BOGERE ISMA

To create a meaningful impact and contribute towards ending education inequities in Uganda, you have to be passion driven.

My driving force in life is the desire to impact positively and make a difference in other people’s lives. I strongly believe that making the world a better place depend on us all and each one of us can do something no matter how little/small it is.

During my term 1 placement, I noticed one of my learner Jaffa Naiwumbwe having difficulties with writing despite repeating primary one twice and was about to give up on education. She could understand but failed to copy or write any work and writes upside down whenever she tries.

I started by changing her sitting position to the front and later started holding a one on one session with her for three weeks teaching her how to write each letter of the alphabet. She improved and even performed very well during end of term 1 assessment.

I am extremely happy and proud of the transformation and improvement Jaffa has made and her determination to continue schooling despite walking daily for a long distance, barefooted when it’s too hot or sometimes in the rain.

I managed to support her with two exercise books for term 2 but more still needs to be done to keep her at school.

Both Jaffa and her brother Bogere isma are in my class(primary one), the brother has missed school for so many days for not having books, they both don’t have school uniforms which goes for 20k each, they don’t eat anything at school and porridge is for 6k per term each, and are already extremely worried about the money for PTA,exams and other school requirements for this term and term 3.

So please join me and let’s support Jaffa and Isma to stay in school by raising 100,000/= Uganda shillings by June 30th 2022 to cater for their school uniforms, lunch/porridge, PTA,exams fees and other school requirements for term 2 and 3.

You can as well still contribute scholastic materials for my other learners (125 pupils) by donating a book, pencil or toilet papers.

Thanks, for more details reach me on or

Ending education inequities requires a collective effort and we won’t achieve education equity and equality unless we all do our parts.

That is why, “Teach for Uganda nurture leaders who are committed to advancing equitable access to quality Education in low income communities with a vision of providing every child with an opportunity to attain an equitable quality Education“.

Last term on 10th January 2022 I began my placement journey as a fellow with Teach for Uganda. It was challenging yet eye opening as I came to a realization of some the key contributing factors to teacher’s and students absenteeism like walking distances and lack of staff quarters among other factors that affect learners performance like staying at school the whole day without food or lack of scholastic materials. 

Some of the key highlights from my term one placement were among others;

Beginning of term 2, a new challenge at hand .

We began our term 2 on 9th of May 2022 with a pre term training for both fellows and teachers. It was so interesting as teachers need to constantly learn to keep up with the changes in education and I would say some of the contend like play based learning was new to me, and I appreciated collaborating teaching which has improved my teaching relations with my co teacher and also not forgetting the session on how to incorporate SDGs into our lessons and school activities. 

The mid term training has also empowered my co teacher and enabled her to embrace the concept of leadership in class. Now we have a new practice of teaching learners in groups with a leader in every group as we closely monitor the activities of each group and assist those who are way behind. 

Well aside from the pre term training, term 2 also started with a new challenge,  half of my learners of 120 pupils had no books and majority came back with old books from last term which are either full , destroyed or got too dirty on the way to and from school. 

As such we came up with the idea of keeping the learners books at school and each learner having atleast four books so as to enable them use the books separately like for English and numeracy.  And in response to that between Monday 16th and Wednesday 18th my co teacher who is also the class teacher decided to send learners back to request their parents to buy books but we have had no positive response. I have managed to pay visits to atleast 3 homes of which the parents claim they cant afford buying four books at the moment. NB. Each book of 96 pages cost 1000 Ugandan shillings and four will cost 4000 per learner. Around 1.1 USD.

Only 4 have managed to come with four books of 96 pages so far but I intend to continue reaching out to the parents.

So are you still asking yourself what roles you can play in ending education inequities in Uganda. Simply donate a pencil, a book,or 1k and together let’s give a chance to my learners to have access to quality education like other children in private schools and city schools. 

Let’s put a smile on the faces of the p.1 learners of Kaluuba Primary School. 

Feel free to reach me on

for more discussion on how you can play your part.

“Be the change that you want to see in the world,” Act Now<mark class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color" style="background-color:rgba(0,0,0,0);color:#0693e3;">.</mark>

Thanks for reading, @nancyongom

Adolescents are a large and growing segment of the world’s population. One in every two young people in the world is adolescent. During adolescence, young people begin to develop their adult identity and move towards physical, physiological and phycological maturity. Menstruation, the periodic bleeding that occurs with the shedding of the uterine mecosa is one of the changes during puberty. Once established, every mature female menstruates on an average of three to five days every month until menopause or during pregnancy.

The onset of menstruation can be challenging for young women living in low and middle income countries of which Uganda falls. Many of these young women lack resources for safely managing menstruation in homes and in schools. They lack private bathrooms with clean water and other sanitary materials and even in cases where these are available ,they still lack proper ways of disposing off the used sanitary materials.These not only make menstruation unpleasant and difficult but also leads to multiple reproductive tract infections as they resort to the available alternatives

Lack of menstrual knowledge is another great challenge. In our societies today, people lack correct information on menstruation. This has been fueled by the lack of sex education in schools and even at family level. The school curriculums do not adequately inform children about their bodies and changes they go through as they develop leading to the growing misinformation. Another could be taboos associated with menstruation . These cultural beliefs make menstruation very
uncomfortable, embarrassing and even dangerous to talk about. This lack of knowledge has resulted to the stigma women receive during this period of which have serious effects on their health, education, safety and happiness.
Investing in interventions to empower girls manage their menstruation safely, hygienically, with confidence and without stigma is not just a morally right thing to do but also makes economic sense.

Therefore, let’s take a look at some of the possible solutions to address these challenges;

First and foremost is providing information about menstruation; educating girls and ideally boys is essential in ensuring that menstruation is perceived as a normal bodily function. Education also provides girls the information and confidence they need to handle their periods safely and hygienically. This could be done by integrating a functional sex education program into the schools’ curriculum or availing self study materials like menstrual comic books.

Another could be tackling cultural taboos and stigma so as to make menstruation a friendly subject to freely discuss.
Easing the access to sanitary products is another; efforts would have to be put in place to address the lack of hygiene products. This could be done through product donations from intergovernmental or non governmental organizations and companies. Government policies can also be put in place to regulate the prices of the sanitary products so that they are affordable to the end population. Period friendly infrastructure like clean water, disposal bins and gender separate washrooms should also be put in place.

In conclusion, menstrual hygiene is really an important essence in young women and thereby need to be addressed

By: Norbert Wokorach

I am probably one of the few activists that commented at one point that most teachers in Uganda government schools are enjoying Government money for free yet continuously missing schools without valid reasons not knowing the harsh realities on the ground.

My teach for Uganda fellowship journey started way back in April 2021 with the recruitment, some bit of lockdown interruption, then four weeks virtual training on transformational leadership and a two months virtual and physical institute.

Then came 2022 when schools were finally reopened after one of the world’s longest lockdown. It took me a two day’s journey to finally reach my placement school. It was in the evening hours of 10th January when we reached only to realize that our accommodation were not sorted because its quite challenging to get good houses in the village .

I and my co fellow spent two nights sleeping in classrooms but what stopped me from making a returned journey to my comfortable apartment back home was the believe in the teach for Uganda vision that one day every child in Uganda will receive an excellent education and I knew that now more than ever the learners needed us because the long lockdown has crippled the education sector.

“Teacher’s absenteeism from a new angle”

So far, my two weeks stay at Kaluuba primary school in mayuge district has opened my eyes as to the real reasons why teachers absenteeism is so high.

Most of our teachers come from far and spend an average of 5000 to 8000 Uganda shillings daily to come to school which is quite expensive as compared to the salaries they receive. The school has no teachers quarters to accommodate teachers who come from far.

Some of our classroom blocks have also depleted and requires renovations as numbers of learners continue to increase and the good blocks remaining are not enough for the learners and no staff room as well.

“Classroom experience “

Coming to my classroom experience in the first two weeks, I have to admit that now I believe that the thematic curriculum which requires learners in the lower primary to be taught in the local language is in a way doing more harm than good and makes it even more difficult for learners in the upper primary to adapt as local language is the language of instruction hence limiting their chances of competing with the learners from private schools and other schools in the city who speak and understand English well.

I spent the two weeks interacting with my primary one learners but none of them could understand simple greetings in English. And to my surprise even most learners in the upper primary section couldn’t Express themselves in English well.

Adding onto the above, in the course of my interactions, I noticed a few of my learners fighting and pinching one another in class and my vision for the year started becoming more clearer because even in the community both parents and kids use the local language only.

And now I want “to create cooperative learning and train learners who can confidently express themselves in English at school and in the community “. I will continue to improve on this vision in this third week as I set clear goals to help me achieve it.

One step at a time the journey continues …. but now more than ever we need support from everyone, organizations, individuals and well wishers. Because teachers at my school need accommodation such that they stay near the school so that they give their fill time to the learners, and when our fallen classrooms are renovated, learners will have enough classes to accommodate them.

Thanks for reading, Act now and make a difference. NANCY ONGOM

Poem:
“From Exclusion to Inclusion- a budget that leaves no sector behind”
1. Budget- so important
It helps a country in deciding it’s priority for development
Yet in most cases given less attention by the citizens.
But when worked on, can be a crucial tool to reforming governance and monitoring government accountability.
The Uganda’s National Budget is read every year focusing on different themes
The 2019/2020 Budget was read on 13th/ June 2019.
It focused on industrialization as a key driver for job creation
Leaving us with a big question of whether that was inclusive enough?

2. Budget- so important
It helps in improving the economic growth of the country when properly allocated.
Yet in most cases priorities is given to other sectors.
How can we then be happy when infrastructures has taken 20% of the Budget and Health and Education sectors only allocated 10% or 9%.
But we should also remember that all sectors are key but some have great multiplier effect on the poor.

3. Budget-so important
It helps in providing solutions to most of the social problems that prevents our country from developing.
Increased budget allocations to social sectors like Education and Health that directly reach the poor helps in poverty eradication by increasing labour productivity and improving health.
And us remembering that a healthy Nation is a productive one- with informed decisions.

4. Budget- So Important
It helps us in achieving the change we want to see in a particular sector.
For instance, a quarter of the Budget allocated under infrastructures could help in clearing out the student’s debt when diverted to education sector.
Hence reducing Teenage pregnancies and others.
And it can also help in promoting health care and maternal health when diverted to Health sector.
Thereby being inclusive to the disadvantage group.

5. Budget-So Important
It helps in ensuring that prosperity is shared
Yet in most cases we forget that Budget allocation is the key.
In fact, it should be able to reflect the values and priorities of our nation and it’s people.
Focusing on Humanity other than things while relying on the HRBA (Human Rights Based Approach)
And together, we will be one step closer to becoming a middle class country.

6. Budget-So Important
In that through it
I want to see a nation where people work hand in hand supporting one another using the multi-sectoral
And to change the development model of our country we need a lot;
Information, education, skills, health care, opportunities for women, conservation of natural resources, livelihood and financial inclusion.
As an agent for change, I believe that adjustment I. The Education and Health sector is the Key to changing the development model of our country
Because, “an additional year of schooling increases a person’s lifetime earnings by 10% while reducing the mortality rates among mothers by 5% (According to a 2018 study by UNESCO on Education)”.

By
Nancy Ongom. Submitted 2019/2020.

For international youth day 2021, I had a chat with climate activist and food sustainability champion Kabila on why we need to transform food system.

Read the full article below…

https://wearerestless.org/2021/08/10/international-youth-day-2021-why-we-need-to-transform-food-systems/

https://wearerestless.org/2021/04/14/education-in-uganda/

Have you ever been ashamed of yourself or your looks, criticized for being too skinny or too fat, too light or too darked skinned coz I have and that’s because most of the time society makes us feel like we aren’t enough and need to change how we look. Appearance based discrimination is becoming a real and common thing because women are expected to live up to the parameters of beauty dictated by the society.

For this year’s International Women’s Day, I chose to celebrate a young woman with a unique skin tone(pattern) who is not only beautiful but bold enough to inspire us to embrace ourselves and fight for what we really want starting with changing some of the social and gender norms that cause inequality.

Achola Liz is a human rights lawyer and programs officer in charge of research and knowledge management with the Women’s Probono Initiative,a legal NGO that provides legal services to women and girls in uganda who can’t afford/access justice. She is passionate about providing platforms for the vulnerable members of the society and advocating for equality for both men and women especially when it comes to fighting societal and patriarchal norms that hinder/obstruct women and girls from living their lives and human rights. Some of these norms encompass things like right to body autonomy, career, religion,marriage etc.

With her unique and rare skin tone when asked about it, she often says that; “I’m pretty comfortable with my body. I’m perfect. The imperfections are there. People are going to see them, but I take the view that you only live once”. And always advices others that, “your skin is just some aspect of who you are and it doesn’t define you as a person”.

Her message to fellow young women on this international women’s day is to continue celebrating their beauty, be bold enough to fight for their rights and inclusiveness in every space that they take.

So just like Audrey Hepburn said, “True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul”. I too believe that a woman’s beauty is shown in the work and care she gives and the passion she shows and shouldn’t be a victim of appearance based discrimination or any form of discrimination like in terms of following her career paths.
And to every young woman who is reading this let’s continue to celebrate each other’s Beauty, Boldness and Brightness to take action.

Happy International Women’s Day.

Achola Liz and Julius Ceasar Kasujja

https://actionaid.org/opinions/2021/young-emergency-responders-harnessing-power-social-media-share-covid-19-advice

I’ve just signed ONE’s petition asking G20 representatives, the World Bank and IMF to immediately suspend debt repayments for the most vulnerable countries.

No country should be faced with the impossible choice of saving lives or making debt repayments during this pandemic.

Join me in telling world leaders to free up the resources the world’s poorest countries desperately need to fight coronavirus.
https://act.one.org/sign/debt-relief-2020-int?aktmid=tm6043124.iIbyXo&akid=a0499.xNIobd&t=5&source=conf&utm_source=email&utm_medium=e

Subject: Stand as one

I’ve just signed ONE’s petition asking governments to join a global Pandemic Response Plan to defeat coronavirus everywhere.

We must prioritise stronger healthcare systems across Africa and, stand with the most vulnerable in our communities

Add your name now!
https://act.one.org/sign/one-world-petition-africa?aktmid=tm6043130.wggylz&akid=a0499.c_4cy2&t=7&source=conf&utm_source=email&utm_medium=email

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