New EarlyBird Workshops in Kamuli

EarlyBird has been busy setting up our first remote-learning workshops in Kamuli, a town in the Eastern Region of Uganda. We’re partnering with the community of Rev Nayenga Primary School, which was established in 1924. As of the beginning of lockdown, in March 2020, the school had 354 girls and 320 boys enrolled. Of the students enrolled, 58 are preparing for the Primary Leaving Exams. Only 15 teachers make up the teaching staff, with three currently employed by EarlyBird to help with our workshops while the country is on lockdown.

To ensure the safety of the students, the workshops first needed to be approved by the district’s COVID-19 task force, the Resident District Commissioner, and the police. EarlyBird members worked with school staff to get everything approved, and the teachers and headmistress were beyond helpful in making sure everything went smoothly.

We provide transportation so that teachers can go into the village to communicate with the students, and the teachers use workbooks that combine their curriculum with content from EarlyBird. Designed especially for Primary 7 and Primary 6 students, the workshops focus on themes chosen from EarlyBird’s Affirmations programs and facilitate hands-on learning. We also provide the students with Wellness Packages, which each include 5kg of flour, 2kg of sugar, an exercise workbook, and pads for the girls. A team of three social workers is present to monitor the students. 

These workshops were made possible with funds from selling masks through our shop and collecting donations for our online movement classes. With the success of these workshops, we can look at mobilizing our efforts and reaching other communities. As we grow, our hands-on-learning programs will also expand to include Secondary students and adults.