma’s Story in November’s archive for a first hand glimpse) Yesterday 30 orphans sat for their sponsorship entrance examination. This exam (composed of both a Math and English portion) is the final step in our selection process. We will offer sponsorship to the top ten students. We thought it might be interesting to see how you or another young person in your life would do on such an exam. The children who sit for this exam are typically 12-14 years old and a top score would be 70-80% correct. Scroll down or click on the previous two entries to take the exams. Good luck!
(Please e-mail us at Kevinandjd@yahoo.com if you are interested in an answer key)

English Exam

Christ School – Bundibugyo
2007 Interview Examination for Orphan Sponsorship Scheme
English Language

Time allowed: 1 hour
Attempt all questions.

For items 1-8, fill in the blank spaces with the correct word or group of words to complete the sentences.

1. If the bus had not delayed, we ________________________ reached home by now.
2. Will you please ____________________ to what the chairman is saying?
3. The two robbers were ___________________ to death by the mob.
4. How much money _____________________to buy a new vehicle?
5. He didn’t understand the question and so the teacher had to _______________________.
6. Either Kabasinguzi or her sister ______________ going to help.
7. Emily and her sisters __________________ going to be there early.
8. Each team will ____________________ two matches.

For items 9-13, rewrite the sentences as instructed in the brackets.

9. A bicycle is fast. A motorcycle is faster. (Rewrite as one sentence.)
10. “What happened to the sick child?” asked the doctor. (Rewrite beginning with: The doctor wanted ….)
11. Hima is a factory. Hima produces cement. (Rewrite as one sentence.)
12. Juma told her to stop making noise. (Rewrite and finish with: …, said Juma.)
13. We tried to make plane reservations for our holiday. It was too late. (Rewrite as one sentence.)

For items 14-16, complete the sentences using information from the following conversation.

Betty: I like your jacket.
John: Thank you, it’s new. I got it last week.
Betty: May I ask where you got it? I have been looking for a nice birthday gift for my
brother.

14. Betty told John that ___________________________________________________.
15. John answered that ___________________ and _____________________________.
16. Betty wanted to know where John had bought the jacket because __________________

For the topic sentence below, one supporting detail has been given. Give two additional details that can be used to support the topic sentence.

Topic sentence: Between the ages of 16 and 25, young people must make several important decisions that will influence the rest of their lives.

Detail 1: Deciding whether or not to complete secondary school.
17. Detail 2: _____________________________________________________________
18. Detail 3: _____________________________________________________________

Read the following poem and write the letter of the correct answer to the questions 19-24 in the spaces that follow.

Lullaby
Someone would like to have you for her child
But you are mine.
Someone would like to rear you on a costly mat
But you are mine.
Someone would like to place you on a camel blanket
But you are mine.
I have to rear you on a torn old mat
Someone would like to have you as her child
But you are mine. -- Akan (Ghana)

19. Who is this poem addressing? Answer: _______
a. a camel
b. a baby
c. an elderly parent
d. a mother
20. Who is speaking? Answer: _______
a. a camel
b. a baby
c. an elderly parent
d. a mother
21. What is the economic status of the speaker? Answer: _______
a. rich
b. she has enough
c. poor
d. unable to have children
22. On what does the speaker rear the child? Answer: _______
a. a costly mat
b. a camel blanket
c. a torn old mat
d. the hard dirt floor
23. Who would like to have the child? Answer: _______
a. the father
b. a rich woman
c. the camel herder
d. no one
24. Is the speaker intending to give up the child? Answer: _______
a. Yes
b. No
c. It is unclear in the poem.

Read the passage below and answer questions 25-29 in full sentences.

Okello and Mukasa were one evening called by their father to his hut.
“For sometime now,” he said, “We have not eaten fish. I don’t have any money either for buying some. I want the two of you to go fishing tomorrow. The river beyond Keri village has a lot of fish. There are two hooks which are hanging in the kitchen. Take them and fix them on the fishing rods. When you reach the river, be careful of snakes and other dangerous animals. Your mother and I expect a good meal tomorrow evening.”
The two boys were very excited. The last time they had gone fishing was a year ago. That night they didn’t sleep until after midnight. They talked about many things that they would do the following day.
Early next morning they set off. They walked for half an hour before reaching the river. Two other boys had already arrived at the river. Okello and Mukasa joined them. After fixing small worms on the hooks, they dropped them into the water. They then held the rods in their hands. A few minutes later Okello felt something pulling his rod. The pulling increased so that Okello had to hold his rod tightly.
“Whatever is eating the worms must be big,” he thought to himself. “It must be a big fish. What a nice meal we shall have this evening!”
As he was still thinking, his rod was pulled again. This time the pulling was so much that he was nearly dragged into the water. Using both of his hands Okello swung the rod upwards with all his strength. And what had he caught? There, hanging on the hook was the biggest tortoise he had ever seen!

25. What is the relationship between Okello and Mukasa?
26. Why were the boys so excited?
27. Where was the river?
28. What were the three things the boys used as equipment to try to catch fish?
29. What did Okello actually catch?
30. In one paragraph (five complete sentences) explain why you would like to attend Christ School – Bundibugyo. Use the back of this page if you need more space.

Math Exam

Christ School – Bundibugyo
2007 Interview Examination for Orphan Sponsorship Scheme
Mathematics

Time allowed: 1 hour
Attempt all numbers.

1. How many centimetres are in half a metre?
2. Add: 0.21 + 0.08 + 2.42
3. Find the LCM of 4 and 6.
4. Divide 2160 by 12.
5. Solve 2x – 1 = 5.
6. Amuge’s monthly salary is Sh. 12,000/-. If 10% of her salary is taken off as house rent, how much money does she pay as house rent per month?
7. Subtract 2/3 – 3/5.
8. Write in numerals: “Seventy thousand thirty two”
9. Write down the next number in the sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ….
10. Find the median of the following numbers: 8, 7, 3, 6, 4, 7, 1
11. The circumference of a circle is 22 cm. Find the radius of the circle. (Use π = 22/7)
12. The area of a square blackboard is 6 ¼ m2. Find the length of one side of the blackboard.
13. A bag contains 12 mangoes, and 7 of the mangoes are ripe. Find the probability of picking a mango which is not ripe from the bag.
14. Joseph walked a distance of 2 km in ½ hr. What was his average speed in km per hr?
15. Find 75% of 64.
16. A rectangle is 8 cm by 6 cm. Find the length of its diagonal.
17. Simplify: (4p – 3q) – (2q + p)
18. The mean of 3, 5, 7, (x + 1), 7, 2 is x. Find the value of x.
19. Solve: ½ x – 3 = x + 1
20. A house was built by 6 men in 12 days, each earning sh. 3,000/- per day.
(a) How much money total did the six men earn to complete the house?
(b) How long would it have taken 9 men working at the same rate to build that house?
21. A = { all factors of 24 }
B = { multiples of 3 between 0 and 25 }
(a) Write down the members of A.
(b) Write down the members of B.
(c) Write down the set A ∩ B.
22. Theopista went shopping with sh. 25,000/- and bought items as shown in the table below.

...........Quantity.....Unit price (sh)..Total cost (sh)
Meat............2 kg........3000 per kg.........6,000
Sugar ..........(a) ..........2000 per kg.........4,000
Rice ............3 kg..............(b)......................3,300
Paraffin...2 ½ litres...1000 per ½ litre.....(c)
Bread...........(d).........1500 per loaf...........4,500
........................................................TOTAL...(e)

(i) Complete the table by filling in for (a) – (e).
(ii) What was her balance?

The Students are Back!

Each February CSB opens its doors for a new year. Our staff arrives a few days prior for seminars and workdays. What a pleasure it is to re-connect and talk with these Ugandan men and women about education and their role in helping to shape the future of our students’ lives. Then a few days later the real fun begins as the students arrive. Over the course of an afternoon, they pour in through the gate, carrying all of their supplies in big metal footlockers and assorted suitcases. There are usually loud screams of delight as students already moved in spot their friends and rush across the soccer field to greet them. Excitement is high, laughter is infectious and the day is full of students and staff helping each other to get settled. I love this time of the year. Our students are that wonderful combination of eager nervousness. Possibilities are endless and everyone has a fresh start.

This year we are trying something new… beginning of year exams. The first week of school is spent taking two-hour exams in each subject. In theory, this is supposed to encourage our students to continue to study over the 8 week break rather than slack off. Of course, the added benefit is that most every returning student (for the first time in school history) reported on time!

While every year CSB seems to expand, 2007 is definitely one of our turning points. We have 200 students already with 80+ S1 students ready to report in 2 weeks (40 more on the waiting list!) and 30 more A-level students just after that. Amazing that for the first time CSB will be home to over 300 young people. What a privilege it is for Kevin and I to look across the field and see clusters of students just hanging out, eager for classes to begin. Unbelievable. Here we are, in this remote corner of the world, with a real school.

Average Day for an MK

It seemed like an average day...

We were playing on the playground. Then while we were digging in the sand we discovered a giant spider. It wasn’t as big as a dinner plate, but it was larger than the bottom of a cup. It was extremely hard to see because it was the exact color of the sand and even had camouflage type spots all over its body and eight hairy legs. Even the ants didn’t realize what it was until it attacked them. It was angered that we dug it up. It charged us. We tried to catch it with a shovel but it jumped right out. We were so scared that we ran up the jungle gym. But then we got our courage up and caught it using a plastic bucket. Daddy said, “You have to kill that.” We went to get our weapons of choice. Mom got Doom (bug spray). I snatched a boomerang. My sister grabbed a sword. We sprayed Doom in the bucket and attacked it with both sword and boomerang. Then the weird thing happened. We discovered a huge sac of eggs coming out of its bottom. One of the spiders had already hatched by the time we realized what it was. We charged it with all three weapons! Hundreds of tiny spiders came out. We gasped. Nate screamed, “Buggie!” Savannah screamed, “Eggie!” We yelled. We sprayed them with Doom. Then the spiders were easy pray for our boomerang and sword. I guess it was just another average day in Uganda.

Posted by Joe
Age 8