We Nurture Wonderful Human Beings

A Performance fit for a King: 

On 13^th September, the King of Tooro held the annual celebrations to honour his coronation anniversary. Sadhguru School was one of the schools invited. 

We quickly put together a drum routine for the occasion, whose performance impressed everyone present, including the King himself. Our performance was the only encore of the day and we all left appropriately humbled by his attention. We had put on a performance fit for a king. 

As Ignatius, a year 6 student put it, "I felt amazed that the king was happy with Sadhguru School. We heard that he enjoyed watching us play because of our talent.” The whole team was eager to redo the re-enact the experience to the rest of the school when they next got a chance. 

The kingdom of Tooro is a Bantu kingdom located within the borders of Uganda. The current Omukama (King) of Toro is King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV. He assumed the throne after the death of his father King Kaboyo in 1995. He was only three years old.

Coach Denis turns into an actor: 

On the final day of last term we held a ‘Special Family Workshop’ designed for our parents with teen and pre-teen children. The event marked the launch of an ongoing partnership with parents to work hand-in-hand with our teachers in co-creating a community programme to help our children transition smoothly through the turbulent years of adolescence. Emphasis was on protecting the girl child from dropping out of school due to early pregnancy. Our very own Coach Denis shares his experience: 

‘The drama sketch stood out for me because I was a part of the cast, and it was an honour to act in front of the parents. I was happy that they were entertained and that at the same time the message was passed on clearly. Parents opened up and shared their experiences, learning also from our experiences about their children, especially that girls come across different challenges within their communities and the need for intervention. Girls in the Ndali crater area frequently drop out of school due to teen pregnancies and early marriage. I played the rogue of the day - the herdsman that causes chaos and disturbs girls on their way home from school. Afterwards, playing dodge-ball, locally known as Kwepena, was the cherry on the cake. It was nice to see teachers having fun with the parents as we played in a big circle, right in the middle of the school. 

Save Soil: The global Save Soil campaign has been running for a while now and Sadhguru School too, has endeavoured to participate. At the end of the last term, the children were invited to the conscious planet event by Isha Uganda in Kampala where they stunned the audience with great performance but most importantly their commitment to the save soil movement. Students and staff also came together at the school to create a beautiful mural. A time-lapse was also created and published on YouTube. Be sure to check it out. (See the link to the video at the bottom of the blog) 

Save Soil at the Rwenzori Marathon: 

At the Rwenzori Marathon in Kasese, we had the opportunity to raise awareness of the Save Soil initiative. Natasha, a volunteer from Nairobi, Kenya describes her experience: 

‘The chilly mist welcomed us as we made our way towards the Rwenzori Marathon. It was my first time in the region, and every turn and bend left me in awe. The sheer vastness of the Rwenzori Mountains, straddling the equator, felt like something out of a movie. Upon arrival, I had only one task: to get as many people as possible to be aware of the current global soil predicament. Not the easiest task, especially since everyone was fully drenched in the marathon unfolding. But as the day progressed, we captured people’s attention. When the save soil videos were played on the big screens (at the end-point of the marathon), it felt surreal. The curiosity that built on people's faces and the way they approached us with the intent to find out more was wonderful. Every person made aware of the soil problem, is a step towards a solution.’

Killing Time:

I am Massa, a volunteer at school teaching English to years 5 and 6. I travelled the 300km from campus to Kampala with my students at the start of half term to see their very first play, "Killing Time," which took the children’s ideas on storytelling to the next level. During the performance, they were on the edge of their seats the entire time, and from among the audience it was they who gave the biggest reactions as the story unfolded. Their chuckles and comments added to the act on stage. I think it excited them the more that the play was directed by one of the school’s volunteers, Amooti Kangere, and as a result they got to meet the playwright and actors at the end. Once back at their accommodation, they spent the next three exhilarating hours re-enacting virtually every scene from memory. Daphine, a year 6 student, exclaimed how amazing it is that theatre performers use their talent and skill to tell a compelling story. For Onesmus, how just two actors could portray multiple characters on stage and make it work was shocking! “I remember them telling us how time waits for no man and is no man’s friend,” she added. The story revolves around the perceptions of rural-urban migration from a rural man’s perspective – the hope of finding a better society without corruption and struggle, only to find worse in the city of Kampala.

Full Moon festival: 

The largest and brightest full moon of the year was on 13th July, when the 'supermoon' was at its closest point to the earth. This first full moon after the summer solstice is not only annually celebrated as 'Guru Pournima' - one of the most significant dates in the yogic calendar - but is also an important moon in the ancient tradition of our region in Africa, relating to family welfare. 

To celebrate all this we started with 'darshan' and a short meditation from Sadhguru via live stream, followed by fireside dance, drumming, singing, poetry, storytelling and maize roasting; all the while basking in the rays of the moonlight and the dancing flames of the fire. We rounded the evening off with roast pumpkin, coconut curry, and cardamon date energy balls, mmm...

Links:

• Sadhguru School Save Soil time-lapse. Search for us on YouTube