Impact of Uplift in Communities

The STEPi Coordinators and Ambassadors in Uganda embarked on a journey to help improve the relationships between parents and children, as well as the relationships between parents and teachers. Five schools in different districts of Uganda were approached by the Coordinators and their teams, including Uplift Ambassadors, to host positive parenting workshops, introduce and encourage literacy and reading programs in the different communities and encourage positive parent-teacher conversations. The goal of this journey is to reach out to 15 schools altogether.

This journey started in 2020 where one school was approached by the Coordinators and the Ambassadors where programs were introduced. The workshops and program helped parents become more involved with their children’s education and support them better, build positive relationships between parents and teachers and introduce a love of reading for the children. One of the Ambassadors guided the parents through a positive parenting workshop which included tips on the best way to aid and support the children; parents are the key to each child’s growth and development to ensure they become responsible and happy adults in the future.

After this meeting, the parents and teachers came together to support the children in the community with their schooling and to build positive relationships among the adults. On this day, over 50 books were distributed; the children sang, danced, and played with the books they received as a community, as one, as the future of Uganda.

Four other schools have since been approached with the same workshops and literacy programs. These same programs and workshops from the first visit were introduced at these schools, such as focusing on positive parenting, building relationships between parents and teachers, and supporting the children’s scholastic needs and encouraging a love of reading and books. The results from these four schools were the same; parents came together with the teachers and devised ways for the community to support and meet the children’s needs better. Literacy activities were also held at each school which helped the children develop relationships with the books and encouraged them to have fun while interacting with the books. In all the visits, it became clear that the parents finally understood the importance of nurturing the children and supporting them to ensure they become happy and successful adults. Some of the schools even established their own community libraries for the children to attend and enjoy together. The children sang, they danced, and they left the sessions feeling uplifted and confident in their abilities.

Overall, 140 parents were advised and guided, and 40 teachers were there to become more involved and offer more support to ensure they had positive relationships with the parents and the children. Seeing the communities come together to support the children was a wonderful experience. We are ready to introduce this in more schools across Uganda and reach our goal of making an impact in at least 15 schools.

“We as parents indeed have poor relationships with both teachers and our children… we really need to support our children (more). Thank you for this initiative.” Ms Emily, a parent from one of the schools visited.

Written by:
Joshua Oyergiu
STEPi Community Engagement Coordinator, Uganda