This school year, Nyaka is supporting 780 students from nursery up to University level. Students are supported heavily by more than 50 teachers throughout Nyaka schools. Our teacher's ability to provide a high-quality education is life-changing and sets Nyaka schools and students apart.
We do everything we can to support our teachers. Last year, Nyaka broke ground and embarked on building teacher housing at Nyaka Vocational Secondary School! The need for teacher housing comes as Nyaka is located in a remote rural area. Housing will allow us to recruit and retain highly qualified teaching staff, increase extracurricular activities and pastoral care, allow for extra support from teachers, and save teachers travel time as many teachers must travel long distances between their home and school.
Recently, the first block of the teacher housing was completed with five two room units and three bathrooms! The final goal is to build five buildings containing seven staff housing units. Which will provide housing for a total of 22 teachers.
We can’t change the lives of children through education without our teachers!
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Our Annual Walk Against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) has returned after nearly three years! Nyaka’s Sexual and Gender-Based Violence program provides medical care, counseling, and legal advocacy to survivors of sexual violence, and organizes an annual walk to engage the community to rise against SGBV.
Since 2015, this program has helped almost 500 survivors and assisted in the prosecution of more than 100 perpetrators, some of the first successful prosecutions in southwest Uganda.
Every July, our goal is to gather thousands throughout Kanungu and surrounding areas to spread awareness. We walk to make a difference and show the growing support for ending SGBV in our communities. We want all perpetrators or potential perpetrators to know enough is enough and their actions will no longer be tolerated.
In July 2022, during the Third Annual Walk Against SGBV, more than four thousand students and community members joined the march from areas around Kanungu. High profile individuals including Her Excellency, Kate Airey, the British High Commissioner to Uganda and community leaders joined us to take a stance.
In support of the SGBV walk and program, one of Nyaka’s partners, Nakasero Hospital delivered free medical supplies for our Healing Centers. These supplies will be used in the medical care of survivors of SGBV at all four of Nyaka’s healing centers.
Thank you, Nakasero Hospital and all those that walked or supported the SGBV program!
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Since 2004, when we started our school gardens, Nyaka has worked to do its part to invest in the land surrounding Nyakagezi in southwestern Uganda. We take pride in our tree farm and many gardens located near and within our community.
The Nyaka Tree Project (started in 2019) is a key element of Nyaka’s commitment to sustainability. The project aims to preserve land, and teach forestry and land management skills to the local community. Additionally, the land is used for environmentally friendly practices, such as bee keeping and goat rearing.
We believe when we take care of the land, it will take care of us.
Many community members and grandmothers are taught and use sustainable farming practices to feed their families and bring in additional income. Ensuring the community farms in sustainable ways ensures the land will meet the needs of future generations.
Our school gardens and tree project has allowed us to successfully expand our education program to the community and within our schools. Students learn inside the classroom and outside in nature. Recently, the Farm Manager worked with students to plant vegetables and maize in the school garden. Nyaka Vocational School students go to the farm for agricultural practicals. In the photos below, students were learning about farm layout and were able to see some farm structures.
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Thank You For A Great 2021!
Although the COVID-19 pandemic persisted in 2021 and schools remained closed, we had a year full of growth and expansion. We also celebrated 20 years of changing lives! We have at least ten achievements that stand out in our minds as the best in a difficult year.
1. Our SGBV team had essential worker permits and has been able to respond to the increased reports of violence during lockdowns in the pandemic.
2. We have retained all our staff and recruited new staff members to support our expansion - Nyaka is growing.
3. Nyaka’s Education Program adapted to the extended school closures in Uganda (many students have been out of school since March 2020) by conducting teacher visits, student counseling, a mobile library service, distributing study materials, masks, soap, sanitary towels and emergency food.
4. We broke ground on staff quarters.
5. We have introduced a Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning Team at Nyaka.
6. Our Grandmother Program expanded into the new district of Rubanda in southwest Uganda. Nyaka now works with 20,000 grandmothers across 3 districts who are caring for 86,000 orphaned and vulnerable children.
7. Nyaka’s first Leadership Training took place this year in Kampala, training 24 team leaders in leadership skills.
8. Nyaka UK carried out its first fundraising campaign focused on soap, which led to the distribution of 720 bars of soap to grandmothers and children.
9. We participated in the 50th Annual TCS NYC Marathon with 20 runners. This marathon was simultaneously run in Kampala and Kanungu.
10. The Nyaka Football Club was launched.
Of course these accomplishments are not possible with you! Thank you for your ongoing support and we can't wait for another great year.
Webale!
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Meet Teacher Lydia, Nyaka primary school teacher & counselor
Lydia began working as a student teacher with Nyaka in 2003 and then as a full time teacher in 2004. Usually she works as a teacher in Nyaka Primary school, teaching students in Primary 2, 5 and 6 (equivalent to Grades 1, 4 & 5). During the pandemic, Lydia’s role has changed a little… Lydia has been working to support students who are out of school. She helps to identify suitable educational materials, print them out and distribute them to students. When government guidelines allow, she supports students in small clusters, helping them keep up with their learning. She also does a lot of counseling. Students have experienced a lot of loss during the pandemic and teacher Lydia helps them to process their feelings and feel less alone.
Quote from Lydia: “My role in the pandemic is to counsel and guide students on how to cope with the lockdown.”
Many teachers like Lydia are continuing to travel to their student's communities to deliver materials and to teach small clusters. Instead of giving up when the Nyaka bus transporting teachers to their student's villages got stuck in the mud, teachers went as far as to walk to their student's villages to distribute study materials.
Nyaka teachers will stop at nothing to continue educating our students while schools remain closed.
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