Sparking a Business

Learning how to educate children at home hasn’t been the only outcome of the Gayaza Family Literacy Program, which has been ongoing in Uganda since October.

The women involved in the program are adamant about improving their living conditions. Augustine and Immaculate, two program facilitators, tell us some of the women are single mothers, and some are living with HIV. 

At a December meeting, the women came together with an idea – that poultry is a feasible way to earn a living and they can form a business as a group. One of the women, a poultry keeper, is willing to train the others, and another is offering a room to keep the hens. The women agreed to contribute 100 shillings each time they meet that will go toward a poultry project budget.

The women think the business will enhance group commitment to work, learning, and help them support those who want to improve their lives and their children’s education.

The Hunter and the Egg

In classes held at Gayaza Family Learning Center last month, mothers and their children focused on how to write and narrate stories. When a child hears a story, he or she learns new vocabulary, sentence structures, phrases and self-expression – all benefits of communication that the parents recently learned.

As a result of engaging with children at home through increased verbal communication, women have reported that they have become closer with their children and that their children cooperate more. In this part of Gayaza, parents used to smack their children, who could be heard crying out in pain. But this practice has died out. 

We thought this narrative, written by ten-year-old Hassan, was imaginative and well-developed, and so we want to share it with you.

“A hunter found an egg. He took it to his home. ‘For safety,’ the hunter thought, ‘let me keep it in the corner’. While he slept the egg hatched into a beautiful girl. Looking at the girl, the hunter was shocked. Her feet were like that of a duck. His heart sunk. ‘I must make an alarm,’ he urged himself. The girl was quietly reading his mind. ‘You must never tell anybody about it’, she quickly warned him. The hunter started sweating and his heart beating faster. ‘I wish I had not touched that egg’, he cursed. ‘What will happen if I tell anyone!’ he silently wondered.

Against his wish he decided to keep the secret.  Soon he became very rich. The King heard about his riches. One day the King visited him. The King asked, ‘You were a very poor hunter?’ ‘Yes I was,’ the hunter answered. ‘How did you become so rich in a short time?’ the King inquired. The hunter didn’t know what to answer. Keeping quiet angered the King.   ‘If you don’t tell me I am taking you. You will be my porter,’ The King roared in anger. The hunter was scared. He called the girl. She came with a pot on her head. When the King saw her, he shouted, ‘The duck feet!’ in great fear. The girl got annoyed. She entered her shell and disappeared with all the riches.”

Global Goodness begins programs in Uganda

Global Goodness, Inc. has joined the Uganda Community Libraries Association (UgCLA) to begin the Gayaza Family Literacy Project in Central Uganda. By working with women to encourage reading and writing, the aim of the project is to bridge the gap between education at school and life at home.

The workshops are held every Sunday at the Gayaza Family Learning Resource Center in the Wakiso District and are facilitated by the center’s founder, Augustine Napagi. Mr. Napagi works with mothers who seek to help their children enjoy books and reading, and helps parents understand what they can do to help children progress in school. 

Since the start of the program, changes in the ways mothers interact with their children at home have been seen.  One participant in the program, twenty-six year-old Prossy, reported that her children have been so excited about reading since she has been educationally active with them at home that they forget to eat when telling the stories they imagine while looking pictures.

Racheal and Prossy and her colleague said, “We sing and make fun with our children and our neighbours think we are mad. We treat our children like our equals.”

Global Goodness began working with UgCLA when we met Kate Parry, chairperson of UgCLA and Co-Director of Friends of African Village Libraries (FAVL), which helps manage and support community libraries in rural Africa. Kate is one of the founders of Kitengesa Library, which is part of the FAVL network.

When Kate understood GG’s mission, we both agreed that funding projects for UgCLA’s work in Uganda was the perfect idea.

English is the official language of Uganda, home to 35 million people. Sixty-seven percent of people over 15 years old can read and write, according to a 2002 census. Uganda instituted Universal Primary Education in 1997 and Universal Secondary Education in 2007.

But while improvements have been made in the education system, new readers have limited access to reading materials. UgCLA was founded in 2007 to address this problem.

Thanks to Mr. Napagi for taking charge of this project at Gayaza Family Resource Centre. We also want to thank facilitator Immaculate Mutabaire. We look forward to starting the same project at Bunalwenhi Library where Deborah Waibi will be instructing the courses. 

When projects are completed in each location, we hope to run second installments. In the past, participants usually want to continue once the sessions are over.

Marathon 2010

Thanks to all who donated to Global Goodness for our marathon fundraiser! The money we raised by running 42K in Venice, Italy on October 24 will help continue our efforts in promoting literacy. 

Checking in

On a recent visit to Ghana, Alexandra Cunningham checked in with the Accra Sempe schools in Jamestown to check on the status of the books we donated. 

What she found was a list of rules written on the board. We are so glad to see the books put to good use! The list reads as follows:

"Rules for Caring for Library Books

1. Clean your hands before reading your book.

2. Never write, scribble, glue, or cut the pages of a book.

3. Save your place with a bookmark, not by folding a page.

4. Fold pages carefully using the top corner of the page.

5. Carry your book in a book bag to keep it safe.

6. Put your book in a safe place at home, away from babies and pets."

Alex interned with Global Goodness, Inc. last fall and since has started her own organization called Art for Global Justice.

Connecting Communities on Two Continents

Last Friday August 27th, the community of New Haven got together to support and appreciate the community of Jamestown. The New Haven Lawn Club generously hosted over fifty people as they enjoyed cheese, wine, Ghanaian art, and various local donations from community members for the silent auction featured at the event.

The most significant aspect of the art exhibit and silent auction was the overwhelming amount of community support. Local New Haveners opened their hearts either by donating goods or services for the silent auction, bidding on silent auction items, or by contributing to the donation basket set up at the event. The appreciation Global Goodness has for the community of New Haven further fuels our desire to help give Ghana the gift of such a loving and compassionate environment.

This event not only connected community members of New Haven to one another, but also connected them to the people of Jamestown. Spreading awareness opened peoples’ eyes and hearts to the children in Jamestown who struggle to receive the proper education to end their plight of poverty. This is the first of many fundraisers that will aid in Global Goodness’ mission to end poverty through education. 

Thanks to everyone who supported!