ATS Family Visits REACH
On Monday, June 14, the Bowman Family visited Bumwalukani and REACH for Uganda. Rob Bowman, Dina Esposito,and their 3 children, Christina, 15, Mariah, 13, and Robert, 9, have been living in Africa for the last 4 years. They spent the first 2 years of their time in Africa living in Addis Abba, Ethiopia, and the most recent 2 years have been spent in Nairobi, Kenya. Rob works as an attorney for the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi and Dina works for a development NGO. The family is returning to life in the USA this summer! Christina, who graduated from ATS, will start her sophomore year of high school in the fall and Mariah will be starting 8th grade. The youngest child, Robert will rejoin the community at ATS in September.
The family certainly made and impression on REACH! They came with gifts of school supplies and sports equipment, and each class, P1 through P7, now enjoys its own basketball or soccer ball. Rob and the Bowman children held a basketball clinic for the P5 students one morning and the whole family helped to teach some of the students how to use the new computers. One of the more popular programs to use was Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing! The Bowman Family also graciously began sponsoring two students from P5.
The family met and interacted with the two boys throughout both days they were here. Christina and Mariah attended a P7 math class, read to the P7 class during their library hour and were thrilled to find an old ATS Page and Pen book in the library which included stories they had written while at ATS. Robert was pleased to create an art supplies shelf in the library with some of the materials his family brought for the school. He labeled the cabinet “Robert’s box” so the REACH children will (hopefully!) remember him when they use it.
The Bowman Family made a lasting impression on the students at REACH. We are truly grateful for the time they spent here. Since this was the first ATS family to visit REACH in Uganda, all the staff and students felt very privileged to spend time learning from the family. Each class had questions for the family about their life in America, Africa, and what it was like to go to school at ATS. It was a wonderful cultural and educational exchange. REACH thanks the family tremendously for their visit. We hope they keep in touch!