General Observations
In April 2024, I travelled back to Uganda to oversee the work we fund. My first observation was how the global political and economic situation has created hardships for the people of Uganda. HEAL International works in a high elevation terrain where tea is an important cash crop. With the demand for tea in the Middle East dropping, many farmers have found it difficult to make a living, including paying for school fees for their children.
This year will be the fourth year of a new secondary school curriculum where the first cohort will be graduating with an O-level certificate under this new curriculum. There is a lot of uncertainty on how this will impact student grades and entrance into institutions of higher learning, and we have our eyes and ears on the ground to ensure our students can properly navigate these and other changes.
Another Heartwarming Moment
Last year, I had the privilege of standing in as a parent at one of our HEAL graduate’s wedding. As an orphan, Denis did not have a father who could fulfil his traditional obligations, and it was heartwarming to be asked to take on this role. This year, I got a chance to meet Denis and Audrey’s daughter and was introduced as her Jjaja (grandfather). She’s a beautiful girl who is a symbol of the future we can create when we work together to support the youth of Africa.
Meeting Amanda!
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. Last year, we had given teachers smartphones to allow them to access online resources for teaching. This year, the teachers proudly showed me how they were using their phones to connect with other teachers from around the country to share ideas and methods of teaching. I also had a chance to distribute letters from Canada as well as pick up letters from Uganda to share with the LBB clubs. This interaction allows us to create a sense of global identity for youth in Canada and Uganda in the hopes that this global orientation can help the leaders of tomorrow better solve global issues.
Meeting the students at Rugaaga Primary School
Reading one of the pen pal letters from Canada
Delivering Essential Health Education
Our Peer Education Rwenzori (PER) program continues to promote their 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, our annual training workshop was attended by 200+ peer educators from 15 schools in the region. I had the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Peer Education Rwenzori where volunteer leaders from the community and schools came together to plan for the coming year’s activities.
Various PER activities in 2024
Profiles of the youth we’ve supported
Current HEAL Student Winnie
I was happy to hear about the graduation of Winnie Kajobe from secondary school (high school). Winnie has now enrolled in a Bachelors of Education Program at a public university in Uganda. Her goal is to become a secondary school teacher with a specialization in economics. We will continue to support her with a post-secondary scholarship for the duration of her degree program and wish her the best of luck!
Former HEAL Student Mable
Through HEAL’s support, Mable completed her certificate in nursing and midwifery. She is currently working on upgrading to a diploma in nursing through her own resources and expects to finish December 2024. She is the proud mother of a young boy and is looking forward to supporting her new family with her skills and education. She especially wants to plan for her children to get well educated and become successful community leaders.
Former HEAL Student Moses
Moses
Moses completed a certificate in nursing through a HEAL post-secondary scholarship. He then used the money he earned working as a nurse to upgrade to a Diploma in Clinical Medicine which allows him to work as a Clinical Officer (similar to a Nurse Practitioner). He’s currently working with the local government at a rural health clinic. Moses got married a few years ago and has three children. He has also adopted two girls from the community to add to his family. He strongly believes in the value of education, having seen what opportunities it brought to him. He sees the need to help and support orphaned children like himself as they have lost hope and, like him, need the hope that HEAL and others brought to allow him to become a productive member of society.
Moses’ wife and two of their children
We thank all of our donors, supporters, and volunteers in Canada and Uganda for helping create these stories of resilience and hope!