“I feel like I am learning so much every day.”, says 22 –year old Helen Okudet. She is a trainee at the Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher programme of Cooperation and Development (C&D) in Moroto. ECD comprises of 3 levels: baby class, middle class and top class, after which children can start primary school.  

After completing the 6-month training, all 34 trainees need to succeed the exam of the Directorate of Industrial training, as well as an assessment by the Ministry of Education and Sports. “These accreditations give their diploma a nationwide value.”,affirms Kul Chandra Timalsina, Area coordinator for C&D.  

Kul adds that their ECD teaching institution is the only one in the whole of Karamoja, and therefore he is convinced that the graduates will find jobs. “The current trainees are particularly lucky because SaveTheChildren is finalizing ECD centers in several Karamoja districts. We already made linkages with these centers to make sure our trainees get a chance to  work there.”  

Classes are taught by sister Agnes Lomongin, an education veteran with 30 years  of experience as a principal and teacher within the region. “After the initial theoretical classes, the students now prepare their lesson plans and stand in front of the classroom. They are familiarizing themselves with the job in our on-site facilities, so that in the 5th to 6th month they are ready to teach at external centers.”  

We meet ECD trainee Helen Okudet when she is standing in front of a classroom with 20 toddlers. She wants to become a teacher in a private or public school. “I made these teaching aids myself,” she says,  while she points at posters with the alphabet and the numbers. “But the most important thing I learned is to work with children with special needs. They sometimes bring disorder to the class so you need to know how to handle that situation. Not everyone has that skill.”  

The EDC trainings are organized by Enabel’s Support to Skilling Uganda (SSU) project, as part of the Skills Development Fund, with financial support from Irish Aid. The aim is to equip young Karamojong with employable skills to increase the livelihood opportunities in the region.