Project UNITE: Connecting North Carolina and Uganda
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When Durham Academy teacher Karl Schaefer made a return visit to Uganda in January 2004 as part of the North Carolina Zoo's Project UNITE, he excitedly watched as students from Bagodi primary school typed on the AlphaSmarts he had delivered to them the previous year.

"This one's really fast," he remarked about a young boy poking rapidly at the keyboard. "He's even faster than my students."

That scene is one of many from Project UNITE: Connecting North Carolina and Uganda. Hosted by North Carolina Now's Mitchell Lewis, the special reveals a glimpse of a three-week trip taken by four North Carolina teachers from January 21 to February 10, 2004.

One of two of the North Carolina Zoo's outreach projects in Africa, Project UNITE (Uganda and North Carolina International Teaching for the Environment) is a teacher exchange program between North Carolina and Bagodi primary school in Uganda. The zoo began the project as a way to expand their programs beyond US borders. In the process, they discovered a tremendous need for assistance in Uganda.

Teachers at Bagodi school packed as many as 50 students in the small, one-room school, equipped with nothing but their own knowledge. Children sat in long rows of tables on a dirt floor, most of the time with no books. During the 2004 trip, the four teachers dedicated the North Carolina Zoo's gift to Bagodi-a new school and library.

In exchange, the Ugandan people gave the North Carolina visitors the experience of a lifetime. Amidst the caving homes and crowded schoolrooms, the Ugandan teachers and students had a voracious curiosity and overwhelming respect for their land. Schoolchildren unashamedly touched the Caucasian visitors, the first that many of them had ever seen. They devoured the donated books and eagerly typed away at the AlphaSmarts. The North Carolina teachers experienced for themselves what they had previously only studied and taught.

"It makes it as first-hand as possible for students in North Carolina and for students in Uganda," said Laura Bost, teacher at the School of Environmental Studies in Concord. "And that's the best way to learn."

Ugandan forest rangers also led the teachers through some of Uganda's national parks. In Bwindi National Park, their guide explained a gorilla-tracking program that is helping to save the gorilla population from extinction. Teachers also explored Kibale National Forest and Queen Elizabeth National Park and witnessed the varieties of wildlife that most Americans see only in television documentaries.

As Project UNITE: Connecting North Carolina and Uganda demonstrates, the project has given the North Carolina Zoo and schools an international presence. "Uganda has made me feel small," said Bost. "It makes me realize that I have a tiny role to play in the game of life, but if I play it to the best of my ability, I can have a huge impact everywhere."

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