This is Ben!
November 19, 2015
Ben is 15 years old and currently in P6 where he especially enjoys his mathematics and science classes. As his father, Edward (on the left), is the Deputy of Layima Primary School, Ben resides in the teachers quarter together with his mother, Mary, and sister, Patricia, who is in P3 in Atiak Primary School. His older brother, Francis, is in P7 at boarding school in Gulu.
He first heard about the club during a school assembly and seeing the parent-led school demonstration garden develop right in front of his eyes and inspired by the thought of creating something similar with his fellow pupils, he was motivated to join the club. He clearly saw the benefits this club will have for each one of them:
“It is good because in the event that you leave school and if you don’t continue with your further studies, the things that you have learnt, the farming skills that you have acquired from here, you can now apply at home and as you are living.”
Already a few months ago, when they had only had a few meetings yet, Ben was looking forward to getting the garden started, as he believes:
“I am going to acquire the skills for nursery bed management, so that I can then grow vegetables and earn lot of money from it.”
Ben is not only one of the 50 members of the pupils’ entrepreneurship club, but has also been selected to be the club’s chairman probably because of his very honourable and reserved nature. He represents the spokesperson of the pupils’ entrepreneurship club which also entails tasks such as “conducting meetings with visitors, if they come; and also to conduct meetings with the club members to agree on what they are going to do, their activities”.
As the club’s chairperson he has already thought about possible challenges they could and preventive measurements – as for example: theft –
“I am worried that if the crops start performing well, some other children might come and start stealing it. That could be a potential challenge. Therefore, we will continuously, when we are in the school, monitoring it. But during weekends, since I come from the quarters, I will take charge as a chairperson!”
Ready to take up responsibility, Ben and his fellow pupils are looking forward to the “training on economic practices of onions and then training on business”. Ben already has a clear idea about how the profits could be used:
“I would prioritise the uniform, school uniforms, I would like to contribute towards that. And then, part of the income of the club is also contributed to the school to buy scholastic materials and the school can also, with my advice, buy a football – so that the children can play during games time.”
A proper football had to come on the list, just because the pupils love to play football – in particular Ben (centre) and his friends, Richard (left) and Francis (right)! Ben is a striker and tries to follow up with football, always cheering for Arsenal with Alexis Sánchez being his favourite player!
