The announcement of the death of Fr. Damian Grimes MHM on September 4th has stirred numerous reactions and a torrent of newspaper articles in Uganda, where he served as a missionary.
A sample – from the Nile Post:
And just when the early learners thought they had seen more grime from the railway implements around their new school, in came a man named Grimes.
The former boxer cum Mill Hill Missionary was posted at Namasagali College as its new headteacher in 1967 and went on to polish the grimes – including those in the heads of his students – to fashion arguably the greatest education history in Uganda.
Fr Grimes’ tact was simple: holistic approach to learning.
Where other schools beat their learners into finding the elusive X and whatnot, he espoused the virtues of cocurricular activities of music, dance, drama and sports and made cover up for all the grime.
This was the Namasagali College where, Ian Kiyingi Muddu wrote, extra-curricular regimentation was made mandatory for every student to learn how to dance, to act, and to recite a poem.
