Help Children with Learning Difficulties in Uganda

Hello ‘Backup to our Backup’,

We have entered a new (school) year, and as we all know, it has not been an easy one so far. We hope you are all well and taking the necessary precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe!

As we are writing this, there has not been any confirmed case of Covid-19 in Uganda yet, and (school) life is moving on as usual - with a number of extra hygiene measures in place, of course. We are keeping a close eye on updates coming from the Uganda government - the Ministry of Health in particular - to ensure we are following all directives given. If schools end up being closed and our movements are limited, we will continue with all other work we can do - from our brand new office at The Innovation Village in Gulu, or from our homes.

Since the beginning of the school year, we have been able to make a strong start at our new partner primary schools and primary teachers college. As of school term 1 of 2020, we have started a partnership with Christ the King Demonstration Primary School, Mary Immaculate Primary School, St. Joseph’s Primary School, and Christ the King Primary Teachers College. So far, we have had the opportunity to meet the teachers at the primary schools at least twice. Once, to introduce our project to the entire school team, and the second time to begin our first workshop on learning difficulties. At Christ the King PTC, we were able to kick off training sessions with the second-year student teachers just before they started their school practise at the surrounding primary schools - their first time teaching an entire class!

As we are building these new collaborations, we are not forgetting our previous partner schools. In fact, we have started developing something new together with the school teams: by the end of 2020, each school will have its own Inclusive Education Committee (IEC). Each IEC is responsible for running all activities related to inclusive education within the school. This includes developing individualized support plans together with teachers, referring children and parents to experts for further diagnostics and support, and much more. This means that within a short time, schools will no longer need backup from Backup! That’s exactly what we are aiming for: an independent, inclusive education system.

Starting from April, we are thrilled to be expanding our team with two trainees under the fresh and new Frostig Traineeship Program. Thanks to Frostig School in Pasadena, California (USA), we have the opportunity to hire two recent Ugandan graduates in a special needs related course for a full year of working and learning at Backup Uganda. Our trainees will be engaged fulltime in the workshops and meetings we offer in the schools and communities we work with.

Did we just say communities? That’s right, we are taking our work beyond the schools this year! We are planning to hold community meetings and radio talk shows about learning difficulties, to help us reach everyone within the communities around our partner schools. This will help build an even stronger support system for children who experience these difficulties, wherever they go. Due to the Corona virus, we may have to be patient until we can hold the community meetings, but radio talk shows are an excellent way to spread information without having to bring many people together in the same location. 

Starting next week (23-27 March), we will be raising funds during GlobalGiving’s Little by Little campaign to hold the first talk shows as soon as possible. We aim to raise $800, and GlobalGiving is making this easier for all of us by matching each donation up to $50 with 50% of the donated amount! We would love for you to be part of this, so keep an eye on our social media pages to be reminded of this campaign.

That’s all for now, dear friend! We appreciate your continuous support, and we hope these updates help you see the impact you are making. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions you may have! We would love to hear from you.

Stay safe and healthy,

The Backup Uganda Team