NURSERY SCHOOLS FOR VICTIMS IN

Introduction

Pre-school and care is very crucial in the educational and adult lives of children. Despite such crucial importance, the Uganda government makes no investment in it; and has left it to local communities. Urban and richer community members are more able to access this service for their children. However, most Ugandans are rural poor peasants or poor slum dwellers who do not easily access or afford it. Peasantry livelihoods limit most parents’ financial ability to pay school and care fees. Further, most are located far and are inaccessible. This project seeks to enable all to access and afford this vital service for their children. It seeks support external support to meet its pressing needs and become self-sustaining.

The context

The area of education needing most attention but getting least in Uganda is pre-school education and child care. Pre-school education and childcare strongly affect children’s academic and adult lives. Children who access high quality pre-school education and care are not only likely to successfully complete school, but also less likely to develop social problems such as criminality. Those who receive no pre- and care find it difficult to settle into primary and secondary school to learn. They may be disruptive to other children’s learning processes or may be withdrawn. They go to next classes with big learning gaps, and cannot get the most out of education opportunities.

Although there is free universal primary and in Uganda, pre-primary education and care is funded privately by individual parents. Most of these parents are poor rural peasants with many children. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics reveals that out of the 32 million or so Ugandans, around 27 million live in rural areas. Over 10 million and 8 million are children under 9 and 5 years respectively. This is a considerably big market but of poor customers in business terms.

Some private entrepreneurs in communities are offering pre-primary education. But their predominantly urban location, cash basis and high profit orientation limit the service to urban dwellers and richer minority. They also mix children of all ages in one structure to minimise costs. They are far from peasants who can’t afford transporting their children daily.

Intervention

It is within the above context that we offer an age specific, simpler, nearer and affordable service to all categories of parents. Centres to educate and care for specifically 2-5 old children are being set up nearer to welcoming communities. They are operated by teachers and child carers whom we train in our own empowerment academy, and who are got through a careful selection process. All parents are able to meet the costs since payment modes depend on each parent’s source of income and livelihood. This flexibility and simplicity makes many parents to bring their children.

Objectives

This project aims at achieving two main objectives goals (dividing it into two parts): 1. To support the construction of already initiated operating rural nursery schools. Two schools now have over 150 children each but are housed in very temporary structures, whose environments are evidently dangerous to the lives of the children. Locals have tried within their meagre means and started on one structure. They need support to complete it.

2. To establish a new child care and education centre in an urban area. This will carter for the urban poor; employ the academy’s trainees (the marginalized victims); and also raise funds from the urban rich who will also seek the good services that are to be offered therein.

The services and beneficiaries Quality pre-primary education for at least 100 children aged 2-5 in Mbale town, as well as at least 150 children from a rural village (Bulumela) is offered as a service. This means staying with children throughout agreed time frames, playing with them and presenting age- appropriate materials and environments for them to develop and learn. We aim to provide materials such as toys, counting or reading items and play parks for imagination, learning and playing respectively. The centres are divided into sections according to age levels (2, 3, 4 and 5); each section holding at most 25 children and served by a trained teacher or child nun/carer. Similarly, child care and feeding for all 2-5 year olds above is done. We aim to provide nutritious food for children, provide appropriate resting/sleeping environment and offer toiletry related care like bathing, pampering and clothing/dressing. We also envision offering transport services for children from their homes to centres for parents who wish it. Guidance and counselling for parents on talent potentials of their children and available options for them in the education system is also done. At least 5 trainees from the empowerment academy (victims of injustices) are placed into gainful work as teachers every year. They earn a salary and improve their standards of living and that of those they support.

Activities and budget to accomplish them Specifically, the project strives to accomplish activities with costing as here below: Activity Units/frequency Cost estimates (in $) Unit cost Total cost -Finish up a room for a rural nursery structure started 1x1 4000 4000 -Rent buildings for the new centre for a first year 1x12 250 3000 -Buy essential furniture for the new centre 100x1 25 2500 -Facilitate placement & initial support of 4 trainees 4x12 120 5760 -Cover other costs (formalities, chalk, chalk boards, paper, simple feeding, beddings, toiletries, power and 10x1 374 3740 water bills, coordination etc.) for one school term Total cost for all activities 19000

Long term financing and sustainability plan The project is an extension of a victims’ restoration program through the empowerment academy. Those employed are the academy’s graduates who make contributions to the project for an agreed period, as a way of helping others after them. The community as parents of the children being served will make contributions (in kind and in cash-fees). These will run each school’s programs. For instance, in Mbale town where most parents are working, they are more able to pay fees. If each parent pays 150$ per term, this means that 100 children will raise 15000$ in a term. If the establishment costs (construct and furniture – 7500$) above are already covered, then 15000$ will run the centre and even make a saving to establish other initiatives in other locations. The diagram below summarises the restoration program as an empowerment from below

Time frame While the construction the project will be ended after the school construction is complete and the new centre is established, this is an on-going project because centres will continue being established as much as resources can allow. Therefore, whatever funds are got will be put to use immediately until the construction is complete and the new centre is fully operational. However, to aid the establishment of the new centre, funds will be needed by the end of the year. These will help to; - Fulfil formal and legal formalities/requirements for existence – last three months of the year (2013); - Recruit staff and then make a child recruitment drive – last month of the year (2013); and -Begin operations – first term in the second of the new year (2014).

The team We have a team of professionally trained and experienced persons at our service already. Nathan Muwereza is a trained teacher of vocational studies. He also holds a bachelor degree in social sciences, majoring in psychology (from Makerere, Uganda), an MPhil in criminology (from Cambridge, UK) and has just completed a PhD in sociology (from Freiburg , Germany). He has worked in schools, local governments and civil society organisations in Uganda since 1998. Nathan Muwereza is the founder and executive director of ACTS. He oversees all the operations of ACTS as an organization. He guides policy formulation processes, strategic planning and implementation of all ACTS’ programs.

Nambuya Sharon Sylivia (also a trained teacher and counsellor): volunteers as the projects coordinator. She links all teams’ projects to ACTS, facilitates needs assessments in communities and recommends teams for possible nursery schools and/or other projects’ initiations.

Lornah Mutonyi (also trained teacher and counsellor) helps in directing the education projects in ACTS. She performs tasks such as developing curricula and supporting the recruitment of children and workers in all our schools. She attends to needs of all workers and children, such as staff welfare (remuneration & accommodation) and feeding for employees and children respectively

While we are trained teachers, we cannot teach in all centres or all classes alone. We employ nursery teachers and trained workers in the initiatives. Some of them undergo training in our empowerment academy itself. Similarly, we are not accountants to keep proper financial records on our own. We therefore seek the services of professionals in accounting to enable us become financially sound. Pictorial Left is a school structure under construction in Bulumela. Right is a group of our future citizens

Help to complete such buildings. You will have given a future to such souls others after them. If you want to visit us, please drop us an email and we will be happy to host you as our guest.