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Meet our new teacher Edith

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Mbazzi Riverside School's new teacher, Edith.

Mbazzi Riverside School's new teacher, Edith.

Our School For Life Team at the new Mbazzi Riverside campus recently welcomed their fourth teacher, Edith. With her warm personality, big smile and wealth of experience, Edith is fitting in very well!

Edith grew up in Lugazi, a village approximately 50 km east of Bujuuko (where Mbazzi Riverside School is located). She was the fourth born to a family of 10 children – five girls and five boys. Edith’s father was a carpenter, while her mother stayed home to care for the children.

Edith went to a government run primary school in her village, and was transferred to private school for her secondary education. The conditions of the school improved greatly with this move - Edith's teachers were supportive and encouraged her studies. As Edith had her heart set on becoming a teacher since primary school, she recognised this move as her chance at a quality education, which motivated her to persevere through her studies.

When Edith finished secondary school, she began her two-year Nursery Teaching Certificate at YMCA in Mukono. From there she was successful in securing a coveted position working as an early childhood teacher with the non-governmental school Sufficiency of Scripture (SOS) in Luweero. With ample support for their teachers, and a focus on student-centred learning, Edith gained invaluable skills working at the internationally run NGO. After four successful years at SOS, Edith was ready for a change. When a teaching position opened at Mbazzi Riverside, she jumped at the chance!

Given her wonderful personality and wealth of experience working with a school which practiced similar teaching techniques, Edith was the perfect fit. She is one month into her new role and loves her new surroundings. “Mbazzi, for me, is something special! I really enjoy it here. We have such kindhearted teachers and I adore the children.”

Edith with her colleagues at Mbazzi.

Edith with her colleagues at Mbazzi.

As for the future, Edith’s new role has landed her in the perfect place to achieve her goals. After many years of teaching primary aged students, she has decided the next progression in her career is to teach secondary school, and as luck would have it, SFL is in the process of constructing our very first secondary school! With her heart set on teaching history, she need only wait a few years before her dream can come true. In one and a half years, our graduated Katuuso Primary School students will transfer to the soon to be constructed Mbazzi Riverside Secondary School.

In the meantime, Edith keeps busy doing what she loves - teaching, reading, playing sport, running and singing. She is also balancing her career and university, studying for her Bachelor of Education at Kampala University during school holidays. With the first year of her three-year degree complete, Edith is on track to graduate just in time for the school’s opening and it looks like we already have our first prospective secondary school teacher for Mbazzi Riverside!

Edith and 10 of her teaching colleagues currently need sponsors. Find out how you can sponsor Edith and her colleagues.

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.