Uganda | Supporting Teachers in Hard-to-Reach Places
In northern Uganda, 1.7 million South Sudanese refugees have sought shelter in refugee camps—57% of them children. Advancing Leaders International (ALI), a ministry connected to Novo that trains and empowers teachers in hard-to-reach areas, has been working to support schools in the camps since 2018. These schools had classrooms with 60+ students (even some with 150 three, four, or five year olds!), and teachers with no training—family members or leaders in the camp who were willing to volunteer. So instead of their normal emphasis on fostering critical thinking skills among students, they focused on equipping teachers with basic skills and understanding—like that they couldn’t expect learning to take place with so many kids in a class!
Winnie, a Ugandan teacher who had previously gone through ALI’s training program, asked to volunteer for a week with ALI in the camps. In addition to being a teacher, she had a master’s degree in human rights and a heart full of compassion for others. Winnie’s parents had both died of AIDS when she was young. The aunt who raised her believed strongly that education was essential for a better life, and Winnie had taken it to heart.
After that week in the refugee camp, Winnie joined ALI full-time as their local leader for Uganda.
ALI’s director, Karen Knutson, says it’s amazing to have a leader you can trust so completely. Karen has been mentoring Winnie for five years now. They’ve read books together on leadership, resilience (during COVID), team building, and how to help people grow. Winnie says her greatest areas of growth while working with ALI have been in resilience, collaboration, and delegation. Winnie felt most comfortable working alone, and had to adjust a lot as new members joined her team. With Karin’s guidance, she learned to embrace teamwork and consider the perspectives of others in decision making.
Winnie and her team have trained and mentored 67 teachers at five different refugee schools, as well as 60 teachers in four other schools in the east of Uganda. They’re able to mentor these teachers both professionally and spiritually, and frequently get to pray with the teachers over their personal lives as well. Winnie says the support ALI has given the refugee schools has been absolutely critical for them. “During COVID-19,” she said, “ALI’s resilience training helped retain 90% of teachers in refugee areas, with several attributing their continued commitment to ALI’s support.” Winnie is now considering pursuing a PhD in counseling, driven by her deep compassion for refugees. With her heart for Jesus and people, she will continue to make a significant impact wherever she serves.
