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Education
Every volunteer has a story to tell about education and their struggle to have access to it. There are stories of not being able to afford pencils, years lost for lack of fees, cutting the journey short or putting dreams on hold. There are also stories of family, friends, strangers and even the government stepping in, lending a hand, in big and small ways.
The stories are by no means unique. Just about every young person in Buhugu, and numerous other communities around the world, has such a story. The difference is that the volunteers have gone further than most in their quest.
It is no surprise then that for each of us, education remains close to our hearts.
When looking at Buhugu through this lens, a layered challenge emerges:
We started off by providing access to books and computers and then started tackling early childhood education in the form of a nursery school.
However, the challenge that is staring in our face is that most students are unable to afford secondary schooling. And the number grows even further when considering higher education.
Faced with a vast challenge as this, one has to prioritise and look for areas where the impact will be the most.
One such area, perhaps an obvious one, is emerging. It is to identify promising students (of all ages) and invest in them through scholarships.
This is likely to shape up to be a main focus for the coming new year.
The stories are by no means unique. Just about every young person in Buhugu, and numerous other communities around the world, has such a story. The difference is that the volunteers have gone further than most in their quest.
It is no surprise then that for each of us, education remains close to our hearts.
When looking at Buhugu through this lens, a layered challenge emerges:
- Literacy: statistics put the number at 30% - about 1 in three people, from children to those in positions of leadership, could potentially benefit from functional literacy programs
- Access to education: while primary education is now universal, only about 25% of those who complete primary education are able to advance to secondary schools, primarily due school fees.
- Quality and relevancy of education: Even where there is access to education, the quality and relevancy of the curriculum remains a challenge.
- Access to resources: especially in rural areas, students have extremely limited access to books, labs, computres and so on.
We started off by providing access to books and computers and then started tackling early childhood education in the form of a nursery school.
However, the challenge that is staring in our face is that most students are unable to afford secondary schooling. And the number grows even further when considering higher education.
Faced with a vast challenge as this, one has to prioritise and look for areas where the impact will be the most.
One such area, perhaps an obvious one, is emerging. It is to identify promising students (of all ages) and invest in them through scholarships.
This is likely to shape up to be a main focus for the coming new year.
Labels: Buhugu Scholars
