Children on the Edge
  • DONATE
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Bhasan Char
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Karamoja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Creating Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Our Flagship Models >
      • Cluster Learning Model
      • Digital Education Model
      • Child Protection Team Model
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Fundraise For Us
    • The Big October Cake Bake
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • London Landmarks Half Marathon
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES
Picture

LATEST STORIES

Click to donate

Refugee teachers celebrate first ever graduation in Kyaka II.

21/4/2022

 
Graduation Ceremony in Kyaka II
On 24th February 2022 a special graduation ceremony was held for 38 teachers who had completed their training and received certificates in Kyaka II refugee settlement, Uganda 
​

The ceremony was presided over by the District Education Officer who said, “This is the first time in the entire district to have an Early Childhood Development caregiver’s graduation and indeed Children on the Edge Africa is a game changer. The issue of using untrained teachers should be something of the past.”
Newly Graduated Teachers with their certificates
Graduate teacher holding a baby
Graduate teachers with their certificates
The whole community took part in the special celebrations, which was real testament to the strong local partnerships we have built up. 
The District Engineer, representatives from the Office of the Prime Minister, our partners including Finn Church Aid, local area leaders, parents and Centre Management Committee members were all in attendance. 

When Children on the Edge Africa began working in Kyaka II, the majority of teachers were doing their best, but lacked proper training. In conjunction with Makere University, we have been working to support 180 local refugees to teach and gain accredited qualifications, in order to provide the very best Early Childhood Development for Congolese refugee children in the settlement.
During the ceremony
The ceremony was a fantastic event, and a huge achievement for the graduate teachers who all passed despite many disruptions to their training because of the pandemic.

One teacher who graduated was Muhorana John, as the saying goes “Success is a journey, not a destination”, and John has certainly had quite a journey to reach his graduation.  ​
Muhorana John’s success story
​

John was among the first cohort of teachers that graduated this year. He was delighted to complete his training and told us;

“
I believe that the foundation laid for me by Children on the Edge Africa is strong enough for me to now pursue more success in life.”


Muhorana John’s Graduation
​John has had quite a journey to get to his graduation. After fleeing from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2008, he identified a lack of education for children under 10 in his community in Kyaka II. John, who gained his O-levels in the DRC, asked members of the church he attended in the settlement to allow him to start teaching children in the church building on weekdays. 

This is how the Grace Orphans ECD Centre began, back in 2010, almost nine years before Children on the Edge became involved. The school started with one class of 35 learners, three teachers and one room. John describes how, “The biggest challenge was to convince parents to bring their children to school, and even those who were willing to send their children could not afford school fees. We had no learning materials, playground or toilets, and we didn’t know how to conduct classes. In fact, [he says laughing] children of various ages were combined in one class”.  

​After just one month, the other teachers left and John operated the school alone. Sometimes church members came in to help, but it was not enough.
Grace Orphans ECD Centre original building
Grace Orphans Centre - original building.

​In 2011, the Office of the Prime Minister and Kyegegwa Local Government provided John with some land so he mobilised parents to help build their first infrastructure, with two classrooms and another room added by the church.

With the building in place, the school soon had 100 pupils attending, but the challenges weren’t over. John found that retaining teachers in the area was hard as once they had received training they left the school in search of more lucrative employment.  
He said, “In 2014, myself and two colleagues got the chance to train as caregivers with Certificate in Community Child care with support from UNICEF and Windle, but guess what… the trained teachers left me after just two months.” 

Support from Children on the Edge

​In 2018 Grace Orphans ECD Centre was identified in our baseline survey of Kyaka II. By then the school still had high numbers of children attending but the classrooms were dilapidated and barely met the basic minimum standards outlined by the Ministry of Education and Sports. 

With the support of Children on the Edge Africa, John was able to enrol for a Certificate in Child Care (CC) in 2020. Initially this was cut short by the coronavirus lockdown, but John continued to reach out to the children in his community by delivering our home learning packages and parent’s guides. 
In 2021 work started to replace the dilapidated school building as part of our construction programme in partnership with HYT Uganda. Grace Orphans ECD Centre now has two classrooms built with environmentally friendly local materials and working latrines. At the end of the year John was finally able to sit the Certificate of Child Care exam, which he passed.
Grace Orphans ECD Centre new building
Brand new Grace Orphans Early Childhood Development Centre.
Grace Orphans ECD Centre now has over 370 students enrolled, John says, 

​“
I believe it [the building] will serve our population in school well. We have six trained teachers and two more still training. Teachers are able to make learning materials, parent’s support and engagement has increased and we are working smoothly.”

John is now hoping to acquire more land to continue growing the school and enable more children in his community to access vital early years education. 

Find out about our Early Childhood Education Programme for Congolese refugees.

Read about our building project in partnership with HYT in Kyaka II
Thank you to Players of People’s Postcode Lottery who kindly support our programme in Kyaka II.
Picture

Support us

  • Give monthly Give monthly
  • Fundraise for us Fundraise for us
  • Receive our emails Receive our emails


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    RECEIVE OUR EMAILS

    Blog Categories

    All
    Ambassadors
    Bangladesh
    Bhasan Char
    Burma/Myanmar
    Chichester
    Child Participation
    Child Protection Team
    Child Rights
    Child Sacrifice
    Cluster Learning
    Coronavirus
    Dalit
    Digital Education
    Early Childhood Development
    Education Loans
    Fundraising
    General
    #GetToKnowUs
    History
    Hope
    Humanitarian Relief
    India
    Kachin
    Karamoja
    Kyaka II Uganda
    Lebanon
    Moja Kids
    Postcode Lottery
    Protective Environments
    Refugees
    Rohingya
    Romania & Moldova
    Schools
    Storytellers
    The Body Shop At Home
    #ThrowbackThursday
    Uganda
    UK
    Ukraine
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011



    RSS Feed

JOIN US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
DONATE

Get Involved

Corporate Partnerships
​
​Email updates
Fundraise 
Give Monthly
Grant Giving Organisations
​The Body Shop At Home
Volunteer

aBOUT US

Who We Are
​​​How  We Spend Your Money
Latest Stories
​Our Story
​​Our Work
Annual Report  | Contact Us |  Jobs | Media Centre | Resources | Shop 
Accessibility & Policies:  Accessibility  |  Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Policy | Complaints​| Privacy Policy | Safeguarding 
Logo which says 'Registered with Fundraising Regulator'

Registered charity no. 1101441
REGISTERED COMPANY No. 4996130 

​Children on the Edge, 5 The Victoria, 25 St Pancras, Chichester,  West Sussex, PO19 7LT, UK | 01243 538530 | communications@childrenontheedge.org 
  • DONATE
  • COUNTRIES
    • Country Overview
    • BANGLADESH >
      • Kutupalong
      • Bhasan Char
      • Cox's Bazar & Doharazi
    • INDIA
    • LEBANON
    • MYANMAR
    • UGANDA >
      • Jinja
      • Karamoja
      • Kyaka II
    • UKRAINE
  • ABOUT US
    • WHO WE ARE
    • Contact Us
    • Annual Report
    • Awards
    • Meet the team
    • Our Story
    • Our Values
    • Our Partners
  • OUR WORK
    • OUR WORK Overview
    • Working on 'the Edge'
    • Creating Safe Spaces
    • Child Rights
    • Refugee Education
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Our Flagship Models >
      • Cluster Learning Model
      • Digital Education Model
      • Child Protection Team Model
    • Supporting Slum Communities
    • Tackling Caste Discrimination
    • Ending Child Sacrifice
  • GET INVOLVED
    • Get Our Email Updates
    • Fundraise For Us
    • The Big October Cake Bake
    • Challenge Events >
      • Virtual Challenge
      • London Landmarks Half Marathon
      • Run The London Marathon
    • Schools
    • Trusts & Foundations
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • The Body Shop at Home
    • Volunteer
    • Shop
  • LATEST STORIES