Kibuli community gets children resource centre

The UN Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG4) focuses on education and aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” By 2030, it is to ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.

While we aim for this, we cannot ignore the fact that quality education plays a fundamental role in children’s growth and development and in the long run, the development of a nation.

Such education also prepares children to start and attain sustainable livelihoods by activating creativity and innovation. It lays a foundation for equity by providing possibilities for breaking the poverty cycle and enables children and young people to meaningfully contribute to individual and community development.

However, children and young people, especially those that attend underserved schools in Uganda have to work harder to break barriers in education to unlock their potential and compete favourably with their peers who attend ‘good’ schools.

Most times, underserved schools have inadequate or lack facilities that support research and access to information and well-trained teachers that teach in child-friendly ways that focus on their needs. The situation is even worse for children who drop out of school.  

Intervention
It is upon this that the 40 Days Over 40 Smiles Foundation, aka, (4040) has established the Angaza Resource Centre at Merowa Junior school- Kibuli for the community to break the barriers and bridge the gap.

The centre that is equipped with textbooks, computers, storybooks, games, and other materials that support and facilitate better learning outcomes for children provides a safe space for children to play and interact with their peers.

It will support more than 4,000 underprivileged children in Kibuli and her vicinities. While speaking at the grand opening of the centre recently, Esther Kalenzi, the founder and team leader of 4040, said the resource centre will diversify the range of educational facilities and learning spaces in the area, particularly for children in primary schools, young people and teachers.

The volunteer-based nonprofit organisation provides literacy and learning resources to vulnerable children and underserved communities as a means of increasing enrollment, retention and improving access to quality learning for all children.

She explained that the centre presents a great opportunity for learners who attend schools that lack facilities such as libraries and computer laboratories which are necessary resources for quality learning outcomes of children. 

The founder noted that the centre will also give a chance to out of school children to learn hands-on skills that can contribute to their economic wellbeing in the future. This is also  to up skill teachers from community schools with training in learner-centred education, resource-making, inclusivity and leadership.

“Our hope is that the resource centre will transform learning for schools in Kibuli by providing that extra support”, Ms Kalenzi said, adding; “The Foundation is grateful to all its partners, individuals, organisations and groups of people who have contributed to this project and its volunteers who have worked relentlessly to build the dream and bring it to life.”

Kalenzi noted that the project so far cost about Shs 190m donated by well-wishers, but more funds were still needed to equip the centre with more computers and other reading materials.

The centre will be operating from Monday to Saturday, during the school term and holidays at a free cost and schools can borrow books to use during class lessons.

The Angaza Resource Centre project lead, Gloria Mbabazi, noted that the Centre will demonstrate the Foundation’s commitment to improving the learning outcomes for children while in school. 

“Our goal has been to support underprivileged children to have access to materials that improve the quality of their learning,” she said.

Adding; “We have done this through our Angaza programme by donating more than 1,500 storybooks, training life and hands-on skills to children and enhancing the capacity of teachers in our partner schools to foster a learner-centred educational approach.”

The centre is one of the 4040’s work under the Angaza programme which focuses on building and strengthening children’s life skills such as self-awareness, community agency and resourcefulness alongside literacy.

She encouraged parents in the community to make use of the Centre by sending their children to learn from the Centre.

Nelly Murungi, a Primary Four pupil at Kisugu Church of Uganda primary school, said that the center will help them to gain computer skills and also improve their vocabulary through reading books.

He noted that the centre will help pupils in different schools to access the text books to improve on their academics.

Quick notes 

Merowa Junior School, Kibuli director Aisha Abdallah, said the resource centre will help to improve pupils’ performance and literacy.

“This centre is not is not going to serve only the children here at Merowa school but also the children in the community at large. Computer literacy in this era and age is important, no one can easily get a job when they are computer illiterate,” Abdallah said.