We are on Journey to Transform Okere Village, Starting with a Community Early Childhood Development Centre
Located 70KMs from Lira Town, in Otuke District, Adwari Sub-County, Okere rural dwellers’ hope to build the next generation of talented, motivated and skilled individuals has been re-awakened by their resounding commitment to start up a community school. The idea to start-up a community school to provide quality education services was initiated and financially supported by Ojok Okello, a development worker who, like Nelson Mandela believes that education is the most powerful tool that can be used to make the world a better place.
“We are starting this community school from kindergarten because laying a firm foundation is a key pre-requisite for a solid education background” Ojok noted during the first community meeting attended by 25 parents. During the first community meeting, parents expressed enthusiasm and the zeal to do their best to make sure that their children get an opportunity to learn.
Mary Otim, who has enrolled two of her children at the school re-echoed her commitment to support the school in the best way possible. “This is a unique opportunity for my children to get the education I never got” she said.
As part of the community ownership of the school, parents contribute in-kind support such as provide any manual labor force that is required to do any project in the school. For instance, they formed a school construction committee to mobilize labor to facilitate construction projects at the school and provide locally available materials such as spear grass for thatching the classroom, laying bricks to build class rooms and office spaces among others. Parents also buy scholarship materials for their children and each parent contributes 1USD every month to pay for wages for the school cook.
To off-set certain costs, parents also have to provide all the local materials and items needed for the day to day functioning of the school such as firewood for cooking porridge, grass for thatching housing projects among others.
A school Management Committee was also formed to run the day to day operations of the school. Milton Ocen, the Chairperson of the committee believes that nothing will hinder the community members in their vision to build a brighter future by investing in education. “We can’t let this school die” he emphasized. “What shall we tell our children if they are a hopeless batch of illiterate people in future because we killed this great idea?” he questioned the parents.
The motto of Okere Community School Yamo Akwo Koddo means a living wind blows in the local Lango dialect. The motto is inspired by the fact that education is an enabler for prosperity and good living which feels like freshness ushered in by a cool wind/breeze in a hot sunny day, a characteristic climatic condition of Okere village.
So far 35 pupils have enrolled in the inaugural kindagarten class of the community school.
