A guest speaker shared the emergence, survival, and way of life of the people in Uganda with students in the English as a Second Language (ESL) 3 class at Bridgewater-Raeitan High School on Friday, January 23.
Dr. Jo-Ann Hoffman presented on the country of Uganda, which is located in East Africa, to the ESL 3 students in Jaime Bandel Vasquez's class in Bridgewater-Raritan High School's 700 building.
Dr. Hoffman is a Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University and a volunteer for REACH for Uganda, a non-profit organization based in the United States that helps children in rural Uganda reach their full potential.
Mx. Bandel Vasquez explained the session with her guest.
"Dr. Jo-Ann Hoffman presented on building the first library in the northwest of Uganda, in addition to a school and medical clinic. She explained that in 2008, there were only four high schools in the entire country," Mx. Bandel Vasquez said. "Through her work with REACH for Uganda, another high school is currently being built! The growing access to education, particularly for young girls, is opening a world of possibilities for them.
"We discussed the creative solutions the people of Uganda find in taking care of hygiene and health despite having very little water. Dr. Hoffman also showed the artistry of Ugandan children - how they use gum wrappers to make beads for jewelry and donated clothing scraps to make patchwork aprons,' Mx. Bandel Vasquez stated.
Mx. Bandel Vasquez explained that Dr. Hoffman's visit coincided with the current studies in her class.
"This presentation was to supplement what was learned in ESL 3's novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park, a novel about the struggles of war, education, and water access as told through two South Sudanese young people. We are very grateful to Dr. Hoffman for imparting her wisdom to us!"