Shauna Davidson
Deki (Uganda Primary Schools)
Shauna shared with Lincoln East Rotary an update on the two primary schools she has help establish in Northern Uganda.
Did you know that in some villages in Northern Uganda up to 70% of children are not going to school? We envision a world where all children have the opportunity to create the future they dream of, and we believe this starts with access to quality primary education.
Deki is helping by providing free quality education to children in Northern Uganda. Deki's mission and vision statement is below.
MISSION: To provide sustainable access to quality primary education to children in Northern Uganda.
VISION: We see access to quality education as powerful force that changes people's lives, empowering them to lift Northern Uganda out of poverty.
IMPACT
We are providing over 800 children with access to quality primary education in Agweng Sub-County, the majority of which were not previously attending school.
The schools that were built is in the Orit Barpunu area. This is where Deki has been able to help many students.
Situation – Closest primary school to Orit Barpunu village before Nahla is 2 hours walk and often impossible to reach during rainy season. Only 29% children in village went to school leaving 71% children no education.
Those attending school, the quality of education poor. Teachers inconsistent and often no show. Not getting good education children work on family farm, continuing cycle of poverty.
Solution – Flagship school opened February 2018 and currently has 350 children, 12 teachers, 1 head teacher, cooks, guard and cleaning staff. All staff hired from local community.
Etyang Fred, co-founder, provides oversight over operations, and has made sure villages are engaged through every stage of process to make sure the school be successful.
Impact – goal is for education to act as a means for the people of Orit Barpunu to further the development of their community. Providing the children of Orit Barpunu with an education, we will give them skills they can use to build a new future for themselves and their families.
Two schools in Northern Uganda, Nahla Nursery and Primary School and Hayden Primary School. Free education to over 800 students. Hire and pay the teachers and make sure the quality of education is high.
Final stages of building second school, a remote area in northern Uganda, where children have no access to education. Schools are built in partnership “Growing Hearts of Africa Foundation.”
We are focused on creating sustainable schools, that can one day hand over to the community to run. Working on developing sustainability plans that will make this possible.
The Nahla school is currently closed because of COVID-19 and they have been unable to open the Hayden School because of the pandemic. How are they doing during this shut down because of COVID-19 -- The school closures are reversing years of progress made towards access to education in Uganda. Many students in rural villages, like the ones we serve, can't access remote learning options. Only 3% of households in Uganda have an individually owned computer and only 6.6% of rural households have access to internet.. Many of these families don't have electricity in their homes. The longer students are disengaged from education, the lower the likelihood they will return to school in the future, as students start working to help support their families and girls get married early. Deki is taking action to keep their students engaged in education. Many of the teachers go to a trading place and let the students know that they can come their to pick up lessons and they will make a time for them to bring back their homework. This helps keep the students engaged.
Shauna also shared a piece of her own personal history. Two years ago she became a Rotarian but because of COVID-19 she has been unable to have an in-person meeting.
Shauna left us with a quote: "Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality." Malala Yousafzal