Irene Ocwee Trends, the Ugandan teacher extraordinaire

This week on The Sound Kitchen you'll hear the answer to the question about the Hilder Nursery and Primary School. You'll take a tour of a "GreenLab" house in Dallas, Texas, hear "Ollia's Happy Moment” and “Music from Erwan” -  and of course, there's the new quiz question, too. Just click on the “Audio” arrow above and enjoy! 

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll hear the winner's names announced and the week's quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you've grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your musical requests, so get them in! Send your musical requests to [email protected]  Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site, with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts which will leave you hungry for more.

There's Paris Perspective, Africa Calling, Spotlight on France, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have a bilingual series - an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service.  Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our excellent staff of journalists. You never know what we'll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website and click on the three horizontal bars on the top right, choose “Listen to RFI / Podcasts”, and you've got 'em ! You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show. 

Teachers, take note!  I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [email protected]  If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below. 

Another idea for your students: My beloved music teacher from St Edward's University in Austin, Texas, Dr Gerald Muller, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English - that's how I worked on my French, reading books which were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it's a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald's free books, click here. 

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([email protected]) from our Listener Relations department in all your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([email protected]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. N.B.: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

And don't forget, there is a Facebook page just for you, the independent RFI English Clubs. Only members of RFI English Clubs can belong to this group page, so when you apply to join, be sure you include the name of your RFI Club and your membership number. Everyone can look at it, but only members of the group can post on it. If you haven't yet asked to join the group, and you are a member of an independent, officially recognized RFI English club, go to the Facebook link above, and fill out the questionnaire !!!!! (if you do not answer the questions, I click “decline”).

There's a Facebook page for members of the general RFI Listeners Club, too. Just click on the link above and fill out the questionnaire, and you can connect with your fellow Club members around the world. Be sure you include your RFI Listeners Club membership number (most of them begin with an A, followed by a number) in the questionnaire, or I will have to click “Decline”, which I don't like to do!

This week's quiz: On 26 March, I asked you a question about an article written by my colleague Laura Angela Bagnetto, which also was a feature on her excellent bi-monthly podcast Africa Calling – which I know you all listen to regularly.

Laura Angela's story was about a marvelously dedicated teacher in Uganda, Irene Ocwee Trends, who during the pandemic lockdown took into her very own family home 30 children. The boys and girls – from 13 to 17 years old - were in the final year of her primary school, and Trends wanted them to be able to continue their schooling uninterrupted. And the hard work paid off … all her students passed Uganda's national exams and will go on to secondary school. Teachers. What heroes!

Uganda ranks schools on how well students at any particular school do on their national exams. My question to you was: after Ocwee Trends' students took their national exams and passed with flying colors, where did Uganda rank the Hilder Nursery and Primary School in their list of schools?

The answer is, as Laura Angela wrote: “Her final year students took their national exams, and Hilder Nursery and Primary school was named the 20^th top school in the whole country after the results were announced.”

The winners are: M. N. Sentu, who's a member of the RFI Amour Fan Club in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, and Ms. Fatematuj Zahra, who serves as the co-secretary of the Shetu RFI Listeners Club in Naogaon, Bangladesh. Also on the list this week are RFI Club members Jean-Maurice Devault from Montreal, Canada and Ms. Dipita Chakrabarty from New Delhi, India. Last but not least, RFI English listener Aiman Shad from Bogura, Bangladesh.

Congratulations winners!
Here's the music you heard on this week's program: “Take the A Train” by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, performed by Duke Ellington and his orchestra; “Dance of the Nursemaids” from the ballet Petrushka by Igor Stravinsky, performed by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, and “Agondé” from Os Tincoãs.  

Do you have a musical request? Send it to [email protected]

This week's question ... You have to listen to the show to participate. After you've listened to the show, refer to David Coffey's article“EU fines against Poland's 'rule of law' dispute surpass €160m” to help you find the answers.

You have until 30 May to enter this week's quiz; the winners will be announced on the 4 June podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:
[email protected]
or
Susan Owensby
RFI – The Sound Kitchen
80, rue Camille Desmoulins
92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux
France
or
By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country's international access code, or “ + ”, then  33 6 31 12 96 82. Don't forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or to form your own official RFI Club, click here.