By Sam Odongo | - Administrative Volunteer Lira
Platform for Labour Action with support from GlobalGiving is implementation a project entitled “Educate 100 War and HIV/AIDS Orphaned Ugandan Girls”. This project was started as a response to the 21-year-old LRA war that left so many children orphaned and destitute. There is a pressing need for rehabilitation and empowerment of female children through education. Lira district is no longer affected by war and the communities are in rehabilitation where there is need to better the future of female children through providing girl child education.
Platform for labour Action through support from the GlobalGiving Donors is providing support for a better future to a total of 118 beneficiaries i.e. 0ne hundred eight girls of which 15 are in secondary Schools and 103 are in primary schools.
The project provides support to war affected and HIV/AIDS affected or infected orphaned girls with school fees, counseling and scholastic materials such as books, pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers and school uniform, Toilet paper and mathematic sets and sanitary pads.
Through the home monitoring visit and school monitoring visit, PLA monitors the homes where all these beneficiaries are staying. This is done through checking their conditions with their guardians during holidays, their living condition during holidays and providing psychological support during holidays.
In this quarter a number of activities were carried out that included payment of fees for term one and two, counseling, school and home visits to the beneficiaries. Below are therefore the activities carried out in-depth in the three months of April, May and June.
SCHOOL VISITS
Seventeen 17 school monitoring visits were held during the reporting period; the visits were made to Omito Primary School, Otim Tom primary school, Erute primary schoolV.H Public school, Lango Quran primary school, Sir Samuel Joe primary school, Lira Modern primary school, King James secondary school, Ireda Primary school, Lira primary school, Ojwina primary school, Adyel primary school, Railways primary school and Eliaoulet Primary School, King James primary school and Lango Quran Primary School.
The school monitoring visits are meant to check on the beneficiaries’ performance in both class and their general welfare.
The school monitoring visits gives the organization the chance to meet the beneficiaries’ teachers since in most cases they are the ones that see the girls while they at school and now their general health and situation and their performances.
The school teachers also play big roles in shaping the beneficiaries future especially when they get to understand vulnerability and the effects it can have on the children
During the school visits the beneficiaries were further monitored to see if they were attending school regularly and where they were found not to be attending their homes were visited to encourage the guardians and counsel and reprimand the parents on not engage the child in child labour and helping them to access education,. This helps the organization to follow up on these beneficiaries and ensure that they get back to school by reaching their home and share with their guardians. It also informs PLA of the challenges the beneficiaries faceboth at the schools and in their homes. These help organization to provide psychological support to beneficiaries when the challenges are identified. School monitoring visit also help organization to know beneficiaries are properly using their scholastic materials as this is given to them once in aterm.
In the past the guardians had been reported to have taken the scholastic materials away from the beneficiaries and instead they give them to their biological children. They parents have had to be counseled and encouraged to understand the situation of the children under their care and are given advice on how to improve their livelihood and support the orphans children without mistreatment.
The head teachers of the schools have appreciated the global giving support and all the donors and requested the organization to support all these children until after primary seven (P.7) and even up to the secondary or vocational studies level to either secondary or vocational schools for a good future. She said that it’s not good to only educate these children and stop in primary level.
HOLIDAYS EVENTS
GlobalGiving school going beneficiaries’ holidays’ events held at Lira office, Lira District. A total of 73 beneficiaries participated in this event and they were all female. Three were 3 pupils in primary three, 8 Pupils in primary four, 17 pupils in primary five, 26 pupils in primary six 16 pupils in primary seven and 3 in secondary school
Holidays event help in the following ways;
To rejuvenate the minds of beneficiaries through games and sports activities
To offer psychosocial support to the beneficiaries through holding general and one on one counselling sessions
To provide the beneficiaries with scholastic and living materials
They were able to receive scholastics materials, sanitary pads, participated in football, and sharing school and home experience amongst themselves.
DURING HOLIDAYS EVENT
They were able to play foootball. They were divided into two groups but group one managed to win against the other with a two goals to nil score. They appreciated PLA for organizing this kind of events. They requested the office to start taking them for competition as PLA team
They also participated in cricket and group one also won with 34 points to 10 points. Group one were very happy for winning this game since they were competing with primary six and seven and they were in primary three, four and five. They promised that they will even perform well, in class than these semi candidates and candidates they promised to do their best even while at school.
The PLa team further adviced and counseled the beneficiaries.
PLA team advised the children to respect their guardians, teachers, elder peoples and their friends for them to be successful in life. She also advised them to report immediately to the office, senior woman teacher in case anyone tries to do the un confortable touches to them. They were enlightened about the good and bad touches and were given techniques on how to avoid the bad touches. The teamappreciated ttthe chidren for being at school and she told them to always consult their teachers in class when they dont not understood any topic taught.
PLA team further plagued to ensure the children are support in school until they have graduated according to their wishes.
All the beneficiaries were able to received scholastic materials like pens, books, pencils, sanitary pad, rulers, pencils, math’s set, exercise books and toilet papersfor the second team.
They appreciated PLA and the donors for supporting them with all the necessary scholastic materials.
Akello one of the beneficiaries appreciated so much and she said that if she has not mistaken, in their entire home village, she is the first person to start using counter book. All her friends are still using exercise books and others are using 48 pages and 32 pages. She said that is God who made her to be like that and she gives Glory to God. She said that she is ready to make very great change to their home area through education since PLA is providing all the necessities for her studies
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
