Help Children with Learning Difficulties in Uganda

Hello dear friends!

We are happy to connect with you today, during a time when the world is finally starting to look a little brighter. More and more public places are opening up, COVID-19 infection rates are dropping in many countries, and making plans for the future is slowly becoming easier. That said, we know this does not go for all of us - in Uganda, infections have been increasing rapidly over the past weeks, so as a team, we are doing our best to navigate yet another wave.

This is coming at a time when the final phase of school reopening is just about to begin. Since March 2020, learners in Primary 1, 2 and 3 have been home, so we are all looking forward to their return on 7th June. Whether this will happen or not will depend on further communication from Uganda’s president, which is expected any day now. All other classes have been able to complete a short version of their final school term of the year during the past few months. You can guess what that means: we have been BUSY.

With our masks on and our hands well-sanitized, our partner schools and primary teachers colleges have allowed us to resume our usual activities. This means we have been able to hold in-person workshops for teachers, administrators, student teachers and teacher educators - imagine our excitement! Our team was thrilled to be able to observe the student teachers during their teaching practice as well. We love seeing them experiment with the new skills they gained during our workshops, while we guide them along the way.

Speaking of workshops: Backup On Tour happened for the first time! We plan to take our sessions to different locations across Uganda, starting with the major cities. Of course, there was only one city we could start from: Gulu! Towards the end of May, we received managers, HR professionals, team leaders and professionals working with children for a half-day detailed introduction to learning difficulties & disabilities. All participants are now well-aware that conditions like these exist among children and adults, which means we all have to take steps to create more inclusive environments for learning and working. Next up: Jinja, Kampala & Mbarara!

Did you know that we have a creative side as well? On 20th May, we launched MOYA, Backup Uganda’s fundraising arm that offers fun products with an important message. We started off by selling T-shirts and if you are in Uganda, you can still order yours here at UGX 35,000 only. They will be available in the Netherlands and the USA soon!

That’s it for today, friends! Please keep us in your thoughts as we are trying to get through the (hopefully) last phases of the pandemic, while making sure that all (and we mean ALL) children can continue learning. We hope you continue to be safe and healthy.

Much love from Gulu,

The Backup Uganda Team

Links:

• Order your shirt today!