Education and Life on the Other Side of Paradise Shem Kikamaze WRIT 1133: Writing and Research Professor Amber Engelson
After a year in the United States, I still always break out in a cold sweat when I realize that I am going to write a paper of more than 700 words. Coming from a Ugandan education system that
emphasized British English grammar and comprehension while requiring only one 700-word essay every term, I am still making a “slow but sure” transition into the US university writing
system. Thankfully, my transition has been eased and guided by my writing classes, which
were fun but somewhat more difficult than my electrical engineering classes, because I love crunching numbers and trying to solve problems. My interest in problem solving is why I chose
to do research on the social problem of limited education opportunities in the Ugandan slums. I did not specifically provide a solution, but I wanted to raise awareness of the problem so that the reader might ponder possible solutions based on the causes that I found.
Overall, I meant to show the correlation between education and poverty in the slums. As a for-
eign Ugandan at DU, I encounter stereotypes of not only my country, but Africa as a whole (even though as a Ugandan, I do not know how hot the Sahara is). In the US, I encounter the question “which animals do you hunt?” more than “do you hunt?” This question is meant to reinforce a
Hollywood stereotype. Uganda, just like any other place in the world including the US, has de-
veloped places and undeveloped places in the forms of slums and villages that remain in poverty due to some of the causes pointed out in the research. There are also innovative and creative people in such places whose potentials are never unlocked.
Introduction I am seated in a class in one of the wonderfully designed buildings at the University of Denver. The class is a fine work of art because the doors, chairs, and even the students—whose clothing is suave and sophisticated—look like meticulously-made sculptures. I am listening (with my eyes half-closed) to the gospel of how every person in the world in this new Global Era has many wonderful opportunities (including jobs, healthcare, and education) due to globalization. The students are nodding their heads with affirmation while the Professor explains, like the Shepherd leading his flock, that “the Atlantic Ocean is no longer described as an ocean but rather as a pond.” “Is all this true?,” I ask myself. This ques44
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tion has led me to research what happens on the other side of this “pond.” Does everyone on the other side of paradise have equal opportunities? Does everyone on the other side have a good education? If not, what are the causes, and how do people cope with life? I know some of the answers to these questions because I am from Uganda, but I wanted to conduct more formal research by surveying some respondents who live in the Ugandan slums. My research is on how people attain education in the areas commonly known in Uganda as “the slums.” I focused on education because I believe it opens up someone to numerous technical