Jumpstart! Update – ECD Training, Round 2

As we launched our Jumpstart! Programme in February, we sponsored ten pre-primary teachers who had never received formal training in Early Childhood Development to attend a teacher training course at Gulu Core Primary Teachers’ College. During the week-long course, teachers learnt about the principles of Early Childhood Development, and received support in lesson planning.

For the past three weeks, it has been half term here in Uganda. However, our ECD teachers were still working hard, as they attended their second phase of training, which was more creative and practical.

In particular, the teachers enjoyed designing new learning material for their classrooms, to better engage their young pupils.

Creative juices flowed as the teachers created textured posters, using beans and pulses – we are sure that the children are going to love the posters which will help them learn basic food items.

The teachers also learnt how to utilize local materials for learning resources: collecting brightly coloured bottle lids to use as counters is cheap, but extremely effective. Introducing these new posters and materials is a slow process but surely transforming the nurseries of African Revival supports schools in offering children a dynamic and exciting learning environment.

We caught up with Petra Atto, who we introduced several months ago, to find out how these changes have helped her K2 class at St Kizito Nursery School:

 Are you enjoying this second round of training? Yes, I am enjoying it. The most helpful things I am learning are writing and developing teaching learning aids. As we attended a one day training before in this area, I now can write much better with much ease due to practice. My hand writing has also generally improved. In materials
development, I struggled with drawing, but with practice, I can now draw meaningfully, and can use various materials to make learning aids. I can guarantee that term 2 will be more successful in terms of performance and also create an everlasting impression on the children in terms of my teaching methods.

How did you find your first school term? The term was good. Before the training, I had no clue about ECD. I did not know how to scheme, plan or write a daily routine, and I feared opening up to my colleagues about this. But the training built my confidence; I can now confidently teach my lessons and interact boldly with my colleagues. I also learnt more about rhymes at the college; this has helped me to develop closer links with my pupils and also build more confidence in myself.

Are you pleased with your pupils’ progress this term? At the beginning of the term, the pupils could only sing numbers and letters without recognizing them. By end of term, they could write numbers 1-15, and could identify as well as match them. The children can also identify and recognize letters from A –G.

Also before my training, the children were so timid and scared of adults. The love I showed them after the training gave them confidence in themselves and drew them closer to their teachers. They are now able to socialize well, with improved manners as also noted by the head teacher of the primary section who greatly appreciates the changes in the nursery section.

How are your pupils doing in terms of their overall development? My pupils are developing every day. They are now improving in reading and identifying numbers and alphabets. I also see a lot of positive changes in the behavior of the pupils. They are able to respond to commands and love school.

 What difference has having new posters/learning materials made to your classrooms? Teaching has become easy because children learn faster when they see and touch things. The presence of posters on the walls also enables for continuous learning even when I am not in class. It also made my classroom look beautiful, and more of an ECD class than it was before. During parents open day, the parents greatly appreciated having posters on the walls and think the quality of teaching has greatly improved.

What do you feel has been your greatest moment this term? My greatest moment was improvement in pupils’ performance, good relationship with the pupils and their parents.

We are excited to hear how well Petra’s students are doing, and we are sure they will continue to progress well next term. We wish Petra and teachers everywhere all the luck, energy and inspiration in the world as they begin a new term today!

Welcome Alex!

We’d like to say a big hearty welcome to our new Fundraising & Communications Volunteer Alexandra Fortacz! She’ll be joining the fabulous Jade in Gulu to bring you, our supporters, the latest photos and updates from our projects in the field.

Alex joins us after studying Political Science in Vienna and Nottingham. She volunteered in South Africa last summer and has previously worked in a research institute. She is very excited about doing some field work and becoming active in the field of international development. She hopes to contribute to the incredible work of African Revival, to gain valuable experience and to see as much of Uganda as possible. She enjoys good food, tea & coffee, sports and laughing. She loves to travel, live in different places and explore the world.

Want to know more about our staff and volunteers? You can! We’ve got info on our Uganda team, Zambian team and the UK team. Got any questions? Send us an e-mail at info@africanrevival.org or give us a call on 020 8939 3190

Abim & Agago – Student Garden Clubs

In the Agago and Abim districts of Northern Uganda, agriculture is the primary source of income for the vast majority of households. Many children start helping in their family’s plots from a young age. However, as John, the head teacher of Acangali Primary School, told us, agricultural work can also be seen as a punishment, and children often resent working in the fields. Considering its importance as the core livelihood strategy in these districts, it is important to equip children with strong agricultural skills, so that if and when they leave school, they are able to establish successful and profitable farms to support themselves.

For this reason, as part of our LEARN programme, (https://africanrevival.org/what-we-do/uganda/livelihoods/) our livelihoods team have established “student garden clubs” within our partner schools across Agago and Abim, where students learn agricultural and entrepreneurial skills.  The clubs seek to enthuse and empower primary school children to work together to grow produce which they can then sell to local markets; enabling children to earn some money demonstrates to them directly that agriculture is a profitable and satisfying activity. As such, should children leave school without completing their final exams, they are already equipped with skills to support themselves and build up their own micro-enterprises.

The children of Acangali Primary School have demonstrated real commitment to their garden club; the children tend to their garden three times a week and have already reaped the rewards. Their red onions have grown very successfully, and the children were able to sell these and use their profits to buy scholastic materials. The children were very keen to buy books to help their studies.

The school’s head teacher told us that his pupils’ grades have improved because the garden is also used to help children in their learning of life sciences. The garden is therefore also a way to keep learning interactive and exciting. Paul, in P7, told us that the garden helped him prepare for exams, because what they are learning in the gardens is sometimes included. Paul is now so interested in agriculture that he would like to work within the sector and train others in agricultural best practice when he is older. Florence, in P4, told us that she is gaining knowledge and skills from the garden – particularly concerning how to plant seeds properly and how to make money.

Sarah, the chairperson of the student garden club agreed: “I am learning new skills; and I have shown my new knowledge to my family.  I go to work in the garden three times a week, and I have really enjoyed making some money which I can use to help my education”.

We hope that this garden continues to perform well, and that the children’s hard work and dedication will pay off with a fruitful harvest later on in the year. As always, you can catch more project updates on the website and on social media so be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

LEARN – News Update

The African Revival livelihoods team spent the most of last week in Agago and Abim – districts within Uganda’s Acholi sub-region – to monitor the progress of our school demonstration gardens  programme “LEARN” which launched last year with funding from SNV ( you can learn more about the programme here.

The green and lush districts of Agago and Abim are situated in Uganda’s beautiful north-western mountainous region.  In this remote area, the key livelihood strategy is farming and agriculture. However, in recent years, crop yields have been greatly affected by climate change and changing weather patterns, which have disoriented the traditional planting seasons. Consequently, in spite of their beauty, these districts have known great poverty; feeding and clothing families continues to present a daily challenge for many.

In the Abim district, LEARN’s project support workers – Denis and Godfrey – have been working on the ground to mobilise community gardens in ten local schools, where groups of parents can gain new agricultural skills and training on how to maximise their crop yields, and in turn, their profits.  Maize and sweet potatoes are the most popular crops to grow, but the livelihoods team have been introducing new crops to the region – such as aubergines and tomatoes – through providing seeds to the school gardens group, to provide greater nutritious variation within the local community.

One parent, George working at Akwangagwel Primary School’s garden, said:  “I am happy to learn new skills; I have learnt how to plant nursery beds, and learnt that you should plant your seeds in rows to maximise crop yield. Growing more crops means I have more profits so it has lightened my financial concerns. It is a relief for me to be able to pay for my children’s school fees, because their education is very important to me. Also, now I visit their school more often to track the progress of my children”. We are so pleased that the project is positively impacting hard-working households like George’s. Indeed, our ultimate goal is to positively impact children’s education and so, the hope is that with the extra income generated by the garden, parents will no longer struggle to pay children’s school fees, and purchase scholastic materials for their children. Denis told us that he is encouraged with the progress of the programme, particularly “ seeing people replicate what they have learnt at the school gardens into their own gardens at home is so encouraging; people have been increasing their productivity at home which is great.”

The school gardens project has also mobilised “garden clubs” for primary school children; agricultural work is often by children as a punishment, a perception we are keen to change and instead demonstrate that farming is a profitable activity. Through the garden clubs, our team has sought to enthuse and empower children through learning new agricultural skills, and transforming these into profits which can be used to buy scholastic materials, or school uniforms. The student garden club at Acangali Primary School has had a successful harvest, the onions were particularly plentiful!  Sarah, the chairperson of the student garden club told us: “I am learning new skills; and I have shown my new knowledge to my family.  I go to work in the garden three times a week, and I have really enjoyed making some money which I can use to help my education”.

We hope that this garden continues to perform well, and that the children’s hard work and dedication will pay off with a fruitful harvest later on in the year. As always, you can catch more project updates on the website, and on social media so be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

Jumpstart! Open Day – News Update

As part of our Jumpstart! Project, our education team have introduced open days in African Revival supported schools, where each term,  nursery school parents are invited to visit their children’s ECD centres. During these open days, parents discuss their children’s progress with their teachers, visit the classrooms, and find out about what their children have been learning. The Jumpstart! team is hoping that this new initiative will increase parents’ involvement in their children’s development, and forge strong relationships between parents and teachers through increased accountability with one another.

One school  we caught up with is Anaka P7 Primary School. Do you remember Irene, who attended ECD training in February? Irene, who is teaching the K2 class at the school, told us: “When I was at the training, I was so inexperienced but now, I just think teaching is the best thing! I love it so much; the knowledge I have gained from training, I am using it all the time. I know how to the control my class and I know all my students so well.” Irene, who teaches 54 pupils, has been innovative in managing such a large class. “The children are doing great this term; they were too many really but I have divided the children into three work groups: lions, elephants and tigers.  Each group sits together, and completes tasks together, which helps me manage the students better.”

We were certainly impressed when we visited her K2 classroom during the open day, which Irene has transformed. The classroom is now covered in bright learning posters and alphabet flashcards which Irene made herself. Irene tells us that the posters are helping the children to learn, as they often sit quietly at look at these learning materials.  Irene has also created a “shopping area”, where she displays learning props which she has gathered, such as counters, empty bottles, and pottery made by the children.

The students’ parents were proud of their impeccable behaviour in the classroom, and their writing skills: this term, each student has learnt to write their own name. Joanne is one of the top performing students in Irene’s class, and told us that she loves school because “It makes me concentrate and do well in exams.  I have learnt how to make pots, and now I know all the body parts which is good because I want to be a doctor.”

These open days have provided an invaluable opportunity for parents to track their children’s progress, and admire their children’s handiwork.  Sarah, who is the parent of Emmanuel, a K1 student at Purong Hill ECD centre, told us: “I have really enjoyed visiting my son’s classroom, and actually seeing what he is learning. I can see now just how much the teachers do for him. I can tell that nursery school has been good for Emmanuel, because at home, he is always telling me about the things he is learning; he now knows the names of most household items”.

Here at African Revival, it is a real joy to see children thriving in their learning environments, and we hope that children and teachers everywhere enjoy their well-earned half-term break this week, and come back refreshed, ready for a productive and successful second term.  Be sure to follow the progress of our Jumpstart! students right here on the website, and on our various social media channels!

Golf Day – Thank You

A huge thank you to all our golfers who attended our 10th Annual Golf Day yesterday. It might have been a little breezy but otherwise we had great weather – and it was a close battle between teams from Call Connection, Academy Insurance, Chaucer Insurance, Open GI , 1 Answer Insurance, Be Wiser Insurance, Transactor GSL, Ignition Select, The A & A Group, CCL / Hertz, XS Direct, David Rasche Consulting and a team headed up by our trustee Glen James. Well done to our champions Academy Insurance who claimed the winner’s shield!

A big thank you to all who for attending, playing our Hit The Green competition and bidding so generously in the auction. We’re delighted that the amount we raised was an amazing £11,020. This will go a long way towards supporting our education projects in Uganda and Zambia – and really is a substantial amount which will have a big impact on our work. We want to make sure every child can go to school and get a quality education – so thank you so much for helping us work towards this vision. It makes a huge difference.

Thanks to our host Steve McPherson, our great volunteers Gerry and Gemma, Stoke Park Golf Club, all those that donated auction prizes and our auctioneer Nick Carter.

Congratulations Antoine!

Our very own trustee Antoine Pesenti ran the London Marathon for us again on Sunday 26th April 2015. He finished in an amazing 2 hours and 54 minutes and so far has raised almost £6,000 for African Revival – congratulations and thank you Antoine!

You can still donate to Antoine’s fundraising efforts and help him towards his target here 

Interested in running the London Marathon for us next year yourself? Keep an eye on our website and social media for more details!

Goodbye to Nicola and Jon!

Today, our Gulu office says goodbye to Nicola, who has been volunteering as our Finance Manager there for the last 6 months, along with her partner Jon. Our CEO Colleen had this to say:

“Dear Nicola, what a whirlwind 6 months! From start to finish you have been extremely resourceful, flexible and professional, and because of your dedication and hard work, our accounting and budgeting systems are now finally taking shape. I cannot thank you enough for all everything you have done for us and I sincerely hope you and Jon enjoyed your time in Gulu as much as we have enjoyed having you both there.”

“I know the Gulu team is going to miss you and Jon, but I am happy to say the UK team is really excited about you joining us in a part-time capacity as Finance Director upon your return! I would like to thank you and Jon on behalf of everyone at African Revival for your commitment of time and energy in the last 6 months.”

Construction at Juba Road starts

On the 1^st of April 2015, our Construction Co-ordinator Vincent was pleased to officially hand over the Juba Road Primary School construction site to contractors, who, supported by African Revival, are now free to begin building two teacher’s houses.

After signing a memo of understanding with African Revival, our contractors Robert and John-Paul and their team of men will be constructing a twin house on the school premises. This will provide accommodation for two staff members of Juba Road Primary School – a school located just 30km from the South Sudanese border. African Revival has a strong relationship with the school, having already built classrooms, latrines and a girls’ washroom there, and we are excited to be building (quite literally!) upon this relationship in the coming months, as we work together to improve facilities.

Currently, many of the school’s teachers live in huts near the school property but, in several months, some fortunate teachers will be enjoying the new accommodation. This includes Millie-Grace, the senior woman teacher and Richard, the deputy head-teacher, who travels a considerable distance to the school every day. The head teacher, Fred O’Kot, chose these teachers because Millie-Grace’s role is “paramount – and living on the premises will enable her to attend to the girl children more fully”. Indeed, Mr O’Kot is passionate about promoting the retention of female students at the school, a goal which has been greatly assisted by the building of the girls’ washrooms. 312 girls are currently enrolled (out of 712 pupils), but drop-outs begin to occur from P5. This is why Mr O’Kot is keen to increase female teacher presence in the school; to support girls, encourage them in their studies, and help with any challenges which may lead them to discontinue their studies.

Mr O’Kot believes that by having Millie-Grace and Richard on site, “we will have both senior staff present to talk to both boys and girls about the challenges girls face as they become women; we want our boys to understand these and support the girls so that they can all grow and learn together.” Having senior staff members easily accessible to the children will facilitate these sorts of discussions, as well as allowing them to better support children in all their needs – both academic and pastoral.

One of the contractors, John-Paul, whose team recently completed the girls’ dormitory at a teacher training college in Kitgum, assured the head teacher that he is looking forward to commencing work and will deliver quality results as proven in the past. John-Paul also asserted that ultimately, the project belongs to the community, and he is therefore keen to see teachers and parents take ownership of the project by helping to locate local materials and labourers as a way of also boosting the local economy. Vincent echoed these words, voicing his expectation that the construction team will “work to an excellent standard, producing structures which other schools will want to emulate. Let this be a model for future works in schools.”

As the chairman of the SMC, Richard symbolically broke the ground where construction will begin. Millie-Grace told us that “I am so excited, and looking forward to the completion of the new housing. My hut, where I live now, isn’t very safe or secure and I often have to keep going back to home to check on it – but now I will feel safe and comfortable, and will be able to spend more time at school, and be more available to my pupils – particularly the girls”.

As African Revival left the school, Mr O’Kot assured the team that the school “is ready and willing to work together, and we will support you in every way we can – let’s work as a team to make this project as simple as possible”. We are confident that John-Paul and Robert’s team will do a fantastic job with the teachers’ houses; we look forward to tracking their progress, and of course celebrating with the school once the building has been completed. As always, all our projects at African Revival are motivated by our desire to improve access to, and quality of, children’s education, and our hope is that the new houses benefit Richard and Millie-Grace, and in turn, will positively impact the children they are responsible for.

Anaka P7 Music, Dance and Drama equipment

The pupils of Anaka P7 are absolutely thrilled with their new dance costumes, choir uniforms and instruments, which they recently received courtesy of African Revival with funds from the Allen Trust.

The school’s head-teacher, Lily-Rose, is a firm believer in nurturing her students’ talents, which is why the school places a strong emphasis on encouraging extra-curricular activities. Lily-Rose told us “we really recognize that children’s gifts are not limited to their academic aptitudes; children are gifted in different ways and we want to give children the opportunity to explore all their potential talents; this will enable them to grow into well-rounded individuals”.

Indeed, Anaka P7’s students are exceptionally gifted in music and dance. Last year, the school’s Music, Dance and Drama club were crowned the best club in the Nwoya district. Unfortunately, the group did not enjoy the same success at the regional competition because they were not clothed in the proper attire. However, David, the school’s talented and enthusiastic music and drama teacher who has served at the school for two years, is feeling very excited at what the coming year may hold for the club: “ myself and the students feel very optimistic about the next competitions, as we really think we could win. We work very hard, and with the new uniforms and instruments, there is now nothing standing in our way for success. We are so grateful for these precious gifts”.

With a range of new costumes, the children truly look the part, and the students take great pride in donning their new outfits. Florence, in P5, told us: “we love our new costumes, we feel so smart- I don’t want to take it off!” The students of Anaka P7 are also enjoying having a wide range of instruments at their disposal; many children have an amazing ear for music, and are able to effortlessly play any instrument they pick up, although the Xylophone seems to be a particular favourite amongst the students!

Throughout history, music has been a powerful tool of communication- to share stories, struggles, and success. During a visit by African Revival staff, the club  performed a folk song and dance, depicting the struggles of a marriage. Dressed in their new brightly-coloured costumes, the group sang about a drunken and aggressive husband who would not contribute to the household, whilst his wife was left to tend to the fields, and the home. During the performance, the wife takes action, calling a meeting with his parents to discuss the problems within the marriage, until resolution and reconciliation is achieved.

As the pupils harmonize beautifully and dance energetically to the rhythm of an African drum, the children clearly enjoy these performances. However, in spite of the fun, these songs also help children learn important lessons which may serve them well in the future; how husbands and wives should treat each other, and how to resolve conflict in a productive manner. Moreover, learning complex songs and poems also helps children in building their English language and memory, as well as increase their confidence.