HKMU's first service-learning trip to Africa – A group of students who won the Service-Learning Challenge: Make a Difference in your Community! 2023/2024 travelled to Uganda, Africa, at the end of July for a 14-day trip.

During the trip, HKMU students visited two primary schools and one secondary school to provide voluntary teaching and support the “Keep a Girl to School” team. They served a total of 1,670 students and distributed 4,168 sets of sanitary products to help female students stay in school.

The students planned and conducted all teaching activities, including designing content and preparing materials. Apart from activities centered around Hong Kong culture, students also shared remarkable stories of women in Hong Kong to inspire local female students to build confidence.

In addition to voluntary teaching, HKMU students also carried out a renovation project at a local primary school in the slums. The school suffers from flooding and crumbling walls. To improve the learning environment, the students fundraised for renovations before leaving and spent three days painting the school.

2023/24年都大首個服務學習比賽共有11隊學生設計並實踐不同領域的社會服務工作。其中的得獎學生代表於2024年7月出發前往非洲烏干達進行十四日服務學習之旅。

是次旅程中，學生共到訪了兩所小學和一所中學，為當地學校提供義教並協助「讓女孩上學去」團隊，他們共服務了1,670名學生，並分發了4,168套衛生用品，讓當地女學生可以繼續上學。

參與的學生代表需要親自策劃服務圑的內容，包括設計課程及準備義教教材。課程内容除了提及香港的習俗文化外，學生更分享了香港女性的傑出故事，以激勵當地女學生建立信心。

除了義教外，學生還為受到洪水侵襲並有牆壁脫落問題的貧民窟小學進行了翻新工程。學生在出發前先進行了維修工程的籌款，其後更在當地用了三天的時間親歷親為進行翻新。

“I am impressed by how self-reliant the children are; they carry heavy items, walk long distances to school, and help care for younger siblings without prompting.”

In Uganda, I saw the essential nature of humanity. My curiosity about Africa led me to join this service-learning programme. At that time, my impression of Africa was limited to endless grasslands, animal migrations, circumcision, and its status as the birthplace of humanity.

During the briefing, I learned that Africa has 54 countries, and Uganda alone has over 60 tribes. I was worried about language barriers since my teammates, and I would run games in schools. However, once we arrived, I found that many locals spoke fluent English and enjoyed joking, which made me feel more at ease. Each tribe has its own dialect, culture, and traditions, but English has been commonly used since the British colonized Uganda.

We visited various primary and secondary schools, where classes were mainly taught in English. The walls had biology posters covering topics like the heart’s structure and the digestive system, which were at a high school level but taught in middle school. This shows that education is highly valued in Uganda, regardless of the school’s resources.

Unfortunately, some students come from low-income families. While Uganda offers twelve years of free education, many schools require uniforms and textbooks, making it difficult for some students to attend. I was impressed by how self-reliant the children are; they carry heavy items, walk long distances to school, and help care for younger siblings without prompting. They are very observant, like when we visited a single mother in a slum, and her young children helped her make milk powder.

Unlike in Hong Kong, where basic needs are easily met, and people often pursue luxury and dreams, the locals focus on earning money to support their families. Pursuing dreams can feel like a luxury everywhere, but developed areas offer more opportunities to achieve them. Thankfully, Watoto allows local children to study and travel abroad to broaden their horizons. I hope they can find their dreams in the future.