Protecting Children During Lockdown
This Quarter, we are focusing our efforts and leveraging your support to help protect our students during their time at home.
When we started Far Away Friends, one of our very first initiatives was called OperationTEACH — a Teacher Sponsorship program through which we would commit to supporting fair, competitive and equitable salaries of rural educators at our school in Uganda. This program, now funded by our community of Advocates continues to make a deep impact on the lives of our Teachers and their families every month.
In places like Amolatar District where education funding amounts to about $1/per child per year, Teachers are unfortunately one of the most undervalued resources in the community. It was our vision that, through the creation of a model school where Teachers are highly valued and cared for, we would see a tremendous return in our investment reflected in the success of our students. When you care for Teachers, students thrive. We are so grateful for the support of Advocates and friends like YOU who help make it possible for us to employ the most talented & passionate Teachers in Amolatar District!
Despite COVID closing down GLP in early March, our Teachers have continued their work in caring for GLP and their students thanks to your support. Recently, our Uganda Country Director, Collines, got to sit down with our Teachers for a meeting to discuss how to develop a remote learning strategy and advocate for the protection of our students who may be facing trauma while at home.
GLP Teachers Survey The Impact of Lockdown on Students
For children living at or below the poverty line ($1.90/day) and for the 24 HIV/AIDS orphans who are at GLP on scholarship (who are being cared for by legal guardians) lockdown poses a variety of threats that can keep children from ever returning from school. According to Robert Omia, FAF’s Program Manager in Uganda, and our GLP Staff who have been conducting weekly visits to the nearby villages of our students, there are many serious challenges being faced by our student body while at home which include the following:
Risk of Child Marriage & Sexual Abuse
ROSE’S STORY: Rose* (name has been changed for privacy), a former Global Leaders student graduated from GLP last year with flying colors. Although she was older than her peers (having had her education stunted by lack of school fees and family matters), Rose was a great student and had a bright future ahead of her. At 17, she was enrolled for the first time as a Freshman at a boarding High School in Lira Town, when COVID unfortunately forced her to return home to the village. After just 4 weeks of being home, our team learned that Rose was “married off” with permission from her family to her older boyfriend, age 20. Now a married woman, Rose will likely never return to finish high school. Her education will remain at a Primary 7 level as she will be expected to take the traditional role of a stay-at-home wife and mother within her village.
Unfortunately, Rose’s story isn’t unique. Our Teachers have reported that more than six girls aged 15-18 in our extended school network of partner schools have become pregnant or have been married since school has paused due to lockdown. Girls are at a much higher risk of being sexually abused, becoming pregnant, contracting an STD or being married off when they are not at school under the protection & guidance of their Teachers, Matrons & mentors. Ensuring that our Teachers can connect with and counsel students and their families is of the utmost importance to protect girls like Rose from sexual abuse, early pregnancy and early marriage.
Child Labor
Through their home visits to children who live in nearby villages, our Teachers have reported a high level of children spending countless hours laboring in the garden, farming with their parents and are even being paid by local businesses to work rather than continue their studies. While daily chores like working in the garden are a normal part of daily life for children in Amolatar, our team has noticed children being paid for hours of excessive labor outside of what is acceptable for primary-aged kids. For older students, the lure of pocket money in exchange for work is a temptation that may prevent them from ever returning to school as some frequently consider, “Why go back to school when I can make money for my family right now?” Our Teachers have asked FAF to support them with Trauma Counseling Training from a local licensed Social Worker to learn how best to protect GLP students under lockdown and support their families in understanding how these issues are negatively impacting children.
Lack of Resources for Remote Learning
Unlike in urban areas, the communities where we work are deeply affected by the digital divide. Without access to smartphones, internet access, or even computers (some families’ technology at home is limited to a radio) our Teachers are unable to easily distribute learning materials or books to GLP students. Many children don’t even have a book of their own at home to continue practicing their reading skills. While our Teaching staff has been able to provide tutoring and support to students who live within walking distance from our school, those who live in distant villages have been unable to connect with their Teachers during lockdown. This lack of access to remote learning means that students will inevitably fall behind and lack motivation to return to school after so much time.
Creating Pathways to Protect Our Students
One of our amazing teachers, Veve, has been visiting homes of Primary 7 students like Atim Sharon for tutoring, pictured above.
While the Ugandan Government has lifted many of their COVID restrictions, schools will remain closed for the foreseeable future in the interest or protecting students. But for students in rural communities like ours, remaining at home for extended periods of time comes with its own set of dangers.
As an organization made up of Advocates and friends committed to improving resources in rural villages for the kids, protecting children while schools are closed is our highest priority.
Introducing The Pathways Campaign
Students walk the path to school for more than just education. They walk the path to school for connection, for mentorship and for some, safety. Now that COVID has closed GLP’s doors to students, our Teachers will walk (and ride) along these same pathways, to bring education, mentorship and protection home to them. Distance learning lights pathways for students in rural communities -- it is the difference between an education or a child marriage, between college and becoming a second wife, between a life beyond restrictions and a life defined by them. By helping us share The Pathways Campaign with your community, you become part of the journey our students will walk with their Teachers beside them -- a cyclical one, where they will find themselves, one day, working to make better the place they call home.
On July 20th, we’ll be launching The Pathways Campaign to raise $10,000 to fund a Distance Learning & Child Protection program, empowering our GLP Teachers with the tools & resources to reach all of our students while at home.
As a small organization, we will need the support of our entire community to help us share The Pathways Campaign with your community and inspire your friends and family to join you in helping pave pathways for our Teachers to reach & protect their students — no matter the distance. Together, through the funding of this program, we have the opportunity to ensure 250 students have access to remote learning, mentorship and trauma counseling!
