Give a child the start to education for a year

Dear friends,

With all schools shut and the country at large under lockdown, teachers through the Ministry of Education have tried to stay on the job despite the national lockdown. They are trying to teach remotely on television, phones and on radio. This is one of the most trying moments for the rural children in Northern Uganda a region devoid of technology.

Ouma is the eldest of the three children who has to gather his other siblings at 10:00 am to listen to Teacher Peter based in Kampala just after carrying out their house chores. When I wake up, I brush my teeth, bathe and then do my assigned house chores that include fetching water at the borehole in Barogal, before getting ready for our study sessions on our small "nakiva radio" Ouma says

Ouma's mother Atiku who has two other school-going children says her biggest challenge is keeping her children engaged and at the same level as those in other areas that can attain both visual and audio lessons because her children can only attend audio lessons. "I keep telling them to read their books but it's not easy, they keep dodging and end up switching the radio to other channels, they always run to the town centers to try to attend the lessons on TV because I cannot afford one though this contradicts with the government directive of social distancing," said Atiku

Children in rural areas and informal settlements where community-owned televisions are the norm, cannot use television lessons as this is in contravention of the government orders on physical and social distancing to stop the spread of COVID -19 "There has been a great gap drawn between our children in the rural villages and those in urban centers where households have television sets and electricity "said Omona one of the market vendors in Gulu market. As the lockdown continues and with the academic calendar drawing to a close, concern continues to grow as to whether learners like Ouma through the audio lessons will grow and be competitive in comparison with the urban students in Kampala and whether the lack of information for parents and learners on how at-home learning is to be assessed.

Please support these children to continue with their education through the radio. They need solar radios to help them learn.

Please stay safe and keep the social distance

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The school launch of Agape Christian School created so much excitment in the community. It was the first of its kind. This is an area that saw the worst of the civil war in Northern Uganda. Many young men and women were abducted and forced to become child soldiers. They missed out in education. 

The school had set up a committee to oversea this function. To the parents this was an opportunity to rejoice. To rejoice for so many reasons. But most of all to thank God for this achievement and for the opportunity their children were getting. The committe had planned many activities for the day, including prayers, plays, dance, lunch and speeches. 

By 6am, the children began arrriving to the school with theor parents. There was going to be a band march. They would march along the highway then to the school. 

The music blarring from the school attracted the local community to witness this occassion. The neighbouring primary school, wanted to rejoice with Agape Christian School. They sent a team of 50 pupils and music instruments to support the school with this celebration day. They do understand the challenges of starting something new. 

This year, two children graduated from the top class of nursery section to primary level. It was amazing! They celebrated with their parents and they received gifts from both the school and their parents and relatives. 

But most of all the parents rejoiced for the opportunity, knowing that with the school foundation, theri children were set for education. Many of them understand that education is the key to success. They are now hopeful that their children will for the first time get the much needed education, that they were denied from.

Akello is the mother of one of the graduants and this is what she said, "For me, this is unbelievable, I lost out in education, becuase during the war, we remained in the internally displaced camps. I got married very young because my parents died during the war. I always wanted to be a teacher. But I am happy for my child. I pray that she will continue to learn and become a great person in our community."

Friends we invite you to rejoice with us and the parents, for none of this would have been possible without your support. There are still more children who would like to go to school but their parents are unable to send them. 

I reach out to you to sponsor these children and support the school with books and reading materials. 

We also encourage you to sign up for a monthly recurring donation today. 

Thank you for your support!