Education & Vocational Training
Education is the key to individual empowerment, community development
and economic certainty in East Africa. The 2002 population census
concluded that Uganda’s population growth rate is ranked the
third in the world. More significantly, however, the census predicted
that the number of 0-18 year olds would rise from 13.7 million in
2005 to 19.5 million by 2010 – at this point, more than half
of the population will be aged under 18 years. This rapidly changing
demographic profile of the child population affects all social indicators
and puts immense pressure on the very few resources available. Quite
simply, without the intervention of organisations such as CALM Africa,
and other non-profit groups, many African children simply will not
have access to even the most basic level of education, and the cycle
of poverty will continue.
CALM
Africa operates the following educational and training programmes:
• Kiganda Vocational School & Day Care Centre.
• St James Secondary School.
• Jolly-Mercy Learning Centre.
Kiganda
Vocational School & Day Care Centre
The centre was founded by members of ZEFAD in 2002 and later taken
on by CALM Africa. It is located in Kiganda Village, part of the
Lwanda sub-county in the Rakai District.
The
vocational school provides practical skills that students
can use to generate income and become self-reliant. It offers
training in carpentry, building and construction, tailoring,
home economics and organic farming. The children also get
involved in sport, music, dance and drama and all children
have access to a qualified counsellor.
The
facility also offers a day care centre and nursery for the
younger children (aged 3-10 years) where they are given
an introduction to education. Although the centre operates
in a very poor village, CALM Africa advocates for the rights
of children including the right to quality education –
as a result, all services at Kiganda Vocational School &
Day Care Centre are provided at a modest free subsidised
by CALM Africa. |
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Early provision of education is important, but in Uganda,
the number of child-headed households means that establishing
a day care centre also allows teenage children the chance
to further their education. The Day Care Centre at Kiganda
was established essentially with this purpose in mind –
to allow older students, who are often the main or only
care-giver in their households, time off from caring for
their younger siblings and an opportunity to further their
education.
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The Organic Farm
Organic farming is compulsory for all vocational students at Kiganda
and each student has their own piece of land at the farm. Here,
they learn how to grow maize, beans, sweet potato, Irish potato
and peas. Produce from their land is shared between the student
(who can take it home to feed their families) and the school (to
feed other students). Often, even these child-headed households
have inherited land, and skills learned at the vocational school
are put to good use on their own land. The farm also has crops
grown specifically to produce animal feed and various fruits that
are eaten by the students and distributed to local families. The
farm provides the school, and its students with food and a small
income, to meet the basic necessities of life. Apart from crops,
the farm is also home to a number of animals including cows, pigs,
goats, sheep, and chickens. Students at the vocational college
also learn how to care for these animals as part of their training
and are taught how to use the live stock to generate income.
The
Piggery
Nominated students at Kiganda are also responsible for a
piggery with more than 70 pigs.
The
Centre runs an annual scheme called ‘Give a Pig’,
and 'Give a Goat' whereby the animal is given to each vocational
student, as well as some of the vulnerable families in the
area, particularly those who have children enrolled at the
Day Care Centre. When they give birth they bring back two
piglets or kid goats which will be given to other trainees,
and that’s how the cycle runs. The farm doctor/manager
also has the responsibility of making a follow up on the
people who have received the animals, to check on their
health. |
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Cattle
Farm
The Kiganda farm is also home to 48 local-breed cows and again,
students are educated on how to care for the cows and generate
income from them. Practically, the cows have several uses; the
milk is used for cooking within the school and the surplus is
sold to the local community. The cows themselves are then sold
to butchers in the local town. At Christmas time, the school also
gives students at both the vocational school and day care centre
at least a kilogram of meat to take home for their families. At
times, the school also gives a small number (usually three) students
a cow to take home and share, working together to care for the
cow generate a modest income.
Poultry
Farm
Vocational students at Kiganda are also responsible for
eight poultry houses with more than 300 chickens - again,
teaching the students how to care for the animals and generate
a small income.
There
is capacity to expand this project and students are also
looking to obtain and breed some turkeys to expand their
knowledge.
The chickens are an extremely important income generator
for the farm as the eggs are regularly sold at the local
markets and as the chickens become too old to lay, they
are sold for meat. |
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St
James Secondary School
Established in 2003 by the founder members of CALM Africa, St
James Secondary School immediately set out to address the high
rate of school drop-outs in Rakai district and the nearby areas
across the Tanzanian boarder. The HIV/AIDS pandemic had swept
through the area, claiming the lives of many young adults and
leaving countless children orphaned. Many of these children lacked
either the funds, or the ambition to continue with their schooling.
Those of secondary school age often had to take on the additional
responsibilities of caring for younger siblings, and gave up on
their own education as a result.
To
address this immediate need, St James established a day care centre
more than 50 local children now attend. While providing basic
skills and an important introduction to the formal schooling system,
the centre also ensures that the older siblings of the children
are able to dedicate time to their personal educational needs
to help establish a more secure future for the family.
St
James Secondary School follows the National Curriculum and offers
students standard subjects including English, Maths, Physics,
Chemistry, Geography, History, Biology Swahili, Luganda, Religious
Studies and Fine Art. Agriculture is also a compulsory subject
for all students, and they are taught very practical skills in
the school’s garden farmland that can be put to good use
on their own land to help feed the family.
Our
students are enthusiastic and keen to learn. They voluntarily
engage in extra curricular activities on a regular basis including
music studies, sports and games, debating and establishing student
parliaments. St James has a teaching staff of 26 part-time teachers
and administrators. The school has more than 250 students –
of which, more than 40 are girls – some of whom reside in
the boarding facilities at the school.
Jolly-Mercy
Learning Centre
As a result of the work it was carrying out within the Rakai
District, it became evident to the CALM Africa team that
an increasing number of young people from rural areas, though
owning or having access to quality land, were moving to
the city in the hope of finding work and improving their
living standards. All too often, they were arriving in Kampala
to find that conditions were poor, jobs were scarce, and
support services in an already over-stretched community
were relatively non-existent.
The Jolly-Mercy Learning Centre was set up and opened in
2009 to help vulnerable children in the area with education
and vocational training.
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