International Day of the African Child celebrations!

Yesterday marked the International Day of the African Child, and all across Africa, vibrant celebrations took place in honour of the continent’s children. Never ones to turn down an exciting invitation from one of our long-standing partner schools, we were delighted to attend a special ceremony at Anaka Primary School. We have worked with the school, situated in the Nwoya district, for many years, and we are currently investing in the school’s nursery section through our Jumpstart! programme.

The day proved to be quite an event where parents, teachers, students, district officials and supporting organizations joined together to celebrate the district’s fantastic children ; guests were treated to an afternoon of inspiring speeches, musical and dance performances from the school’s talented pupils, and an award ceremony. We particularly enjoyed watching the children-wearing their bright traditional costumes –perform dances to the rhythmic beats of African drums. One of the secondary school students’ even performed a special traditional dance balancing four pots on her head, and was soon joined by many guests, students and teachers- including our very own ECD monitor, Monica!

 
However, alongside all the joyful festivities, the event also served as an opportunity to discuss important factors which commonly affect children’s well-being in the district, and cause school drop-outs. Notably, guest speakers addressed the crowd to discuss pressing gender issues including the importance of working together to end child marriage, encouraging female pupils to stay in school through reducing the stigma surrounding menstruation, and the importance of family planning. As strong advocates of gender equality, we were pleased to hear these issues discussed openly with the local community.

Indeed, African Revival has worked closely within the Nwoya district of northern Uganda for many years, to promote quality education. As such, we were absolutely thrilled and humbled to receive an award from the Nwoya district local government in recognition and appreciation for our “distinguished service to the children of Nwoya district”. Our CEO, Colleen, was delighted to accept the award on African Revival’s behalf; we just need to find a special spot for the certificate on our office’s walls! To mark the close of the ceremony, Gulu’s Brass Band took centre stage in the hazy afternoon sun wearing their smart red and black uniforms, and proudly performed the Ugandan national anthem which was met with rapturous applause.

Days like these are great fun, and provide a fantastic opportunity to engage with the communities and partners we work with, but they also serve as a powerful reminder of why our teams in the UK, Zambia and Uganda work so hard to ensure equal access to quality education. We would like to thank all our wonderful supporters for enabling us to do this work; we love our partner schools and in particular, the children we work with and will continue to strive for excellence as we seek to positively transform children’s educational experiences across northern Uganda, and Zambia.

We Need Street & Store Collection Volunteers!

Role: Street & Store Collection Volunteer
Location: Greater London
Time Commitment: Flexible – usually 2-4 hours per collection. Collections will take place throughout October. No minimum commitment necessary.                                      Key Skills/Experience: Organisation, enthusiasm, self-motivation, cash handling, team work

Volunteer Purpose

We are looking for passionate, motivated and enthusiastic individuals to help us organise and carry out successful bucket collections in local streets, stores and tube stations in October 2015.

We will provide support and materials (including African Revival t-shirts and buckets). Once we know your availability, we will fit you onto a rota and give you a full introduction to collecting.  Responsibilities may include:

• Attending street/store/tube collections and collecting money from the public to support African Revival’s work
• Helping recruit other volunteers e.g. family, friends, students
• Counting and banking cash
• Supporting the publicity of the collection by liking/sharing posts on social media

No experience necessary. This role would suit someone who is looking for short term volunteering experience, who enjoys talking to members of the public, has good organisational skills, is happy to speak to other volunteers on the phone and is good at cash handling. An interest in international development and education would also be a bonus. Most importantly, volunteers should be enthusiastic and organised.

Benefits

In return for volunteering with us, you will receive the following:

• Reimbursement for any pre-agreed travel expenses
• Fundraising and volunteering experience which will look great on your CV
• Support from the fundraising team including t-shirts, buckets etc.
• The opportunity to be part of a fantastic and exciting community fundraising campaign
• The chance of a great reference
• The knowledge that you have contributed to vital education work in Zambia and Uganda

Please submit an up to date CV and covering letter outlining your relevant skills and experience to Emily Brewster at emily.brewster@africanrevival.org

Juba Road Construction Update: The Roof is up!

As you may have seen on our social media channels (Facebook and Twitter), and updates on our website, we are busy building a teachers’ house at Juba Road Primary School. The construction team, overseen by our contractors, have been working hard to build a fantastic home for the teachers- from its solid foundations, all the way to the ceiling rafters.

The builders on the ground have been working hard at the building site, but have also created a positive working environment; the builders spend their breaks eating beans and rice together, and have a laugh as they wash their clothes in the afternoon sun.
As you can tell by the photos, things are shaping up nicely and the structure is beginning to look like a real house- last week, the roof was fitted which marked the beginning of the end of the construction phase! Now, the team will be working on completing the internal works like fitting screens, plastering, and painting, as well as installing solar panels. The builders will also fill in the back-filling around the house, and lay concrete on the floors.
Vincent and the construction contractors have been working hard to ensure the high quality of all the building materials, and workmanship. However, like any major project, there have been several challenges along the way. For example, due to the rural and isolated setting of Juba Road Primary School, it can be difficult to procure high-quality raw materials. As such, Vincent has been working endlessly to source locally-produced bricks which meet our rigorous specifications. And where there is a will, there’s a way, because the bricks which he found are-according to the experts-excellent!
As part of African Revival’s memo of understanding with Juba Road Primary School, the school has also established a maintenance committee who will be responsible for looking after the building, so that it stays in tip top condition for many years, and can benefit as many teachers as possible. The maintenance team of five includes teachers, and parents who are eager to maintain the school’s facilities so that children can learn in a clean, functioning, and welcoming environment.

Currently, the team maintenance committee are planning to build a hedge between the classrooms and the teachers’ house to offer more privacy, as well as hedging the perimeters of the school property. Should things stay on schedule, African Revival is hoping to officially hand over the house to the school and its teachers at the middle of July.

Keep your eyes peeled for the grand reveal when all the last minute works have been completed, and the house is ready for the teachers!

Jumpstart! Update: Micro-innovations ahoy!

As we mentioned several months ago, our Jumpstart! team have mobilised “teacher-changer networks” in the Nwoya district of Northern Uganda. The brain-child of STIR Education with whom African Revival has established a strong working relationship, the aim of these networks is to provide a supportive forum for teachers to share ideas and innovations which have improved their classrooms, and schools. Each network gathers around 15 teachers from local schools who are keen to develop as teachers, and positively impact their learning environments through exploring each other’s knowledge, and seeking advice from one another. Recently, African Revival attended STIR Education’s inaugural regional micro-innovation search event, where 8 of our Jumpstart! teachers’ innovations were shortlisted into an annual micro-innovation guide, which collate the country’s best innovations.The booklets are then distributed to all networks and allow teachers to draw inspiration for their own schools.

We were absolutely over-joyed to watch our fantastic teachers getting recognized for their hard work! After the event, STIR Education contacted African Revival to voice their appreciation of our “support and guidance that you had provided to your network of teachers which helped them to be invested and to enhance teaching and learning environment.”

STIR Education also delivered more good news; this year, STIR received an impressive 1,000 micro-innovation submissions from 46 districts of Uganda. However, we are thrilled to announce that two of our fantastic teachers have been selected as 2 of this year’s 50 finalists, chosen through a rigorous evaluation process!

Charles Kilama, who teaches at Anaka Primary School has called his innovation “Dancing all The Way!” Charles had noticed that absenteeism was an issue among his students, so decided to schedule morning dance sessions before the official start of classes. Charles found that having fun during morning assemblies encourages students to come to school early to join the fun!
Stephen Ojok, from Nwoya Public Nursery School, identified similar issues of lateness amongst both students and teachers. However, Stephen has successfully organized daily parades on school grounds at 7:00am, where students sing songs, perform traditional dances, and narrate stories. What an exciting to start a morning! Students and teachers agreed, which is why they now arrive at school promptly to enjoy the energizing festivities!

As I am sure you will agree, these innovations show real dedication, and commitment from the teachers who willingly offer their own time and energy to ensure that their pupils excel at school. We are all extremely proud of the teachers, who will be congratulated officially at the year-end summit in Kampala, receiving certificates from Roehampton University and STIR Education. In the meantime, we send our heart-felt congratulations on to Charles and Stephen!

5 days, 5 photos: A week in the life of African Revival

We hope you have been enjoying all our updates on our social media channels this week; if you missed them, you can like us here or follow us here! This week, Uganda celebrated Heroes Day and at African Revival, we feel privileged to come into constant contact with real-life heroes, in the form of unbelievably dedicated teachers in our partner schools who continually inspire, and spur us on. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Monday:

Today, our M&E coordinator Scovia is looking smart as she heads out for a morning of meetings with our partners organizations in Gulu. Check out that dazzling smile!

Tuesday:

It’s Heroes Day in Uganda! Dorothy, a K1 teacher at Koch Goma Nursery School, who patiently teaches maths to her young pupils is something of a hero in our book!

Wednesday:

Today, we loved visiting one of our oldest partner schools, Maro-Awoki Primary School in the Amuru district; their school grounds are full of positive slogans like this one!

Thursday:

The best thing about working with our partner nurseries? Meeting the little ones whose education we are so passionate about. The pupils at Koch Goma Central’s Nursery School were an absolute delight today!

Friday:

African Revival’s CEO, Colleen, has arrived safely in Uganda. The Uganda team are so excited to have her in the Gulu office for the next few weeks!

Model School Update: Maro-Awobi Primary School

Welcome to Maro-Awobi Primary School, a school which holds the status of being one of our model schools. African Revival has worked with Maro-Awobi, a school situated in northern Uganda’s Amuru district, for many years. In our early days, we began investing in this small school which consisted of only one classroom block. However, over the years, we have built two more classroom blocks, three latrine blocks, a staff room, two wash and changing rooms, drilled a bore hole, and provided furniture. With 327 pupils (234 boys and 193 girls) currently enrolled, bustling Maro-Awoki is now a far cry from the tiny rural school it once was. In fact, the school has now even introduced extra-curricular clubs likes scouts, agriculture, and debating. For the sporty minded, African Revival has provided the school with a football pitch, and basket-ball hoops. Today, the school is currently part of our School Demonstration Gardens programme, and the parents are working hard on school land to grow bananas, onions, passion fruit, and beans.

Situated 15 km from the main road, the dirt road leading up to the school is lined with tall grass, and bright sunflowers.

The breath-taking views of the nearby mountain range and the zesty scent from the lemon-grass bushes provides a great welcome to the school. The large rocks around the school have been creatively used to write positive messages to the students, such as “every child is special”-now that’s a slogan African Revival can get behind!

The head-teacher of this model school is Justine Law, who has served the school for two years.

The school has seven teachers in total- one for each class. However, the school is in need of an eighth teacher, but until one is provided by the district, the school has recruited two parent-teachers temporarily to support the teachers’ workloads. The teachers are extremely committed to the school and its pupils; one such teacher is the senior woman teacher, Margaret, who has worked at Maro-Awobi since 2008. Justine has praised Margaret for her dedication to the school, and in particular, her involvement within the local community, her support of the school’s 41 orphans, and in encouraging her female students.
Indeed, the teachers are strong advocates of promoting gender equality in all of the school’s activities, and use a specific work plan to address gender issues. The teachers use events like daily assemblies to address gender imbalances, and encourage both boys andgirls in leadership, building their confidence and self-esteem.

In particular, the school emphasises the importance of nurturing healthy and equal relationships with one another. In addition, Justine carries out frequent community sensitization meetings to promote the retention of girls in schools. Justine explained that “we try to remain close to the community so we can always explain the importance of keeping girls in school- it is good to bring community into schools and they are responding well.” As a result of these efforts and the provision of girls’ washrooms, last year, the school only saw 9 female students drop out of classes out of 179 female students. However, the school is hoping that the number of female school drop-outs will continue to decrease year on year.
Justine and the school leadership have also been working very hard to bring the school up to a high academic standard, and have made personal sacrifices to ensure that their pupils have the best quality of education possible. For example, Justine wants to ensure that his P7 class are fully prepared for their PLE exams later on this year, which will determine whether they can progress to secondary school.

Knowing that many students live far from the school, and may be burdened with many chores at home which cuts into their study time, Justine has moved out of the two-unit teacher’s house located on school grounds, so that the children may use the house to board at the school. Justine told us: “I want the pupils to be able to study, so I moved into a grass-hut so that we could offer one unit for the girls, the other for the boys. The house is equipped with solar panels, so the children make use of the light in the evenings to read, and study.” The senior woman teacher, Margaret, looks after the girls, whilst Justine takes care of the boys whilst they are living on school property. Justine is hoping that this solution, coupled with nightly catch-up and revision classes to help fill any of the children’s knowledge gaps, will improve PLE results. We are sure that the 53 students taking their exams this year will, with this support, excel!

Despite all their innovative efforts, the teachers still have more plans to further improve the school; they plan to implement a school feeding programme as currently, children bring a packed lunch, or if they live close by, take lunch at home. Justine is planning on planting potatoes to contribute to school meals, and once the school garden group harvests their crops, the parents may contribute a portion of the yields to the cause.

It has been an absolute working with this ambitious and innovative school for almost ten years, and we applaud the school’s excellent leadership which puts their pupils’ well-being and academic future at the fore-front of all their action-plans. Self-sufficient and empowered, Maro-Awobi is a model school which no longer needs our input, and we are sure that the school serves as a positive example to neighbouring schools.

Schools Coordinator Volunteer

We are looking for someone with great communication skills to act as our Schools Coordinator Volunteer!

Tasks will include researching and contacting schools in the wider Teddington and Richmond area, creating materials, liaising with school staff, giving assemblies and presentations, and supporting schools to put on fundraising events for us. For more information, see the full role description below:

Schools Coordinator Volunteer

Volunteering with us

In return for volunteering with us, you will receive the following:

• Practical experience in the everyday running of a UK based charity
• Fundraising, research, communications and international development experience which will look great on your CV
• The chance of a fantastic reference
• Ongoing support from the fundraising and communications team
• The knowledge that you have contributed to vital education work in Zambia and Uganda, two of the poorest countries in the world

If you would like to apply for this role, or have any ideas for how you could help us, please e-mail info@africanrevival.org or call us on 020 8939 3190. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Volunteer Interview – Alex

Would you like to know more about what it is like to volunteer with African Revival? Here, we talk to our Communication and Fundraising volunteer, Alex, who is one of the newest members of our team. Alex joined us in May 2015 after studying Political Science in Vienna and Nottingham. Alex has volunteered in Austria and South Africa, and has previously worked in a research institute.

How long have you been volunteering with African Revival?
I joined in May 2015, so I have been volunteering for AR for 4 weeks.

Have you ever volunteered before?
Yes, I have volunteered in a school in Austria and in an orphanage in South Africa.

What motivated you to get involved with African Revival originally?
I felt that working with African Revival would allow me to gain valuable working experience in the context of international development. Additionally, as my position is based in Gulu, Uganda, I was not only looking forward to experiencing a new country, but also to seeing AR projects develop right in front of my eyes and to being in touch with the locals here, which I treasure and appreciate very much.
Furthermore, I believe that we all have a right to live our lives to the fullest. However, we are faced with many challenges and inequalities that hinder us to do so; some of us more than others. In order to overcome these, activism and engagement of each individual is necessary. However, we need to be empowered by, first and foremost, knowledge and the ability to question current structures and conditions. I see education as the tool to empower people. This is why I felt that working with African Revival and supporting its vision of equal access to quality education would be an amazing opportunity to contribute to the process of the empowerment of the individual beyond any kind of borders.

What kind of activities have you been involved in at AR?
As a communications and fundraising volunteer, I am involved in lots of different activities; starting from research tasks, helping with and writing funding applications to going out into the field and reporting on the progress of our projects and of course, keeping our supporters updated on social media with lots of photos and stories about what is happening here in Uganda is also one of my tasks.

What’s the best thing about working with AR?
I can’t really put my finger on one best thing, but I’ve managed to put it in a sentence: The best thing about working with AR is being part of an amazing and committed team and contributing to improving access to quality education within a small organisation that is close to the people it aims to support.

What’s the most challenging thing about working with AR?
As I am based in Gulu, Uganda, I think the most challenging thing for me has been settling in here while at the same time starting my work for African Revival. On the one hand, I was  confronted with a totally new living environment; and on the hand, new tasks and activities were waiting for me in my professional life. At some points, it has been quite challenging, and I am still getting used to everything, but overcoming these challenges step by step has been very rewarding for my personal and professional development, which is why I love every step of it.

If you want to know more about volunteering, look through our news section for more interviews.
If you’d like to apply to volunteer with us, check out Volunteers page to see our current vacancies. We look forward to hearing from you!

Library Update-Koch Goma Primary School

Whether you are young or mature, I think we can all agree that there is nothing better than getting completely engrossed in a good book!

Well, Koch Goma Primary School’s library has become a place where students are able to do just that. The library was established in 2012, but we recently refurbished it-through the provision of much needed books- so that the facility is now fully functional.

At Koch Goma Primary School, some classes hold over 100 students. With insufficient textbooks, many students struggle to get the most out of teaching sessions. As such, the library-overseen by two committed librarians- has become an invaluable resource where students may read, and borrow books to supplement their learning. Morris, the part-time librarian and literacy teacher told us: “I always encourage the children to look at the books in the library, and read books outside of the syllabus to really enrich their brains and improve their literacy and vocabulary skills” .

In addition to books, the library is full of educational posters, and newspapers are delivered three times a week, which children are encouraged to read to stay abreast of current affairs, to broaden their world view.

Thanks to these resources, the school’s head-teacher, Mr Loum, has noticed a positive difference in his students’ academic performance. He told us that the pupils “enjoy being in the library; they like it when they can actually read the books. In rural schools, gaining good reading skills is a problem generally because of the lack of resources. Also, children really struggle to grasp reading because children first learn to read and write in Acholi, and then learn English- so it is a long process.”

However, each class from P3 to P7 is now encouraged to visit the well-stocked library, to practice their reading, and also gain new knowledge through reading a range of different text books, which the children are allowed to borrow for several days at a time. One student who loves using the library is Grace, a studious young lady in P7, and will be taking the all important PLE exams later on the year, so that she can progress to secondary school. Grace’s favourite subjects are English and Science, and she visits the library each day to read during lunch time, because as she tells us, “it helps me learn better, and I enjoy working hard- so, I borrow books for a few days, and then I return them”.

The vast majority of children across northern Uganda do not have books at home, and so it is a huge boost to the children’s learning to have access to these valuable resources. Not only do books support children’s learning, but it also helps children become well-rounded individuals, and free thinkers. We are convinced that Grace’s improved access to text-books will help her realize her dream of becoming a doctor!

Be sure to catch all of our exciting project updates here on our website, on Facebook and Twitter!

5 days, 5 photos-A week in the life of African Revival

With a mid-week national holiday, this week seems to have raced by in a flash. Our UK team in particular have been extremely busy, writing exciting programme proposals! In spite of our shorter working week, we still managed to pack in lots of activities all across northern Uganda. Thank-you for your continued support of our projects, have a lovely weekend!

Monday:

Today,  volunteer Jade popped to Koch Goma Primary School to visit the newly re-furbished library. It is absolutely fantastic to hear how these facilities, and learning resources are helping students like Vincent and Grace (pictured) to excel in their studies!

 Tuesday:

During an ECD monitoring visit at Nwoya Public Nursery School, Monica and Alex were warmly welcomed by these gorgeous faces. As you can see, the school’s kindergarten students are a lively bunch!

Wednesday:

Our Ugandan offices were closed today for a  national holiday (St Martyr’s Day), but our dedicated construction coordinator, Vincent and livelihoods coordinator Francis (pictured), still nipped to Juba Road Primary School to check up on the progress of the teacher’s house which we are building.

Thursday:

Today, Maxwell, one of Jumpstart’s ECD monitors, enjoys a chat and a stroll on school grounds with Sunday, Lacek Nursery School’s fantastic headteacher, as they discuss his pupils’ progress.

Friday:

The livelihoods team are working hard in the school demonstration gardens in the Amuru district, but they are beginning to-literally- see the fruits of their labour, as the crops are now growing nicely!