Fellows' Newsletter: Impact Stories.

I once sat and listened to a wise man who told me the best and most important moment in life was discovering why one was born. If anyone had told me that it would take me 26 years to understand what that meant, I would have sought for a shortcut. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in self-discovery. As a professional secondary school teacher, I never could imagine developing the passion and charisma for classroom teaching – explaining the same content I was taught during my school days. I always had a strong feeling that I wanted to do something different, solving real life challenges but I had not the slightest clue what that was. The rare opportunity I got to work with Teach for Uganda as a teacher leader in January 2022 after my graduation in 2021 opened me to a new arena. The standard of living, the prevailing mindsets, and approach to life, among several others that I witnessed in my placement community altered me inside out. The fellowship experience this far has been challeng...

My primary one classroom is big but has 34 girls and 24 boys. The first time I entered it one Monday morning in October, I didn't see a single chart on its beautiful walls. The class has a blackboard and the teachers' table. The learners were noisy and pieces of papers and soil were all over the floor and the desks. However, I was super excited because the learners had given me a warm welcome. I had not taken long inside there when I saw a tall, decently dressed lady with a nice hairstyle, walk in. After introducing herself as Madam Oliver, the class teacher for P1, she told me that she was looking forward to working with me. Two days later, I organized to teach the learners Mathematics that seems easy for them to understand but very complicated when I explain the content in English. Oh, God! How can I manage this classroom? This was running on my mind as the learners were shouting and screaming, fighting and reporting to me whomever was doing something wrong. I tried to ca...

Handover ceremony at Lwatama P/S About 2,000 people surround Lwatama Primary, a government aided school located in Lwatama, Nawamsimbi Village, Nangonde Sub County of Namutumba District. Our school also is popular for its low performance District and Countrywide, receiving its over 500 learners from peasant parents whose entire livelihood is dependent on subsistence agriculture, if the gods are good and the harvest is large – the excess are sold off to meet other household demands. When we were first posted as fellows of Teach for Uganda in this community of amazing people, we did not know anyone, where to access water, or the direction to any market, among other pressing things we needed for function as humans. The following day, we set off to survey the area and find where those amenities where situated and other important places such as the church and the local councilors’ abode. In so doing, we were briefed about the pressing factors that affect the Education of the children of Lwa...