Empower Child Domestic Workers Through Education

Platform for labour action with support from GlobalGiving partners is providing support for a better future to 53 girls currently in Lira district, 6 children are in primary four, 8 are in primary five, 17 are in primary six, 22 are in primary seven. The project provides support to war and HIV/AIDS orphaned girls who are in a child headed family and those girls living with HIV/AIDS positive status with school fees and Lunch; the home and school monitoring visits.  PLA staff monitor the homes where all these beneficiaries are staying. This is done through monitoring their conditions with their guardians their living conditions during holidays and providing psychological support during holidays.

In this quarter a number of activities were carried out that included; payment of school fees for term one, counseling, school visits to the beneficiaries. Below are therefore the activities carried out in-depth in the three months of January, February and March. 2018

SCHOOL VISITS

There were a number of 10 school monitoring visits that were held in the quarter; the visits were made to Lira Primary school, King James Primary School, Omito Primary School, Ireda Primary School, Otim Tom Primary School, V.H Public School, Ober Primary School, Lira Model Primary School, Adyel Primary School and Ojwina Primary School

The school monitoring visits enable the organization to understand the girls and their issues while at school and they also provide an opportunity to check on the beneficiaries’ performance in class and to see their behaviors while in class and their response to the school environment.

The school monitoring visits further enable the organization staff to get a chance to meet the beneficiary’s teachers as the teachers spend a lot of time with the girls and play a major role in their developments and advancement.

 The school teachers with knowledge of the girls’ vulnerabilities they are able to support them in their development.

During the school visits the beneficiaries are also monitored to see if they are going to school daily as some of their class teacher claims that most of them do not comes to school daily. 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 why they are not going to school in time. It also helps organization to share with beneficiaries the challenges they facing from both schools and their home. These help organization to provide psychological support to beneficiaries when the challenges are I identified. School monitoring visit also help organization to know beneficiaries are properly using their scholastic materials as this is given to them once in a year.

During school monitoring visit, we found out that some guardian do get all the scholastic materials which we give our beneficiaries and they give to their biological children.

We also found the most of our beneficiaries are reporting to school very late especially in the morning. The girls were being made to do heavy work at their homes including making tea for the children before they can go to schools and taking their guardians children to school before they can themselves go to school, washing clothes for their guardians children, sweeping compound, mopping house, at the end of all these, they end up leaving for school late and they reach school very late. The parents were talked to and they pledged to support the girls attain their right to education and enable them develop to their optimal potential.

PERFORMANCE

In 2017, PLA presented 17 candidates in primary seven and all these candidates qualified to join secondary Education though they did not join secondary education since the fund was not enough to pay their school fees. All these children are back on the street selling bananas, Ovacados, working in Hotels, to look for survival. They are at a very high risk of sexual exploitation, Child Labour.

 Out of all these 17 pupils who completed secondary education in 2017, 6 got first grade, 6 got second grade, 4 got second grade and 1 got fourth grade.

COUNSELLING SESSIONS

All the beneficiaries were able to get counseling together with their guardian from Administrative Associate during this quarters from their schools There were a number of 53 beneficiaries who were able to get counseling with their guidance.

Theya re being advised to concentrate in class and they should forget about the difficulties they are experiencing from home

They were also advised to respect their teachers, guardians and their friends.

They were also advised not to join bad groups which will end up making them not to achieve towards their good future. They will end up being affected with HIV/AIDS or even they will get pregnant at early age and they end up experiencing more problems more than the way they are.  

CASESTORY FOR NAMAGANDA

Namaganda isa 15 year old domestic worker who was brought from Nakasongola to work as a domestic worker in Kampala at an agreed amount of 50,000/= per month. During Justine’s course of employment, the employer realized that she was pregnant and therefore she was facilitated with tablets to abort the pregnancy which resulted into complications.

The incident was brought to the notice of the neighbors who reported to police and this led to the arrest of Namaganda’s employer who was later released on police bond. PLA was also notified about the case by one of the trained taskforce members (these are trained community volunteers who are tasked with reporting child labour incidents in their communities) and thus PLA acted by withdrawing Namaganda from the employer’s home and took her to hospital for medical attention. Upon her recovery, Namaganda was enrolled at Nile Vocational Institute to undertake a vocational course in hairdressing and was awarded a certificate of completion in December 2017. Namaganda is currently working in a saloon in Kamuli district in Buyende village where she earns 50,000/= as her monthly wages.

• Above: Namaganda after the completion of her cours (DOCX)