In Shanballymore National School, principal Michael O'Sullivan from Glenroe has a total of 81 children under his care and only a fraction of these are in his class, so it was quite the radical change when, over the summer, he was teaching 175 children in a single class in Uganda.

Michael went to Uganda for three weeks with Nurture Africa and was part of a group of teachers, nurses and skilled workers who went to a small place called Nansana. He spent the mornings teaching and then in the afternoons, they would hold workshops for teachers over there, so that they could learn some of their teaching methods.

One of the biggest things that struck him was the enormous class sizes, as he was teaching one class, which was more than twice the size of his entire school in Shanballymore. Throughout the three weeks, he taught in three schools, two in urban areas and one in a rural area.

In terms of teaching methods, he said that the Irish ways and Ugandan ways were 'worlds apart'.

"It's all written learning over there and the teachers taught through English, which some of them struggled with. What I saw was that there was no interaction - the children didn't know what they were learning. And with the sizes of the classes - they are much more managable in Ireland," he said.

Making a comparison between the two education systems, Michael said that there are a lot more supports available here with resource teachers, learning supports and SNAs, whereas in Uganda, he was the only person available to his 175 students. He added that the teachers in Uganda really appreciated the chance to learn some of their teaching methodologies.

While there, Michael said that there were many cultural differences as well. He noticed that here, children seem to take their education for granted, they sometimes treat it as a chore, whereas in Uganda, the children were really grateful that they were given the chance to learn and they really wanted to learn. They saw it as a way to learn the ways of the world, with a view to going into business and making a living in the years to come.

"The children in Ireland have everything and still they are not happy and are always looking for more," Michael said.

He added that the pace of life was very different in that people seemed to take their time and never rushed, but when he arrived first, he found himself in the Irish mindset of always rushing and hurrying.

"We walked everywhere and everyone is so much more relaxed, people are far more happy with themselves and it seems as if they have nothing - but they have everything.

"I remember a man from Uganda told me 'you Irish people have watches, but we have the time' and it really stuck with me," Michael told The Avondhu.

Before Michael could travel over to Uganda he had to raise €2,000 for Nurture Africa, the charity he went over with and he wished to thank everyone who made that fundraising target a reality and made his trip possible.

He wished to thank his family, friends, neighbours and particularly, Claire Devaney of Bright Sparks, Reidy's SuperValu, Riordan's SuperValu, Centra in Fermoy, Thornhills, O'Sullivans in Kildorrery and all of the local schools, businesses and individuals who were so generous through their support or sponsorship.

Congratulations were also extended to Catherine Herbert who won a hamper at a raffle held before Michael's departure, while the primary schools from the CBS, Shanballymore and Ballygowan all came first, second and third places in the table quiz.

Reflecting on the whole experience, Michael said that he would love to go back there again, adding that it was hard to readjust to the fast-paced environment back home.

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