In our Padri Vjeko VTC secondary vocational school we place great importance on practical work and acquiring knowledge in real-life situations. This is because we believe that it is precisely this type of learning that enables further growth of theoretical knowledge gained in classrooms and workshops. That way, students receive truly comprehensive and relevant knowledge and – upon graduating from our school – are ready to fearlessly engage in the professions for which they have been preparing.

As we search for such opportunities for our students, we don’t hesitate to go beyond the confines of Kivumu, our village, to every part of the country and even beyond the boundaries of Rwanda!

And so, it happened just recently, that a group of our students spent some time learning in neighbouring Uganda. You see, thanks to the courtesy and kindness of our friend Mary Moran, a group of eleven of our students from the second year of the building section, together with Emanuel, their teacher, set out for Uganda. As a part of the Saint Francis Project, they worked there on the construction of a big school and a future university complex in the city of Mbarara.

Our students’ and their teacher’s engagement lasted for four weeks, and during that time they actively participated in a very real and grand project; thus having a chance to gain precious experience and to learn the secrets of their trade from colleagues with whom they worked side by side.

It is also important to note that at the same time, a group of trained and experienced builders from the Republic of Ireland also worked on the project, and our students had the wonderful opportunity to learn from them as well. They were fortunate to be able to acquire knowledge about the latest methods and techniques in their profession, which are nowadays applied in the construction business in Western Europe.

Also, apart from obtaining knowledge and experience, this trip had another purpose. For the first time, our boys from Kivumu, most of whom had never even left their village, had the opportunity to travel abroad - to get to know a new culture and a different way of life, to make new friends, to hang out with and exchange both professional and life experiences with people from different parts of the world.

And our future builders managed and behaved very well! We can say that they represented their school, their village of Kivumu and their country in the best light! And you should have seen them when they returned: their faces bursting with satisfaction, impatient to tell their friends about all they had learned and seen in Uganda. Our boys came back from their Ugandan practicum equipped with new skills and fuller hearts!

Translated by Branimir Mlakić
Edited by Valerie Kae Ken

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