As a former employee of another humanitarian
organization I knew since long that I found my profession working for
humanitarian and development issues, supporting vulnerable communities. As my
previous position was based in a headquarters with no direct contact with
people of concern I decided to take another way of my professional journey. Was
it a hard decision? No. I strongly believe that for those who are wishing to
work on humanitarian/development field being flexible to switch from a comfortable
office to field work is essential. This wish of mine could be realized thanks
to MONDO and the European Union’ s Aid Volunteer program.
My project is based in Uganda in a
village called Kikooba two hours from the capital. The region suffered from the
bush wars of the 80’ and inhabited by highly vulnerable people. The reason
behind the vulnerability is varying from the lack of financial resources,
unemployment, dependency of the capricious weather conditions, lack of
education and also the conflict of tribes within the country. The project’s aim
is resilience building by empowering talented people in the region and to
promote education. Emphasizing the role of education is crucial as the tendency
of child pregnancy and early age marriages are extremely high leading to
dropping out from school at a very early age. Some of the elder never had the
chance to learn how to read and write. In our goal the local partners and the
village’s school’s leadership is a very dedicated ally. My role in the process
is to assess the situation, point out the weaknesses and to develop the region
hand in hand with the community as much as possible.
The school which I use as a base
is established to provide education for the most vulnerable children in the community.
Some of the children are orphans or coming from families for whom to provide
the basic needs is an everyday struggle. The school’s principal is to lower the
school fees as much as possible, letting the children who cannot pay to study
by providing loans and also to provide scholarship for the ones who would left
without education. Due to these reasons the school obviously suffers from
financial crises which makes the work of the dedicated group of teachers
extremely hard. Even though the teacher’s salaries are not arriving on time
these amazing people are not giving up on the kids. The school also provides us
place for education of il-, and pre-literate adults. For me organizing and
teaching the adults who in some cases cannot read and write is one of the most
rewarding experiences of my life. These people are often walking from very far
distances to attend my English courses twice a week and never misses the
opportunity to practice and learn.
The school also gives place for a
women’s group which consists of the mothers of the children. These ladies meet
every week to produce beautiful craftwork; traditional baskets, mats and
jewels. While the ladies share the brand new gossips of the village and busily
working on the gorgeous crafts they discuss the material of the last English
courses and practice with each other.
Realizing the importance of the
school in this remote village made me think. There is no prouder people in Kikooba
than the children wearing the uniform of the school or their parents hurrying
to the adult courses. Education is the key for development and self-confidence
for everyone no matter where you born, what social background you are coming
from. By the help of MONDO’s European Union Aid Volunteer program the community
of Kikooba has better opportunities to reach their goals and I am very proud to
witness it and assist.
