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Using ICT and Library research, find out the roles performed by East Africans in World War I, and present your findings to the class.
Based on information from the media, like radio, television, and newspapers provided by your teacher, discuss the reasons why the Uganda People’s Defense Forces was deployed in Somalia. Do you support this act by the UPDF?
Give reasons for your answer. Compare the role of the UPDF in Somalia to the role played by East Africans in World War
Likely Answers
Roles performed by East Africans in World War I:
- Carried supplies and ammunition
- Constructed camps
- Dug trenches
- They acted as war shields; some served as fighter pilots, tank operators, and officers
- Responses will depend on individual learners.
- Comparing the roles played:
- Both the UPDF and the East Africans were aiming at bringing peace to the people.
- In all, peace was disrupted by some selfish groups of people for example, in World War I the Germans were behind its outbreak.
- In both, innocent people lost their lives. So, the major aim of Africans and UPDF was to protect the civilians.
Impact of World War I on East Africa
World War I had both positive and negative effects on East Africans:
The people of East Africa were exposed to the outside world; for example, some were sent to fight in North Africa. This helped in “opening their eyes and minds” politically because they fought alongside other colonized people, for example, Asians.
They shared ideas and promised to help each other during their struggle for independence. This sharpened the African nationalistic spirit.
Africans were promised free land and jobs. Immediately after the war, they started demanding these promised items. So, when they did not receive them, they formed movements, like the Mau-Mau in Kenya to demand their independence.
The war severely disrupted the economic development of the East African colonies. Most of the energetic men were taken to fight for the Europeans, and many were killed in the war. This interfered with economic activities, like agriculture and trade.
Many lives were lost during World War I. Africans were used as war shields of the Europeans on the battlefield. They were always at the front line.
This meant that whenever the enemy attacked, Africans were always the first to be killed. Many Africans became permanently disabled. The Africans faced great misery and suffering. Families were destabilized,
Military techniques
Rwanda and Burundi were transferred to Belgium. All East African countries were put under the control of Britain, and a number of reforms were instituted by the British administration.
The teacher uses a debate to achieve the objectives of this lesson. Organize the class into two groups to conduct a debate session on the motion: ‘’ World War 1 Caused More Harm than Good on Africans”. Or any other motion that can bring out the impact of World War I.
Impact of World War I on East Africa (Time: 80minutes)
- Hold a debate about the impact of World War I on East Africa.
- Write down the key points in World War I in your reflective journal.
- Using ICT and library research, advise how World War 1 could have been avoided. Present your findings to the rest of the class members.
Likely Answers
- Suggestive answers
- Suggestive answers
- How World War I could have been avoided:
- Countries should have come together to talk about the conflict.
- Listening carefully to each other’s demands.
- Compromising where necessary.
- Guiding and counseling countries that were gearing up for the war.
World War I ended with the signing of the Versailles Treaty in 1919, and that brought together all the World Super Powers. This was sealed with the formation of the League of Nations, mandated to prevent any other world conflict or war on a worldwide scale.
ICT Activity
Let learners watch a movie, or a documentary, about World War I to get a deeper understanding of this chapter. Summarise the key issues in this chapter. Ask them to create a Word document on the desktop, and type the key issues they have identified. Print out a hard copy and present it to you.
Sample Activity of Integration
A story of Lazaro Omoding about World War I One day, in 1914, Omoding, only about 18 years old then, and his peers in Koyille village, awoke to news of a search by the clan chiefs for the village’s strong and healthy young men. Lazaro had everything that they were looking for. He was such a
large fellow who would split firewood with ease and later sprint through the village as swiftly as a hunter. He and several other youths were told that they had been selected, so they had to leave for Nairobi.
A few weeks later, the much-awaited day came and they set out on foot from the village to a train station in Kumi, about 30 kilometers away. “We were taken to Tororo like a bunch of animals, and tied onto the trains with ropes because it was the only way to ensure we did not fall off,” he explains. They got to Tororo and were met by huge, tough-looking African men and a few white men.
Holding an imaginary rifle, he demonstrates how they were taught to shoot. His body ached every night until it adjusted to the training. “After that, we were taken to Nairobi, still by train, but this time round we knew what to expect,” he says.
In Kenya, they marched to a forest for another intensive training session, but this time round, it was only shorter. It involved chopping heavy wood and mingling mountains of posho. It turned out he was among the few selected to cook for the army.
“We spent a few months in Nairobi”. “I remember the first battle we had, we attacked the Germans and managed to surprise them! Do you know that even women fought among us? he exclaims!. As he says this, he draws a circle on the ground and illustrates how they surrounded the Germans.
The order shot to kill”, so I lost some of my friends and brothers in that war. It was not easy. I remember my brother Etepu,” then his voice fades off as the pain for the memory overwhelms him. Adapted from the New Vision newspaper of 8th July 2013
Instructions
- If you were in Mr. Omoding’s position, would you have willingly participated in World War I? Why or why not?
- According to Lazaro Omoding, he lost a number of friends during World War I. Suggest other effects of a recent war in your community or any other community you know about.
- What lessons do you learn from the participation of East Africans in World War I?
This activity is intended to evaluate the learners’ ability to solve a given problem using all the knowledge and skills so far from this chapter. Encourage the learners to be creative and to use all the resources at their disposal.
The expected product is a write-up by each of the learners. Evaluate the learners’ performance as follows:
ASSESSMENT GRID
| Out put | Basis of Evaluation | C1 Relevance | C 2 Accuracy | C 3 Coherence | Excellence |
| Clear explanations on the reasons for participating or not participating | Understanding of the impact of World Wars on East Africa | Output | A learner will earn 3/3 if he/she answers yes/ no and gives 3 reasons to support his/her answer. A learner will earn 2/3 if he/ she mentions 2 reasons supporting the answer. A learner will earn 1/3 if he/ she mentions 1 reason to support his/her answer. /3 | A learner will earn 3/3 if he/ she mentions 3 reasons with logical explanations. A learner will earn 2/3 if he/ she mentions 2 reasons with logical explanations. A learner will earn 1/3 if he/she mentions 1 reason with a logical explanation. /3 | A learner will earn 3/3 if he/she mentions 3 correct reasons with clear explanations. A learner will earn 2/3 if he/she mentions 2 correct reasons with clear explanations. A learner will earn 1/3 if he/she mentions 1 reason with a clear explanation. /3 |
| A list of effects of a recent community conflict | A learner earns 3/3 if he/she mentions 5 relevant effects of a recent war A learner earns 2/3 if he/she mentions 3 relevant effects of a recent war. A learner earns 1/3 if he/she mentions 1 effect of a recent war. /3 | A learner who mentions 5 correct effects with clear explanations he/ she earns 3/3 A learner who mentions 3 correct effects with clear explanations earns 2/3. A learner who mentions 1 correct effect with a clear explanation earns 1/3. /3 | If the learner mentions 5 effects with logical explanations, he/she earns 3/3. If the learner mentions 3 effects with logical explanations, he/she earns 2/3 marks. A learner will earn 1/3 if he/she mentions 1 effect with a logical explanation. /3 |
THANKS YOU
THANKS YOU