Resource Centre boosts reading in Jinja
Mar 08, 2011
WHEN Fataku Mugomba sat his Primary Seven mock examinations last year, he scored Aggregate 36. He had earlier scored the same grade in the pre-mock exams at Kagoma Primary School in Jinja district.
By Charles Kakamwa
WHEN Fataku Mugomba sat his Primary Seven mock examinations last year, he scored Aggregate 36. He had earlier scored the same grade in the pre-mock exams at Kagoma Primary School in Jinja district.
That was in July 2010, only three months to the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). Mugomba almost lost hope of ever improving his grades.
Pupils with such grades are often denied entry into secondary school because of the tight competition for limited places. They thus end up repeating Primary Seven or even dropping out of school.
But, as luck would have it, as the 14-year-old-boy was planning the next move, a friend advised him to try a resource centre in the village.
Mugomba joined Nambi Sseppuuya Community Resource Centre (NSCRC) where he would team up with colleagues for discussions.
“Every day after school, I made sure I went to the library to read from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. We also had discussion groups where we revised using Pass PLE question papers from New Vision and I benefited a lot,†he says.
When Mugomba sat PLE in November 2010, he scored Aggregate 23.
“I wish I had known the value of this library/resource centre early enough. I would have done much better,†says Mugomba, now in Senior One at St. Gonzaga Gonza Secondary School which is government-aided.
The resource centre, located in the rural Igombe village, 24km on the Jinja-Kamuli road, has gone a long way in fighting illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and disease through provision of reading and research materials to the locals.
The centre was commissioned in February 2007 by Justin Kiyimba and his family in memory of their daughter the late Irene Nambi Sseppuuya.
Local leaders here boast of an improved reading culture and a model village in Busoga, courtesy of the centre. Children from the neighbouring primary, secondary, tertiary institutions and residents, regardles of of all age groups are allowed to access the centre’s services.
Adult education was recently introduced. According to the librarian and instructor, Isa Maganda, the class currently has over 20 women and five men.
“We teach them how to read, write and speak English. We also equip them with business skills. People have responded positively and I expect the number to increase this year,†he said.
The centre also has recreation facilities like video/drama shows, sports and health education, including sanitation, hygiene and HIV/AIDS awareness.
Hajira Nanyonga, 39, a mother of three and a beneficiary of the adult education programme, says apart from enhancing their reading and writing skills, adult classes help keep women busy.
Robert Kayanga, the secretary for youth affairs in the area, says the centre helps instill morals into the youth. It engage them in constructive work after school and on weekends instead of roaming the villages.
It was probably against this background that the residents recently organised a farewell party for Canadian volunteers, Harris Brent and Schmitz Kristopher, in recognition of their contribution to the centre’s success.
For the past five months the two Canadians have participated in community mobilisation, and health and adult education. They have donated over sh2m to completion of the second phase of the centre.
At the moment the centre has a sitting capacity of 100 learners but Kiyimba, who is also the chairman of the management committee, is optimistic the capacity will increase once the third phase of the project is completed. The phase includes construction of a children’s library, a computer lab and a special room containing facts about the late Irene Nambi Sseppuuya.
“My greatest challenge now is lack of a steady income because I have been financing activities here using my funds and yet I retired last year,†Kiyimba who has been the Kyambogo University Llbrarian, said.
WHEN Fataku Mugomba sat his Primary Seven mock examinations last year, he scored Aggregate 36. He had earlier scored the same grade in the pre-mock exams at Kagoma Primary School in Jinja district.
That was in July 2010, only three months to the Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE). Mugomba almost lost hope of ever improving his grades.
Pupils with such grades are often denied entry into secondary school because of the tight competition for limited places. They thus end up repeating Primary Seven or even dropping out of school.
But, as luck would have it, as the 14-year-old-boy was planning the next move, a friend advised him to try a resource centre in the village.
Mugomba joined Nambi Sseppuuya Community Resource Centre (NSCRC) where he would team up with colleagues for discussions.
“Every day after school, I made sure I went to the library to read from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. We also had discussion groups where we revised using Pass PLE question papers from New Vision and I benefited a lot,†he says.
When Mugomba sat PLE in November 2010, he scored Aggregate 23.
“I wish I had known the value of this library/resource centre early enough. I would have done much better,†says Mugomba, now in Senior One at St. Gonzaga Gonza Secondary School which is government-aided.
The resource centre, located in the rural Igombe village, 24km on the Jinja-Kamuli road, has gone a long way in fighting illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and disease through provision of reading and research materials to the locals.
The centre was commissioned in February 2007 by Justin Kiyimba and his family in memory of their daughter the late Irene Nambi Sseppuuya.
Local leaders here boast of an improved reading culture and a model village in Busoga, courtesy of the centre. Children from the neighbouring primary, secondary, tertiary institutions and residents, regardles of of all age groups are allowed to access the centre’s services.
Adult education was recently introduced. According to the librarian and instructor, Isa Maganda, the class currently has over 20 women and five men.
“We teach them how to read, write and speak English. We also equip them with business skills. People have responded positively and I expect the number to increase this year,†he said.
The centre also has recreation facilities like video/drama shows, sports and health education, including sanitation, hygiene and HIV/AIDS awareness.
Hajira Nanyonga, 39, a mother of three and a beneficiary of the adult education programme, says apart from enhancing their reading and writing skills, adult classes help keep women busy.
Robert Kayanga, the secretary for youth affairs in the area, says the centre helps instill morals into the youth. It engage them in constructive work after school and on weekends instead of roaming the villages.
It was probably against this background that the residents recently organised a farewell party for Canadian volunteers, Harris Brent and Schmitz Kristopher, in recognition of their contribution to the centre’s success.
For the past five months the two Canadians have participated in community mobilisation, and health and adult education. They have donated over sh2m to completion of the second phase of the centre.
At the moment the centre has a sitting capacity of 100 learners but Kiyimba, who is also the chairman of the management committee, is optimistic the capacity will increase once the third phase of the project is completed. The phase includes construction of a children’s library, a computer lab and a special room containing facts about the late Irene Nambi Sseppuuya.
“My greatest challenge now is lack of a steady income because I have been financing activities here using my funds and yet I retired last year,†Kiyimba who has been the Kyambogo University Llbrarian, said.