Schools in Uganda are finally scheduled to re-open on 15 October 2020 after seven months of closure because of COVID-19.
To ensure the safety of everyone who will be back in schools, we’ve been supporting local Hoima district education department staff to disseminate standard operating procedures to headteachers to help them prepare to create safe learning environments whilst continuing to provide quality teaching.
I’ve been working with the local team to learn more about the impact of COVID-19 to the children, teachers, parents and wider community, and to find out how best Link can support schools and the district to improve on education service delivery amidst the pandemic.
This week I attended a training session we were delivering with the district and was pleased to see the trainers providing helpful answers to questions and fears raised by the headteachers. We covered diverse topics including;
- How to deal with children returning to school with bad behaviour
- What to do for children who are pregnant and want to return to school
- Addressing those who are unwilling to return to school
- Supplying schools with the necessary materials to keep the children safe like masks and sanitizers as well as managing social distancing
The training has also uncovered challenges to child safeguarding experienced during the closures and Link is continuing to engage parents and community members to ensure children are safe and supported to achieve better learning.
I feel this training has been very timely as it provided answers, solutions and strategies that will make schools safe for both the children and teachers. However, COVID-19 continues to cause serious challenges in Uganda and elsewhere in the world. Here at Link, we are exploring ways to build resilience in our children and communities to enable them to live and thrive even amidst these challenges.
