INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL!

WHAT DOES GOING TO SCHOOL MEAN FOR OUR GIRLS?

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In Uganda a girl’s education is not considered a priority. Girls come up against barriers such as traditional gender roles and poverty in wanting to receive an education. Girls as young as 6 years old can miss out on going to school because they are needed for full time work. 52% of girls have to drop out of school as they are unable to sustain the financial burden of education. Girls are often forced to marry young and pregnancy rates are high with 35% of girls dropping out of school because of early marriage and 23% dropping out due to pregnancy.*

Education makes a significant change not only to girls and women in their own right, but to their children, families and communities. When you empower a girl with education, a whole community benefits. When women earn an income and are empowered to make educated decisions within their families and communities, they create more peaceful societies and sustainable economies.

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On International Day of the Girl Child we are celebrating some of the amazing girls who attend School for Life. Their dedication to receiving an education and creating change within their communities is inspiring and deserves to be recognised today and every day!

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Meet Jane

12 years old in Primary 4

I am energetic and sporty and I can’t wait to play netball at lunch time with my friends every day! Last year my family home burnt down in a fire which took all of our possessions. I now live with my mother, my grandmother, my uncle and his three children. I love to eat matooke (mashed bananas) and rice. At school my favourite subject is English, especially reading stories. I study hard at school because I want to go to University and study to become a doctor.

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Meet Sandra

10 years old in Primary 5

I am happy at school and enjoy learning all subjects but I really love spending time reading - it teaches me so much about the world! At lunch time I enjoy any meals that include rice and after this I play netball with my friends. At the end of the school day I walk to my house where I live with my mother and 3 siblings. My father used to live with us but he passed away last year. This means that I have to help my mother more now, and my chores each day include fetching water and firewood, cooking and washing utensils. I hope that when I am older I can be a teacher and continue to help children get an education.

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Meet Joselyn,

7 Years old in Primary 2

My teachers praise me for being confident in class and I love to show them my understanding by writing answers on the board when I can. My favourite lessons are reading and learning English. At the end of the day I return to my village where I live with my aunty who is a hairdresser and my father who is a teacher. My father helps me with my homework to ensure I am doing well at school. My job is to wash my uniform so that it stays clean and looks nice each day. I am so proud to wear my School for Life uniform! I also wash utensils after each meal. I work really hard in class so that I do well at school. I want to be a pilot when I grow up so I must continue to study and be the best that I can.  

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Meet Phiona

10 years old in Primary 2

I live at home with my mother and father who are farmers. My 5 siblings live with us too so home life is very busy! We all help our parents by doing chores before and after school. My job is to wash the utensils after each meal. I am happy when I'm at school and really like reading books. The library is my favourite place and I like to visit at lunch times with my friend Margaret.

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Meet Sophia

11 years old in Primary 5

I am new to Katuuso school but am enjoying my new friends and my teachers. My teachers praise me for being a good listener and for being helpful to my peers. I love the way we sing lots in class and my English is already improving because of our lessons here. I enjoy reading and spend my lunch times either at the library with books or playing netball with my friends. I live with my aunt and grandmother who are both farmers and I help them by fetching water each day and mopping the house. When I grow up I would like to be a nurse as I like helping others and it is horrible being sick without help.

 

Be part of the change this International day of the Girl and sign up to sponsor a child NoW! 

Your sponsorship provides quality education, healthcare, clean water, 3 nutritious meals per day and all educational materials required. Educating a girl can break cycles of poverty in just one generation. You can find out more and sign up HERE

* statistics UNICEF, 2008-2012

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.