How Toto Magazine inspires Kotido children to read, write
Every week, Rimrim Community Primary School receives 25 copies of Weekend Vision and Toto Magazine under the Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme, which is being funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through Save the Children, an organisation that saves and cares for children around the world.
Christopher Omara, Head Teacher of Rimrim Community Primary School in Kotido District, is the school's only teacher. (Credit: Ritah Mukasa)
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Christopher Omara is the head teacher and only teacher at Rimrim Community Primary School in Kamor subcounty, Kotido district, Karamoja sub-region.
On a typical school day, he handles five classes (Primary One-Five) plus the Early Childhood Development (ECD) class, which studies under a tree in the compound.
“This work is draining,” he says, thanking Save the Children organisation for offering the school free newspapers every week, which he says help to relieve him of the heavy workload.
“I give some learners work from the newspapers and move to other classes,” he says.
He also appreciates the organisation for recruiting two mentors who use Toto magazine to teach lower primary and nursery to read and write, as he handles the upper classes and other subjects in the lower classes.
The school has an enrolment of 391 children, coming from six neighbouring villages.
Children learn on empty stomachs, and those in Primary Four and Five go all the way to around 5:00pm.
Omara takes a break at midday, allowing them to go home for lunch, but the majority return at 1:45pm still hungry.
“I give them newspapers to read after which we discuss some numbers in the PASS PLE pull-out,” he says. The pull-out comes out every week in the Weekend Vision.
On days when volunteers fail to turn up, Omara groups Primary One and Two and distributes Toto magazines, assigning them work to do.
Lucy Peace Akong, a mentor, guides a learner through an animal-matching activity in Toto Magazine. (Credit: Ritah Mukasa)
On the impact newspapers have had on the learners, Lucy Peace Akong, a mentor, says that for years, children were being taught in the local language by informal teachers. When Omara took over in February 2026, he encouraged the mentors to use newspapers, especially Toto magazine, in class and within a few weeks, children learnt to blend letters and read English words and sentences.
Besides, there is a link between the newspaper and the subjects they learn. Others cut out pictures as learning aids.
Toto Magazine inspires learners to develop their reading and writing skills. (Credit: Ritah Mukasa)
About the NiE Programme
Every week, Rimrim Community Primary School receives 25 copies of Weekend Vision and Toto Magazine under the Newspapers in Education (NiE) programme, which is being funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) through Save the Children, an organisation that saves and cares for children around the world. NORAD is implementing a five-year programme from 2024 to 2028 called “Transforming the Future-For and with Children” in Acholi and Karamoja regions. The program aims to ensure that all children enjoy their rights to survival, protection, development and participation in a safe, inclusive, accountable and resilient environment.
