Education Uganda Project #29180

Help Children with Learning Difficulties in Uganda

by Backup Uganda

Project Report | May 19, 2023
School term 1 done: our latest news for you

By Annemaaike Kruisselbrink | Co-Founder & Uganda Country Director

Flashlights to the rescue!

Hi there!

Warm, sunny (and slightly sweaty) greetings from Gulu! While other parts of the world are relieved to welcome spring and summer, we are dealing with an unexpected bout of HOT weather here in Northern Uganda. Our entire team is desperately observing everything resembling a cloud in the sky, hoping for some rain. What is the weather like where you are today?

When we last shared an update with you, the new school year was about to kick off in Uganda - today we are already in the middle of first term break! This means we have completed a whole school term with our new partner schools, and we can finally reveal to you which ones they are:

In February, we welcomed Paicho Primary School, Wilul Primary School and Jesus Is The Truth Primary School on board. Every single one of these schools is unique in its own way. For example, Jesus Is The Truth P/S is our first private partner school, and Wilul Primary School is our first partner school that does not have access to electricity. What they do have in common is committed teachers and head teachers who are beyond eager to learn more about learning difficulties & disabilities - we couldn’t wish for more!

March and April were particularly busy months for us when it comes to fundraising as well. Did you see that we raised $741 towards parents meetings at our new partner schools (probably partly thanks to you) during GlobalGiving’s Little by Little campaign? And that we held a Corporate Dinner in Gulu for the very first time, which was plagued by rain and disco lights due to faulty electricity, but somehow turned out to be a success anyway? We just love how our Backup family shows up for us every single time - online, in person, and everywhere in the world. You keep us going, day after day.

That reminds us - did you know that GlobalGiving is matching donations of new monthly donors at 100% right now? If you have been considering a more regular contribution to our work, then this is the perfect time. After the first 3 monthly donations, your amount will be doubled there and then! Simply sign up by clicking the 'give now' button at the bottom of this update.

That’s the news we have for you today! Keep an eye on our social media pages, there will be lots of fun things coming up: new partnerships, more Backup On Tour sessions, and perhaps even a tour of our new office… Stay tuned!

Much love,

The Backup Uganda Team

Also...we turned 7 this month!

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Feb 1, 2023
Hello 2023: Back to school!

By Annemaaike Kruisselbrink | Co-Founder & Uganda Country Director

Giving Tuesday was one for the books!

Hello dear friends!

Yes, we know the second month of the year has just begun, but…happy new year to you! We hope you had a wonderful festive season and started your new year with nothing but good news.

The last time we wrote to you, we were getting closer to the Christmas break. Today, we are only 4 days away from starting a brand new school year in Uganda: schools are reopening on Monday! While we had a lovely 2-week break until the beginning of January, we are back in full swing, preparing the first activities with our current partner schools and selecting new schools to join our program. New schools? Yes, thanks to you!

Remember Giving Tuesday on 29th November last year? Did you see that together, we raised $1,966 on that day? Quite impressive, if we may say so, and quite close to our $2,500 goal! This means we have the opportunity to welcome several new, remote primary schools to make use of our ODII blended training package The application process is still running, we can’t wait to tell you about our newest partner schools soon.

In our previous report, we also mentioned the first edition of the Inclusion Festival, scheduled to take place on 3rd December 2022. The fun that was had on that day… The photos alone will tell you this story! People with and without disabilities joined each other in sports, games, arts, a quiz and so much more, learning about how possible and fun inclusion actually is. Thanks to the Festival partners, we have already started planning the second edition.

That’s the latest from Gulu, for you! A quick announcement: the next Little by Little campaign will take place on GlobalGiving in the first week of April (3rd-7th). All donations up to $50 will be matched with 50% of the amount given - we know it’s one of your favorites. We will make sure to send you a reminder closer to the campaign week.

For now: Happy February!

Much love,

The Backup Uganda Team

Inclusion Festival dance moves

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Oct 18, 2022
Progress, progress and more progress

By Annemaaike Kruisselbrink | Co-Founder & Uganda Country Director

Happy birthday to Fred!

Good morning/afternoon/evening from Gulu!

How are you doing today? For two weeks in a row, our week started with cake, as we have been celebrating our team members’ birthdays! We are definitely going to miss this next week…

The additional sugar has helped fuel our recent activities, as we are slowly getting closer to the end of the school year. Can you believe we will be closing our office doors for the Christmas break only 2 months from now? We are doing our best to get everything we have planned together with our partner schools and PTCs done before that, and we are well on our way!

The 2 primary schools that have joined the ODII blended training program have already completed 2 of the video training sessions independently. We have been observing them during the sessions to learn from their experience, and their feedback has been exceptionally helpful. Now we know exactly what we need to improve on to make the teachers’ learning process even more effective. This couldn’t take place without the great support from the schools’ head teachers - it is an honor to work with them.

In addition, we are finally about to wrap up our partnership with all the schools and PTCs we began collaborating with from 2018-2020. COVID-19 may have delayed us, but it sure hasn’t stopped us! We are in the middle of the last workshops, lesson observations and Inclusive Education Committee meetings and we are confident that we will be able to hand the teachers their certificates by the beginning of December. After that: time for new partner schools in new places!

In September, you helped us raise no less than $1,266 to replace our team’s oldest laptops. You can imagine our excitement, knowing we can finally say goodbye to spotty screens and dysfunctional batteries. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Next up is Giving Tuesday on 29th November (with impressive matching funds), which will be all about the expansion to new partner schools - stay tuned.

Lastly, have you already heard about how Gulu will celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities this year? Together with Ability Sports Africa, we are organizing the first edition of the Inclusion Festival on 3rd December, with fun & inclusive activities for EVERYONE. Check out our social media pages for updates, there are many ways you could get involved.

Remember, we always love hearing from you! Please feel welcome to share your ideas and feedback via info@backupuganda.org, we are happy to chat at any time.

Much love,

The Backup Uganda Team

Ajulu Primary School teachers focused on ODII

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