Zombo farming community appeals for support to revamp parents’ initiated school
However, decades ago, much of the area was abandoned due to the severe infestation of river blindness.
Zombo: The remote farming community of Angol Parish in Atyak Sub-county, Zombo District, is calling for support from development partners and well-wishers to improve the mud-walled structures of Agober Parents Primary School.
Situated in the rural village of Agoru and surrounding areas with a population of over 2,000 people, the school serves as a beacon of hope for the children of this farming community.
The area is attractive to commercial farming due to its fertile soil, which has fostered a strong desire for education among the locals. However, decades ago, much of the area was abandoned due to the severe infestation of river blindness (Onchocerciasis).
In recent years, the population has grown, and better health systems have drawn farmers from Zombo, Nebbi, and Arua districts to settle in Atyak Sub-county.
The community school was established three years ago, and by last year, it had over 300 students enrolled in P1, P2, and P3. This year (2025), the school plans to register P4 students.
“We raised our concern to MP Songa, because we have 500 households here, and we need our children to study. We started this school and brought in qualified teachers who are not absorbed by the government to teach here. There are seven teachers, including the headteacher,” said Fred Urwiny, a board member, in an interview with this publication.
In an effort to ensure their children get an education, parents have constructed four grass-thatched classrooms, while others conduct lessons under trees.
The school management committee urgently needs textbooks, chalk, iron sheets, blackboards, and other materials to enhance the learning environment while they continue mobilizing local resources and paying the volunteer teachers.
Fred Urwiny also shared that parents are currently laying bricks for permanent structures at the school. The general secretary for Pakich Chiefdom, Thomas Susu, explained that they have allocated seven acres of land for the future development of the school, including building infrastructures and playgrounds.
“In the fourth year of this school’s existence, we have given the land to the community in the presence of an area councilor. We ask the government, area MP Songa, and his friends to bring us development,” Susu said.
He urged district leaders and MPs to prioritize the school and ensure that it is taken over by the government.
MP Lawrence Biyika Songa, who visited the area, commended the community’s initiative in establishing the school and assured that they would forward the school’s name to the Ministry of Education and Sports for coding. The MP also donated UGX 200,000 to support the school administration, pledging to continue lobbying for the construction of classrooms.
Zombo District has been supporting community schools such as Amurupii Community Primary School, Jupamathu Parents Primary School, and Aparasa Primary School in Nyawir Atyak, submitting their names to the Ministry of Education and Sports for coding.
“What we can afford to do, let’s do it for the development of this school. When we develop this school, one of the children here could become an MP like me in the future,” Songa motivated the community members.
Additionally, another farming community in Yil Village, Anyola Parish, Atyak Sub-county, has called for support to build classrooms for King Phillip Olarker Rauni III Community Primary School.
Zombo District currently has 92 government grant-aided primary schools, over 80 private primary schools, and about 69 pre-primary schools, of which only 45 are active, mostly in urban areas.
Despite significant efforts by the government and Cooperaid, a Swiss NGO, toward improving school infrastructure in Zombo, some areas, especially those in hard-to-reach regions, still lack schools.
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