In 2023, our CEO undertook two trips to Uganda to oversee HEAL International’s projects. Below are some of his observations of the work happening on the ground.
General Observations
In 2022 schools in Uganda reopened after a two-year lockdown and with many restrictions on masking, social distancing and the ability of our project staff and volunteers to visit schools as regularly as they did in the past. This past year, COVID seemed to be like a faded memory with schools operating pretty much as they did prior to the global pandemic. This meant a full return to educational and social activities and a full resumption of HEAL International’s program activities in Uganda.
A Heartwarming Moment
A memorable experience was the travel in August from the main capital of Uganda, Kampala, to our project sites in Fort Portal. Normally, I would rent a car and driver to make the 320 km journey each way. To my surprise, one our HEAL graduates, Denis, arranged to drive me in his recently purchased vehicle! Added to this was his announcement that he was planning to get married and wished to have me represent him at the traditional ceremony in place of his father who had passed away when he was a child. HEAL International had supported Denis through his secondary school and through law school and he now practices as a lawyer. I had the pleasure of appearing with Denis for his traditional ceremony and was given the honour of wearing the customary kanzu outfit worn by male elders from the Toro region of Uganda.
Helping Improve the Quality of Education in Rural Schools.
Our Learning Beyond Borders (LBB) program connects youth in Canada to youth in rural primary schools in Uganda. Each year, the LBB clubs at the University of Calgary and University of Alberta fundraise for school supplies and send out pen pal letters. This unique partnership has been going on for 15 years now and we’ve seen the quality of education at these supported schools remain high (with 80% of students each year achieving the two top tiers in their national standardized exams). This year, we decided to additionally do something special for the teachers. Until now, the school curriculum was available in paper format and the LBB funds were used to purchase textbooks and also teacher’s guides. Since 2022, the curriculum for teachers has been made available online. However, with teachers earning about $250 per month, internet connected devices are out of their reach. We put out a call to various foundations in Canada and were grateful to the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario for a donation to purchase 30 android smartphones which we distributed to 30 teachers in the three LBB supported schools. This now gives teachers better access to resources to plan and deliver teaching plans.
Delivering Essential Health Education
Our Peer Education Rwenzori program fully resumed activities in 2023. Emphasis is being put on rolling out our new mental health curriculum in schools to help students take action to protect their mental health and those of their peers. Topics such as mindfulness, bullying, self-esteem, stress reduction, empathy and destigmatization of mental health are being delivered through school assemblies, club meetings, drama, song and radio broadcasts. This year, we resumed our annual training workshop which was attended by 200+ peer educators from 15 schools in the region.
Bringing New Skills into the Lives of Children in Uganda
In 2023, we embarked on a small project to help teach art skills to orphaned students living with HIV/AIDS. The Manna Rescue Home (MRH) in Fort Portal, Uganda is one of the projects we continue to support and this year we provided art supplies and paid for a teacher to help students develop their drawing and painting skills. The students gifted their paintings to HEAL International and we hope to share these with you at a future event.
We also undertook a pilot project to train youth on basic computer skills. Our partners and volunteers in Uganda selected 14 orphaned students (6 girls and 8 boys) to undergo a two-week training on computer fundamentals, internet and e-mail skills and Microsoft Office training. At the end of the session, the youth made presentations using MS Excel, Word and PowerPoint to showcase what they had learnt.
Finally, we commissioned three youth who previously resided at the MRH and who completed a vocational program in tailoring to make various bags for us using local textiles. These talented youth were excited to have the opportunity to work on something different from the usual clothing work they did and especially to know that their work would appear in Canada. Look for our e-mail (coming soon) on how you can purchase these bags and support these youth.
Profiles of the youth we’ve supported
Current HEAL Student Esther
In last year’s field report, I told you about Esther who was the top student in her school. Esther completed her secondary education this year with one of the highest marks in the district. As a result, she was given a full scholarship to study medicine at Makerere University in Kampala. HEAL International will be there to help with living costs and mentorship during her studies. We are thrilled to have our first female medical student from the many orphaned children we have supported over the years.
Former HEAL Student Alice
Alice is an orphaned youth who completed her secondary school and then a certificate in midwifery with the support of HEAL International. She has been working for six years (since graduation) as a midwife in the village of Rwangoba in Isingiro District. She is now married and has one young child. She enjoys nursing and her aspiration is to continue her studies and upgrade to a degree in nursing.
Former HEAL Student James
James is an individual living with disabilities who completed his Medical Laboratory Assistant course through the support of HEAL International. He overcame the challenges of being an orphan and his disability with persistence and determination. James has been working as a Laboratory Assistant in Fort Portal since 2016. He also started his own community based organization to train vulnerable youth in vocational skills as a way to give back to his community. James’ goal is to go for higher education and complete a degree in Clinical Medicine and Community Health.
We hope that you have enjoyed these stories from the field. We thank all of our donors, supporters, and volunteers in Canada and Uganda for helping create these stories of resilience and hope!