Brac Uganda commissions ECDs in Terego district

By Moses Alinda

Terego: Parents and other stakeholders in the Imvepi refugee settlement in Terego district could not hide their excitement as Brac Uganda commissioned three early child development learning centers (ECDs) and humanitarian play labs within the settlement.

The commissioned ECD’s include the Beliya ECD center in Ewadri village, the Jakisa ECD center, and the Lugbari ECD center, all in Imvepi refugee settlement.

Beliya ECD has a total enrollment of 116 learners, while Jakisa ECD has a total enrollment of 226 learners.

Afoyochan Jane, a parent at Jakisa ECD, said that before the establishment of the center, the children had to wait longer at home until they reached the primary school age since the few they had were far from their homes.

She says this has excited the parents, and they are willing to give support and protect their center since it is for the benefit of the community.

She also thanked Brac Uganda for the initiative to transform society through education.

Pontius Pirate Ayima, a parent at Beliya ECD in Ewadri village who doubles as the school management chairperson, thanked Brac Uganda for the structure they have put in place to help the young children achieve a holistic education.

He said that as parents, their responsibility is to provide security for the center and make sure it stays in good condition.

Adole Macharious, the representative of the education department in Terego district, thanked Brac for the initiative they put in place.

He tasked parents to embrace and make use of the facilities that are in place.

The country director, Brac Spera Atuhairwe, says the project is aimed at improving education for young children.

This has been done through interventions in households so that they are able to sustain themselves and improve the education of the young children.

She said that as Brac, they are ready to support the schools and challenged the other stakeholder groups to work together for the development of the community and the centers.

The LC5 chairperson for Terego district, Saka Wilfred, said that it’s time for the government to add more effort to the education system, especially in primary schools where the ratio of teacher to pupil is no longer matching.

He says the learners in the ECD centers will later be promoted to the primary section, where they need more manpower.

BRAC Uganda, together with its development partners, is implementing a two-generational project in West Nile.

The project provides quality early childhood development (ECD) through humanitarian play labs (HPLs) to over 4,100 children and ultra-poor graduation (UPG) through building sustainable livelihoods and enabling 700 households to graduate them out of extreme poverty.

The humanitarian play labs have been constructed with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

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