Powerlessness

How can anyone expect a culture or system to change when there is so much powerlessness? My school is going through a really rough time right now, trying to start a library before I go and with regular daily activities. There is a huge amount of tension between most of the teachers and the Head Teacher (principal), which has lead to a decrease in instruction and overall morale. At first I was not sure what to think or whose side to be on, so I just stayed out of it and did not get involved. However as time went on, I began to notice that my Head Teacher was simply not doing what he should be doing as the leader of the school; in fact as a leader he is just terrible.

Looking back there has always been a disconnect between the two groups. Rather than observing teachers in class or actually guiding them through lesson planning and teaching methods, he would just berate them in staff meetings. Although he was very quick to call out teachers who consistently come late (which is a very valid problem), he himself often comes late to school. The infrastructure is in ruins: water tanks unused, no students eat lunch at school, half the students sit on concrete floors without desks, etc. The final straw seems to be that he has refused to pay the cook her balance for preparing meals for teachers so now no teachers are able to take food all day either, unless they walk and pay a good amount for it at the trading center. Rather than figuring out a way to deal with the problem, he has started avoiding teachers and will not hold a staff meeting. The school receives government funding twice a year to maintain the running of the school, but ask any teacher if they have seen any of that money and they will just look away.

I understand how corruption works in Uganda. Some money comes for a specific purpose and whoever is in charge skims a little off the top for his/her pocket. You can still do your job while doing that and don't have to completely alienate and belittle the people below you. I really empathize with my teachers and feel like they are being treated unjustly. I don't blame them for not wanting to go to class and teach, they don't eat all day and no one is validating or appreciating their hard work. So ultimately the students lose because they are not receiving their education. I asked the teachers if they could report what is going on to someone at the district level, but they came right out and said they are too cowardly to do that. I was taken aback, so I asked for an explanation. They informed me that if the Head Teacher found out he could have them transferred to another district, completely uprooting them from their homes and families. How is that possible? Because the whole education department is run poorly with corruption so the next person in charge is much more likely to side with the Head Teacher than with the teaching staff. In systems and situations like that, what can individuals do to better their lives?

I am confidant that my presence at school has had a somehow positive impact. The fence prevents stealing and defecation (yes I said it, people used to come and defecate in the school), workshops have given teachers some new teaching methods, and just simple conversation has opened their minds to life in America. However, after two years I really doubt whether international aid can really do much in societies with so many structural roadblocks--not just challenges but straight up blocks to development by itself. I do believe in the peace corps model, I really do. But perhaps we should only be in countries where the people, those in power and those not, want to improve their society and actively work towards development. Unfortunately the perspective and norm in Uganda is what can outsiders do for me, in fact it is their responsibility to do it. That is not the mindset of a nation or a people ready to develop; of course not everyone here is like that, but it is the majority. However, that is why most of my success has come from working with the youth. It is a gamble, but as a group they are very ready for a change and see the pitfalls that are present in their nation. I still have hope and know it is possible from all the positive experiences and beauty I have seen here. People genuinely care about one another and communities are strong, resources are in plenty, and there is an amazing resliency like nothing I have ever seen.