Education Initiatives in Action

By Jen Wilson

The mission of Fields of Dreams Uganda is to provide hope to the orphaned and vulnerable children of Uganda through the vehicles of soccer and education.  As a former athlete and current educator, the mission of FoDU resonates with me at a very deep level. The programming we have developed for our partner schools is having a great impact on the future of the students attending these campuses.

Today as we visited New Kaabale Busega, we were able to see many of those initiatives in action.  New Kaabale Busega is moving forward and making progress under the inspirational leadership of Head Teacher Rose.  As a school principal, I am able to recognize the strong leadership skills Rose exhibits.  Her guidance of the staff and students at New Kaabale Busega helps all team members to stay focused on the dreams of the students and staff, and their goals for the future. It’s encouraging to know our programming goals are being executed by a passionate and excellent educator.

Each of our partner schools is given an educational grant by Fields of Dreams Uganda.  At New Kaabale Busega, this year’s FoDU educational grant was used to complete a new dormitory for the boys.  This allowed the staff to shift students and classrooms around to gain more space for the students and gave the boys a safer sleeping area.  Space is at a premium at New Kaabale Busega.  Several of the classes have over 50 students per classroom and one classroom has 70+ students.  In Texas, our primary classrooms are capped at 22 students.  It’s mind-boggling to think there are 3 classrooms worth of students in several classrooms at New Kaabale Busega. The staff at New Kaabale Busega dreams of building even more classrooms in order to create smaller class sizes for their students and staff.

Despite the large class sizes, the students are learning and thriving. We heard several positive reports about the students participating in the Dreams Plan initiatives.  The opportunity to sit down and create a Dreams Plan with one of our volunteers or staff members has provided students with direction and inspiration that their dreams are a true possibility. One of the former student’s at New Kaabale Busega has moved on to a prestigious secondary school and after one year is scoring at the top of her class.

Finally, I was able to see the impact of our recent distribution of the hygiene kit for girls. Several of the girls expressed great thanks for the hygiene kits. The kits allow them to attend school and feel more comfortable. They are grateful for the ability to benefit from daily educational instruction.

Education is the key to a brighter future for each student at our partner schools.  We will continue to identify educational needs and develop programming in response. I am pleased to see our current educational initiatives of the educational grants, hygiene kits, and Dreams Plans are having a positive impact!