Peace Corps. volunteer explains the circle of life

Students of Sharon McGlynn (back), of Livingston Park Elementary School, have been learning about her nephew, Daniel Popielarski, (back left), who is a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Uganda. He visited her North Brunswick classroom on Jan. 6 after mailing, emailing and Skyping with the class for about a year. JENNIFER AMATO NORTH BRUNSWICK — In a rural village in Kamuli, Uganda, Africa, all warthogs are called “pumbaa.”

Made famous by the Disney movie “The Lion King,” the animals are affectionately nicknamed after the lovable character.

Not so affectionately, Daniel Popielarski has been chased by one.

Popielarski is the nephew of Livingston Park Elementary teacher Sharon McGlynn, and has spent 16 months so far in the African country as a member of the Peace Corps. He visited McGlynn’s class on Jan. 6, sharing his experiences in person for the first time with the group of second-graders with whom he has communicated through email, Skype and letters during his time there.

“The cultural adjustment was probably the biggest and hardest adjustment,” he said — no electricity, no indoor plumbing, no toilets, learning new dialects and accents. “But it’s been good. There have been good times and bad times but the good times outweigh the bad.”

The 23-year-old joined the Peace Corps inAugust 2010 because he wanted to travel and volunteer.

He is only home until this week, at which time he will return to the SACCO (savings and credit cooperative) he works at, which is a small savings and loan that encourages those with very little money to save their earnings. He said he has taught the Ugandan people about certificates of deposit, interest, savings accounts, workers’ rights and staff development. He said he hopes the bank will have solar power by the time he leaves in October.

“The people I work with are really amazing. They are so smart. They teach me things and I teach them things,” he said. “The members are happy. They’re trying to get feedback. They enjoy new products.”

During a slideshow presentation, Popielarski shared photos and videos of where he lives, his home stay family and all of their children and grandchildren, his neighbors washing clothes every morning, the resident chicken, the plantains and rice that are eaten, his walk through high grass paths to get to the training center, the city of Johannesburg in South Africa, the countryside of the capital Kampala, the taxis and motorcycle taxis used for transportation, and whitewater rafting down the Nile River.

“I was very excited about the palm trees. It makes you feel like you’re on vacation,” he said.

There were pictures of a class in the PC5 school in Kamuli that McGlynn’s students corresponded with through the mail and via Skype. Her nephew thanked all of the parents in attendance for their donations that enabled him to provide 50 pairs of shoes to the children, who previously went barefoot.

“They were ecstatic,” he said.

Popielarski said that the area is pretty safe, although he does not walk around alone at night, especially since residents let their dogs loose after midnight. He has not come across any wild game animals, but has a pet lizard and was infested with dozens of grasshoppers, which his neighbor fried and ate.

He even taught the class a little Lusoga, which is the dialect the Basoga tribe speaks.

Within the classroom, McGlynn made it her mission to share the culture, language and history of Africa with her students by sharing Daniel’s experiences, teaching about animals, posting photographs, and by offering creative writing and art projects over the past year-and-a-half.

“This exchange has been one of the best, most rewarding things,” Popielarski said. “My aunt has put so much work into this.”

Student Sprihaa Singh was excited to share the knowledge she learned from Popielarski and McGlynn: Rhinoceros are solitary creatures that fight with their horns, people in Africa have to sleep with mosquito nets over their beds, and lizards eat bugs during the daytime.

“I was kind of nervous because I never met him before, except in Skyping,” she said. “He’s nice and he’s generous. … He seems like a good person to be around.”

Genesys Spann, whose mother called Popielarski “part of the family,” said the project has been “special.”

“I’m learning about a different country and getting to know whatAfrica is, and I’m learning what the animals do. It’s special because Daniel is like always nice to people … he has fun and he helps people.”

She said the celebration held by McGlynn for everyone to personally meet Popielarski “was like he was a star.”

McGlynn felt the love of all of the parents, students and administrators as well. She said having her family involved in this project “is awesome,” and she appreciates all of the efforts her nephew has made to communicate with her class.

“It’s fabulous,” she said. “This is the reason I became a teacher.”