Newsflash

Denis of Da Twinz interviews father Damien Grimes, former headmaster of Namasagali College and Mill Hill Missionary in Uganda for over 40 years.

Denis: Father, what were the most difficult times you encountered during your 40 year stay in Uganda?

Father Grimes: I guess most people would assume that during the Idi Amin regime, all foreigners including myself had a rough time living in Uganda. Of course, those years were extremely difficult. I was Headmaster of a college and we were affected by shortages in food supplies, stationary, gasoline and the basic necessities that a boarding school needs to operate. Since Namasagali was situated in a remote area, one would assume that my students’ security was in jeopardy though this wasn’t the case.

During my earlier years in the country, I was a teacher at Namilyango College and was very active in the sport of boxing. Some of my students were members of the Uganda national boxing team and Amin had previously been the Light Heavy Weight champion of Uganda. As the then Secretary of ‘The Uganda Amateur Boxing Association’, I got to invite him to competitions and we occasionally met at cocktail parties. Numerous people thought that I was a close associate of Amin, and this helped me survive through those times. During my encounters with Amin, he always asked me about boxing. Actually, he assisted in organising many boxing tournaments, like the All African Boxing Tournament in 1976. Despite all this, he had the charisma to kill yet he was also very warm and charming. I think he was a bit like Hitler. Having said all that, there were harder times especially during Obote II and Lutwa’s regime. Under Amin, the soldiers were disciplined unlike Lutwa’s soldiers who were completely out of control.

Denis: Father, how come it was during such times that you attained most fame?

Father Grimes: During this period, parents felt safe and secure to take their children to schools located in the countryside, including Namasagali College. In addition at the time, A levels were rare and Namasagali was one of the pioneers of this stage, so students flocked from all over the country.

Denis: How do you feel that the standards you set, are now being implemented by many schools in Uganda?

Father Grimes: You see, Namasagali in many ways was referred to as ‘the prototype of a mushroom school’. As mentioned before, we were one of the pioneers of A levels and our education system was very different from any Ugandan school. We developed a system that not only focused on the students’ mental learning capacity, but also on their emotional, physical and cultural competences. We established a series of extra curricular activities that included dance, drama, sports and other hobbies. This was aimed at stimulating students’ individual growth. Today, I believe that some of my students have gone on to become teachers and headmasters of various schools around the country. They have taken with them things that they learnt from Namasagali and carried on its legacy.

Denis: At this point in your life, are you content and happy that your legacy is being carried on?
Father Grimes; To a great extent I would say that I am pleased and proud of many of my former students. I am still in very close contact with many of them through text messages and e-mail. I also travel to Uganda and Geneva every year for ‘Namasagali Student Conventions’. This wasn’t something that I dreamt would happen but as I usually say “if one does what lies at hand, things turn out well”.