Building education together: A story from Terego district, Katrini sub-county
“This is one of the remotest villages in the sub-county and the nearest Primary School is in the next sub-county. As a result, children usually go to school around eight years’ old, which is two-years later than children who have schools nearby.” Sub-county Chairperson Moses Mandaabo summarizes the challenge that Kara Village in Terego district has been facing. He didn’t hesitate to nominate the village as a location for the Community-Led Learning (CLL) programme. “Through the Community-Led Learning initiative, children are given a chance to catch up on what they missed.”
Community member Ositia Coxwell was immediately keen to get involved: “The education services have been brought nearer to the community. When the SESIL programme came up with Community-Led Learning, I saw the opportunity for our children, so I offered my place to be used as a learning centre.” His passion for education is palpable when he talks about how he has been hosting the lessons in his home since 2020.
Initially, not all parents in Kara Village shared Ositia’s enthusiasm. The Chairperson recalls: “The parents were never serious about following up to see what their children are learning and if they are even learning. They have been mediocre in terms of education and were settling for less.”
But as the Community-Led Learning lessons were progressing, parents witnessed how the small groups, attention from the teachers and active methodologies of the approach supported children to perform better. “The biggest change has been in the renewed interest of parents in the education of their children.”
Eleven-year-old Immaculate enjoyed the lessons at her neighbour’s home: “Before I came to the Community-Led Learning class, I didn’t know how to read and write, but now I can read the alphabet well. I learn well here, and the teachers are always around, but at my Primary School sometimes the teachers don’t come. I do better at school because they teach us well at the Community-Led Learning centre.”
Inspired by the results, the parents of Kara Village came together to financially contribute to the education of their children. SESIL learning coordinator, Achola Betty, smiles when she thinks about their mindset change: “It all starts with the parents’ mindset and the interest for the education of their children. The Kara community instated a by-law that each parent must contribute 1,000 UGX (0.22 GBP) to an education fund.”
With the education fund, the parents now support the continuation of the learning centre in their village. Ositia shows a nearly finished structure that is arising in his front yard. Soon, the lessons won’t be disturbed by rain anymore: “My home was not big enough to accommodate all the children when it rains, so the parents contributed money and labour to build a classroom.”
Chairperson Mandaabo is optimistic about the developments: “The SESIL programme may be ending, but Community-Led Learning is continuing, because the centres are running without the financial support of SESIL. In our sub-county budget, we have planned for monitoring of the centres and community sensitisation. The parents have been instrumental in mobilising the resources to keep the learning going on. They are now putting up a temporary shelter for the children and they are the ones paying the Community Learning Facilitators.”
Mandaabo underlines the importance of thinking outside the box. The structure in Kara Village may not be a fancy looking, stone walled building with shiny iron sheets, but it is the community commitment that counts for him: “It’s not the magnificence of the buildings that counts, but the development of the brain, so we need to direct our resources there. Our community learning centres are working well to equip the children with the required competences.”
