International Day of the African Child celebrations!
June 17, 2015
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.
