Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in June 2012 undergraduate Shea Houlihan interviewed Susan Acaa, a school nurse and matron at OCER. In this interview, she discusses her personal background and role at OCER and her thoughts on how OCER fits into the larger dynamics of violence and peacebuilding in northern Uganda.

Can you tell me about your journey to your present position, and how you were inspired to do the work that you do? How long have you been in northern Uganda?

I had the advertisement that OCER needed a nurse. I applied, and they called me for interview. I should start working part-time, twice a week, for a full year. We saw that it wasn’t of profit to come only twice a week—it was difficult to follow up on a condition. Now that I am here full-time, I can make sure the child has full treatment. If the child doesn’t improve, it gives a good indication of what is really wrong.

Sometimes a child has psychological problems. Two months ago they gave me a position of matron. As a matron, you learn more about the child—how to handle him or her. You can’t generalize with children because they have individual behavior and needs. That will also help me when I give medical treatment.

Describe to me the state of education in this community, OCER, from your point of view. What are the positive aspects? What are the challenges?

It’s very easy to make acquisitions for medicine—I give [my list] to administrators and they give me the jobs. Access to medicine is not difficult.

The challenges are there. You get children who don’t want to take medicine. I discovered that the medical history of many children is often wrong. You find it very difficult to treat children when you don’t know what is wrong—particularly chronic conditions. So we started a general examination. Last week, medical staff examined close to 230 students.

Another challenge is that sometimes you need to go out to take a child to a hospital, and it is more than 8 kilometers away. We have a clinical officer for now, however, and as we grow we hope to have more medical staff.

I understand that many students, if not all students, at OCER have been directly or indirectly affected by two decades of violence. Does this affect your practice here, and if so, how?

That’s why I said some children have psychological problems. When you go deep into this background of a child, often you find that he or she is not really sick—he or she has been neglected or has been affected by the war. You also encounter strange behavior sometimes, and in investigating, you find that this or that child lived in the bush, had their family abducted, or have seen people being killed. Sometimes they see visions. Through joint counseling and prayer, we have found that some are improving.

As far as counseling goes, I am the counselor. I see about 35 children a day—many of them have been affected by war, but many of them have family problems, or are just growing up and are looking for direction. With so many cases, sometimes I have to reschedule sessions or refer them to other sisters and staff. We always give them the option to go to other staff. Some of them are very difficult: it was very severe. Others have just lost direction. I tell them, “Your education is not for you; it’s for the world. You are educated here, but you are sent afar. Look at Father Tony [Wach]—he went to school, but not for himself. He came here to help. So you go to school to help your family and your nation outside.”

We also have offers from Caritas to help counsel. Sometimes we call in an outside group to talk to these children, generally in group counseling sessions. In previous terms we’ve had teams from Health A Lot and Youth Alive, and the other year we had a student from Gulu University. We are in touch with the Straight Talk Foundation.

Are you ever worried, for yourself and the students, about violence spilling over from the Democratic Republic of the Congo or South Sudan?

I can’t say they will come back because according to the government, they will never come back. But you still find these people moving up and down in Congo. We still have that fear that they will come back to Uganda. The children also have that fear, especially those who have been affected. We tell them the security from the government is tight. We hope and pray for protection from God. But that fear is everywhere.

What does OCER offer that other schools in northern Uganda cannot offer? What do you think educators elsewhere in Uganda can learn from OCER’s example?

Compared to schools that I’ve been to, and the schools where my children have been, OCER is much better. The teachers are very involved in putting difficult children on the right track. Remember that most children here are from poor areas, and they have been affected by war. The staff tries to mold the child into a good citizen. Everyone has their eye on the child—you don’t have that elsewhere. In other places, students don’t have to go to class, they don’t have to wear their full uniform. There is no one looking out for them. Here, at night we at least have an adult get up to make sure they are safe, that the gates are locked, and that the children are asleep.

The good thing here is that there is a tendency towards family. You greet staff like brothers and sisters. Where the hand of your friend cannot reach, you reach for them.

Broadly speaking, what do you think is the role of education in peacebuilding and reconstruction?

That one is not easy to talk about. As I see it, education level in the north is really substandard. They try to give free education, but achievement in class is very low. For OCER, that is why the educational background of children in P7 is very poor. When they come here, they have this attitude of “I don’t care.” That’s why I appreciate the teachers so much. In most schools, especially primary schools, the teacher is not looking after the children so much.

What are your hopes for the children here?

I know this school will be one of the best schools in Gulu. Having a family setting is very good. Nobody is jealous of other’s knowledge—gives an impact to the school. My dream is that OCER will bring so many good citizens.

People are already starting to talk about OCER—they see that students here have a strange mix of intelligence and good behavior. Outsiders know this is a different school, and everyone is fighting to get in.

Based on your work as a caregiver, what do you wish to see in OCER for the future?

I know the students will increase in number. This place needs to expand, and its medical facilities and staff need to expand, too. We need a qualified doctor attached here, at least to watch over the difficult cases. I don’t have the knowledge of a doctor—he has the training and experience.

In the future, we also need a separate admission room for the boys and girls. Overnight, there is no place for the nurse to sleep if both beds are taken. Also, it is difficult to move a patient who cannot sleep if both beds are taken. [We also need] things for moving a patient when patient is immobile. But we will have these things as we grow.