School for Life launches new counselling program for our students in lockdown

We’d like to introduce you to Lyn, our resident counsellor at School for Life.

Here’s Lyn, our counsellor here at School for Life.

Here’s Lyn, our counsellor here at School for Life.

Lyn is dedicated to helping support School for Life’s students through the extreme hardships and challenges they face as young Ugandans. When the nation was forced into strict lockdown due to the global spread of coronavirus, Lyn acted fast to find a way to support her students and their families through the crisis, even while Government-mandated restrictions prevent them from attending school.

In Uganda, the COVID-19 pandemic and consequent lockdown imposed on the nation has led to a substantial increase in cases of gender-based violence in the communities where our students live. This increased risk of violence is coupled with a lack of clean water, nutritious food and access to learning materials, spaces and support as a result of the lockdown that ultimately has had a significant impact on our students’ wellbeing.

 However, thanks to Lyn, School for Life is able to provide invaluable psycho-social support to our students while they face these extremely trying conditions through the Home-Based Counselling Program she has developed and is now actively rolling out in our communities.

 The Home-Based Counselling Program seeks to provide students with individualized counselling sessions with Lyn in their homes as they remain under lockdown and consequently, in extremely adverse conditions.

 The program is designed to help students understand and interpret the effects of the pandemic on their wellbeing, but also provide them with guidance about what they can do as individuals to best continue their academic development at home, and most importantly, how to protect themselves against all forms of violence during this time.

 Lyn aims to reach at least 50 students and families in need through the program, including at least 15 students from Katuuso Primary, 10 students from Mbazzi Primary, and 25 students from Mbazzi Riverside High School.

 We would like to take a moment to acknowledge Lyn’s commitment to her role in supporting our School for Life students during this difficult time.  Going from home to home to provide help to those struggling, her compassion and care for our students is an inspiration to us all. Thank you Lyn, for being such a beautiful person – inside and out!

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.