School Gardens Update: Meet Christine!

Christine Amono is one of the school demonstration garden group members of Teddi Primary School, located in the Pabbo sub-country of Amuru. Christine has four children, all of whom attend the school- two are in Primary 5, and her youngest are in P1. Christine is an active and dedicated member of the local community; in fact, she has been the Vice Chairperson of Teddi’s School Management Committee since 2002. Christine tells us: “I am the chairperson because of the value that people saw in me so they felt that I would be the right person to help with the management of the school. This is a voluntary position that does not pay whatsoever, and they just came up as a community initiative because the other schools that are surrounding this place are very far”.

It was Christine’s commitment to improve the school which motivated her to join the school garden group: “The farmers group is very good because I feel that if I am part of this school garden group then it will help in the development of our school being a community school without any other external support. I think it’s going to develop the school in a way that when they do the funding, sell the proceeds, a percentage of the proceeds from the farming go to the school to go for the needs that the school may have such as scholastic materials and books.”

Alongside working to improve the local school, Christine – like 90% of adults in Amuru – is a full-time farmer, and sells her produce to send her children to school. Christine hopes to replicate the techniques being used in the school garden at home to improve her own yields: “when I get back home, the same skills that I acquire from the group will help me in my home. I’ll take them back to my home.”

An important livelihood strategy in this region, Christine is also keen to pass on her farming knowledge to her children: “I think it is good for the children to learn agriculture skills because it improves on the quality of the skills that they have, agriculture being the main thing that they do at home. When they go back home they can still enrich what they already have at home through learning agriculture.” As part of the School Demonstration Gardens programme, the livelihoods teams will also be shortly launching student garden clubs, which Christine’s older children will have the opportunity to join, to learn new agricultural skills.

With the profits generated from the school garden, Christine is hoping to save a portion to help pay for her children’s school fees, and then invest the rest through buying a young goat.

Our hope is that through the school garden project, Christine will be able to achieve these goals, and will one day have many goats running around her property!

Juba Road Teacher House – Photo Update

We are now entering Week 7 of construction of teacher accommodation at our partner school at Juba Road, Northern Uganda. The superstructure has reached the wall plate level with the roofing materials ordered and on-site we have timber for the roof structure. The roofing sheets will be delivered over the coming weekend

Fabrication of the doors and windows is at the final stages in the workshop, and all will be delivered next week, when the rendering and plaster works are set to begin. Everything is on schedule and the project should be complete within the targeted 12 weeks.

The committee established by the school comprised of 7 Seven members who serves both as the contract committee and the maintenance of the school property

In a recent meeting between African Revival and the school, it was agreed that the next steps will involve;

• Identifying the current school maintenance concerns
• Ranking any outstanding issues in order of priority
• Suggesting possible workable solutions within the budget
• Setting a work plan to achieve those solutions
• Presenting the solutions to the School Management Committee (SMC) and Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

In order to encourage the school and its local community to really take charge of the project, the SMC and PTA have also agree to check on the progress of the construction works alternately, from here on in. In the future, they will develop a workable maintenance schedule to keep the new build in good condition for future generations of teachers at the school.

School Demonstration Update: Meet Teresa

In April, we launched our new School Demonstration Gardens project in northern Uganda’s Amuru district, with funding from the Bestseller Fund. The Amuru district was at the heart of the Lord’s Resistance Army war that devastated Northern Uganda for over two decades, and today, 63% of the district’s population still live in poverty. However, through the course of the school demonstration garden project in Amuru, we will empower 700 parents and 3,500 primary school children through agricultural activities.

African Revival has been working with fifteen schools to help improve crop production, and increase food security which will ultimately help boost families’ profits. Our livelihoods team has been busy establishing school gardens in our partner schools across the Amuru district, and mobilizing motivated community members to join the garden groups. One parent who has joined a garden group is Teresa, a farmer, whose children attend Teddi Primary School. We spoke to Teresa, to find out how this programme is going to help support her family.

Hi, Teresa. How many children do you have at Teddi Primary School?

I have 3 children in the school. Ronald is 12, Brian is 10, and Francis is 6 years old.

What was your motivation for joining the school gardens group?

I liked the fact that through this group, I can access loans which I can use to help pay school fees. Also, being in a group, you don’t just come and work, you also share experiences and problems with one another- and then you can find solutions to your worries together.

How are you hoping that being part of this group will benefit you and your family?
If I have problems paying school fees, I will have access to the loan scheme.  Also, with the good agricultural knowledge that I am gaining, I can replicate what we do in the school garden at home, and it will help  my overall profits.

Is coming to school more often helping you keep track of your children’s progress at school?
Yes, I do. I only used to come to the school once a week- now I am here twice a week. I even visit the classrooms too, now.

How would you like to use your portion of the profits generated from the garden?

I want to use my profits for my children’s school fees and also to invest. So, I want to buy more seeds for my own garden.

Volunteer Interview – Ayotunde

Today we meet Ayotunde, one of our Trust and Foundation volunteers in the UK office. Before volunteering with us, Ayotunde volunteered for Street Kids International UK and worked for the NHS. She has interests in international health and development, a master’s degree in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, and a strong passion for supporting African-led development and advancing the quality of life for those living in developing countries.

How long have you been volunteering with African Revival?

I have been volunteering since January 2015.

Have you ever volunteered before?

I have volunteered with an international development charity focused on youth empowerment.

What made you get involved with African Revival originally?

African Revival supports Africa development. Africa is my heritage and I have a strong passion for supporting African-led development. I consider African Revival an appropriate place to pursue my career in international development and contribute to an Africa that is now readily celebrated as ‘bright’, ‘emerging’, ‘rising’ and ‘aspiring’.The days in which Africa was seen as ‘The Hopeless Continent’ seem long gone.

What kind of activities have you been involved in at AR?

My main activities are research, trust fundraising and assisting with the annual ball. I undertook research on thematic issues for the Africa Revival’s School Garden Project such as farming, agriculture and girls’ education in Uganda and Zambia.I also assisted the Fundraising & Communications team in researching statistics, facts and stories for the website. I conducted searches on trust and foundation funding sources to identify potential funders. I also wrote and submitted grants proposals to trusts to fund projects in Uganda and Zambia. I have also researched celebrities of British and Zambian heritage and wrote to theatres in London in order to support the fundraising ball.

What’s the best thing about working with AR?

African Revival is a good example of a friendly working environment as well as working in harmony. This makes me feel good and appreciated. More importantly, I have become more informed about international development. I became aware about the UN Millennium goals and its relevance to international development when the fundraising team got together to brainstorm on amending a concept note for UK Aid Match funding submitted to the UK Department for International Development.

What’s the most challenging thing about working with AR?

This is the first time I have worked in a place that is far from the city. It is a long way to travel and at times, there are train delays/disruption along the route. However, the long distance is like an adventure along the Teddington riverside and I don’t feel bored when travelling to work. There are times in life that one has to step out of one’s comfort zone to get the best for growth and progress, especially in one’s career. In retrospect, I witnessed the benefits of stepping out of my comfort zone.

5 Days, 5 Photos-A week in the life of African Revival

As usual, it has been a packed week at African Revival in Uganda; in fact, our Gulu office has been rather empty as staff have been spending a lot of time on the ground, in the schools we work with. And here is a secret: that is exactly where we love to be. Thank-you for supporting us, we hope you all have an enjoyable weekend!

Monday:

With plenty of activities going on this week, African Revival’s car is going to be on the road for much of the week.  Here, our driver Tonny is doing a spot of early morning maintenance to ensure that the vehicle is in tip top condition so that staff can reach all their activities quickly and safely.

Tuesday:

Holly is our fabulous Communications and Fundraising director, who has been part of the African Revival family for exactly a year today! As an organization, we are extremely grateful for Holly’s vital work, which keeps our programmes in operation. Happy anniversary, Holly!

Wednesday:

African Revival is in the process of building a teachers’ house at Juba Road Primary School. Today, our construction co-ordinator Vincent visited the building site, and found that-in spite of the rains- the contractors are making excellent progress! Here, you can see a builder working on the roof.

Thursday:

Our livelihoods co-ordinator Francis, and our M&E coordinator Scovia are currently conducting monitoring visits for our School Demonstration Gardens project in Agago and Abim. They are visiting an impressive 20 primary schools; one of the perks of school visits is meeting some of the children of the parents who are involved in the project!

Friday:

Today, we enjoyed reading about the innovations that teachers from African Revival supported nurseries have implemented into their classrooms, to support their students’ development and learning. In fact, at STIR Education’s regional event, eight Jumpstart! teachers were recognized for their excellent ideas!

The First Term at Purongo Hill Nursery School

Scovia Fwambe is a dedicated nursery teacher, based at one of our Jumpstart! partner schools – Purongo Hill Nursery School. In addition to teaching her K2 pupils, Scovia is also the head-teacher of the nursery school, and juggles an impressive work-load to ensure the smooth running of the centre.

It has been a busy, but successful term at Purongo Hill  -evidenced during their fabulous end of term open day, where parents were able to admire the progress of their young children: when we first met the children in February, many were nervous and shy… but what a difference a term can make! As the children sang, danced, and showed their work to parents and visitors, it is clear that the children have really settled into school, and are learning a lot.

When we met Scovia in February, she was new to nursery teaching, having previously only taught in secondary schools. For this reason, Scovia was selected to attend ECD training at Gulu Core PTC in February, and again at the beginning of May. We recently caught up with Scovia as she reflects upon the first school term, which has just been completed:

How did you find this first term at school?
After the training at the college, I learnt how to use the Learning Frame Work (LFW), planning, scheming and making the daily routine. Before the training, we were just gambling teaching. We had the LFW, but could not easily understand them.

Are you pleased with your pupils’ progress this term? Are there any achievements that you are particularly proud of?
When the pupils came to the centre, their knowledge was very weak. By the end of the term, the pupils could confidently sing rhymes and interact well among themselves. Many of the children cried whenever they were brought to the centre in the morning, but by end of term, they were used to the school environment.

How are your pupils doing in terms of their overall development?
The children used to cry a lot in the morning when they were brought to school. They would not want to be left behind. They are now used to their school environment and their care givers and so now they love school. Many have also gained confidence in themselves and interact well amongst themselves as well as with visitors.

Are your pupils’ parents well engaged with their children’s education?
Yes, their response when called for school meetings have been very positive, they contribute and share ideas for school development, and ensure that good policies are adopted for the development of the child.

What do you feel has been your greatest moment this term?
My greatest moment has been the school open parents’ day. It was a great sharing time with parents and the children. The parents where quite impressed with what transpired during the school term and expressed their appreciation for the good things that have happened.

And your greatest challenge?
My greatest challenge was the fact that this is a newly opened ECD centre and all three of us- the care givers- did not know much about ECD. To catch up and make the centre what it is, we took to making learning/ teaching materials after receiving training organized by African Revival. This took most of our time, but I am quite happy that we now know more from the training we received. I am also more than happy that two of us are undergoing a certificate course at Gulu Core Primary Teachers’ College in Early Childhood Development (ECD), courtesy of African Revival. I therefore guarantee you that our ECD centre will even do much better in term two and the other coming terms.

What difference has having new posters/learning materials made to your classrooms?
Once the posters are on the wall, learning is continuous even without a teacher in class. The parents were also so impressed by the posters and the ability of their children to read them during parents open day. Because of these, we are actually looking forward to a bigger pupils’ enrolment next term since most parents rated our school as the best in the locality.

Here at African Revival, it brings us great joy to hear such positive updates from the schools which we support. As we continue to work with Scovia and Purongo Hill Nursery School, we will be sure to keep you all updated on the progress of their wonderful young pupils!

Meet Bosco!

We are excited to introduce you to Bosco Onyai, one of our Agricultural Project Officers!

Bosco has been working with African Revival since 2014. Bosco is from the Nwoya district but moved to Amuru with his wife, his son (aged 5) and his baby daughter to join our Livelihoods team working on our school demonstration gardens programme.
Bosco attended agricultural college, where he obtained a certificate, and then diploma in Agricultural Practice, before working for several agricultural organizations including the Amuru District Farmers’ Association. Bosco loves his job; his favourite aspect of his role is working in the field alongside the community- he has a real heart in particular for underprivileged and vulnerable communities.
Outside of work, Bsoco is an avid Manchester United football supporter, and enjoys getting to know older members of the community, to benefit from their wisdom.

Bosco, we are so glad that you are part of the team!

News update: Otong Primary School

As you may have gleaned from our updates on Twitter and Facebook, our school demonstration gardens project is now in full swing! Over the past few months, the school garden groups across Amuru democratically elected their leadership committees, drew up work plans, completed crop selection, prepared the land for planting and received agricultural training from our staff. With the land prepared, and the rainy season upon us, the garden groups have now begun the all-important planting.

One of our partner schools is Otong Primary School, situated off a feeder road in the Paddo sub-country of Amuru. The school, which currently has 460 pupils, has been extremely supportive of the project and has donated a sizeable piece of land (33m by 140m), which is already fenced to the garden group, who have named themselves “Unity is Good for Education Garden Group”.

The parents at Otong Primary School have working extremely hard in their garden; over the past few weeks, the group prepared raised nursery beds, where they have now planted red onions. Rows and rows of passion fruit seeds have also been planted; up next for planting is maize, and banana trees!

One of our agricultural officers, Babra, has been working with the group every step of the way, and visits the garden every Tuesday to equip the members with good agricultural techniques, which will maximise their yields.

The school’s head teacher, Jane, is pleased with the group’s commitment to the garden: “the project is doing well; the parents are actively involved- they came every day. Each day, a group comes and does watering, and weeding. A few more parents now visit us in the class, which is an encouragement. The parents really love their new tools, which are enabling them to work hard  on the plot.”

Jane is also looking forward to using the garden as a way to teach pupils about the environment: “agriculture and the environment is a component of the syllabus, so children will be able to learn through visiting the garden with their teachers. Within our environment syllabus, we intend to visit with the children to teach them about weeding methods, and the pests which affect crops. It is going to be a helpful learning tool.” We are so pleased to hear that this garden is going to be truly multi-functional!

Next term, the livelihoods team will also be mobilizing student garden clubs, which will provide students with the opportunity to learn agricultural skills, and build their business acumen through selling their produce. The children will be able to enjoy a portion of profits, which they can use to buy scholastic materials.

Look out for more project updates soon!

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

Welcome to a sneak peek of the goings on at African Revival this week…we hope you all have a great weekend!

Monday:

Today, students all across Uganda went back to school after a three-week half term.  With her freshly washed uniform, Scovia from Otong Primary School is ready to get back to work!

Tuesday:

Despite several members of her team having recently suffered injuries, our livelihoods team member Babra is still smiling, as she visits our school demonstration garden groups across the Amuru district.

Wednesday:

One of the jobs of the Communications and Fundraising team in Uganda is to read the daily newspapers to keep abreast of relevant news stories, and developments. Today, we found several interesting articles relating to agriculture and education!

Thursday:

Our M&E co-ordinator, Scovia, has been busy this week conducting monitoring visits for our School Demonstration Gardens project. Today, she enjoyed meeting participating parents, like Esther (pictured) at Otwee Primary School.

 Friday:

Our Jumpstart! team are busy visiting nurseries in our partner schools across the Nwoya district today. Thankfully, the weather is perfect for a day of hopping on and off the project motorbikes!

Construction Update: Juba Road Primary School

We were happy to share last month that African Revival is building a teachers’ house at one of our partner schools, Juba Road Primary School.  As its name suggests, Juba Road Primary School is located just off Juba Road-one of the main roads of Northern Uganda-just 30km from the border of South Sudan. The school is therefore one of the furthest away from our Gulu office, but it is a school that we have been greatly committed to for a long time. Over the past few years, African Revival has built a classroom block, latrines, and a girl’schanging room to improve upon the school’s existing facilities.

Many of the school’s teachers live in huts near the school property or in nearby villages but upon completion of our current project, Millie-Grace, the senior woman teacher and Richard, the deputy head-teacher, will be able to live in comfortable accommodation at the school. Their close proximity will help them better support their students, and be more available to tackle issues which might cause students to drop out of school.

We broke ground on the work site on the first of April this year, and our construction coordinator Vincent has been closely monitoring the building’s progress since work commenced. Here at African Revival, we care passionately not just about the children we work alongside, but also the communities in which they live and so, keen to inject in the local economy, our contractors have hired local labourers, and sourced-where possible-local materials to build the house. Under the expert supervision of our fantastic contractors, Robert and John-Paul, the building team have now laid the foundations, the floor, and have started building the walls- which are now window high, so the structure is rapidly taking shape.

This progress is particularly impressive as the construction team have certainly faced challenges as they complete this project- notably, persistent rain fall has made access to the school difficult, and transporting materials has been no mean feat!
However, the team’s hard work will not be in vain; as part of African Revival’s memo of understanding with Juba Road Primary School, the school has established a maintenance committee who will be responsible for looking for 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. We hear that the team are hoping to plant flowers around the new house, to create a truly inviting atmosphere at the school!

We hope that in spite of the heavy rains, the building team continue to enjoy building this new home for Juba Road’s committed and dedicated teachers. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook so that you can track the progress of all our projects!