Volunteer at Kyabirwa Primary School
There's a lot of information on this page so please persevere to the end!
The name of our school is Kyabirwa - pronounced cha beer wa. The r is rolled - if you can do that! 
We
would like to offer you a safe and fun volunteering experienced that
will be of mutual benefit to us both. On this website we tell you all
the costs up front so that you can plan and budget for your trip.
Throughout
your time with us you will be respected as a person who has come here
to help us and not as a wealthy westerner who has unlimited funds at our
disposal. So please come to give us the benefit of your expertise,
energy and enthusiasm!
Now let us give you some history and more information.
Moses
Owino, the senior teacher and Volunteer Project Manager at Kyabirwa
School, built a block of accommodation for volunteers in his family
compound. He did this because, despite being near the major tourist
attraction of Bujagali Falls near Jinja, no-one came to volunteer at the
school as it isn't on a main road where it can be seen. It's in a
clearing in a rural area where the forest was cleared for subsistence
farming. Unless someone just happened to mention it to you, you wouldn't
know we
are here.
When
the accommodation was completed, the Kyabirwa Primary School Volunteer
Project was started. Volunteers came to the school and the small profit
left from the Project fees, after feeding and housing them went straight
into a fund for the development of the school, as it still does.
As a volunteer you can become involved in a range of tasks that appeal to your personal interests and skills. There are many possibilities.Teaching is by far not the only option.
Once
you have settled into your room in Moses' family compound, where there are showers, toilets and electricity, the Head Mistress will discuss your aspirations with
you to ensure you do the things you are comfortable with. We
want you to enjoy your time at the school as much as possible - as much
as we want the children and staff to benefit from your being with us.
This is an environment where the happiness and well being of the volunteer is considered paramount.
In the rare event that there are any problems, Moses and Robinah will always be there to
help you. Everyone wants you to be safe, happy and have a good
experience.
Please
note that due to internet and power problems, plus teaching and family
commitments, it may take a day or so for emails to be answered. Delays
don't mean that your enquiry isn't valued.
Volunteers
can access their emails at facilities at Bujagali or
in Jinja town or via mobile internet if they have their own laptops.
Mobile internet and phone reception is good at the accommodation.
Many
children at the school are orphans living with extended family. There
are children living alone with siblings where the head of the family is
the oldest child. Children's age range is from 6 - 18 as it often takes
them that long to complete primary school, if they ever do. Lack of
money and the pressures of subsistence farming can be insurmountable
problems.
Children have
difficulty understanding English when spoken by foreigners. Working
with groups of 4 -10 using shared writing for children to write
something together, is a great way to promote the understanding of
spoken English. Shared writing is less threatening for children than
writing alone. At the moment they are good at copying, but not
constructive writing!
Teaching isn't the only option. There's carpentry, repair, building and construction work at the school.
We urgently need more accommodation for teachers at the school so that they live on site and can run after school
classes and extra-curricular activities. Teachers earn about £55 a
month from which their entire uneducated and probably unemployed,
extended family expect to be supported. Eliminating daily
travel expenses really helps them and would enable them to stay at
school after hours to teach remedial classes and start evening classes
for the community. We have the footings in for 4 more dwellings and
building plans, but we don't have the funds for such large projects and
so are unable to complete them. Can someone help us with this?
If you are an electrician, we need the electrical wiring extended.
Anyone with DIY experience would be greatly valued. We badly need things like cupboards and shelving in classrooms. Many such tasks are available.
It’s
natural that volunteers want to teach their favourite things, but this
must fit in with the teachers’ planning. If volunteers teach things that
aren’t synchronised with the planning, it will be difficult for
teachers to maintain the teaching and learning flow so children’s
learning and ability to pass their essential national exams will suffer.
Please always discuss plans with the Head Mistress and subject teachers
to ensure that what you do fits in with their plans.
Volunteers usually undertake the following activities but we are always open to new ideas
- We
need volunteers to help with the teaching of English language to the
youngest classes. This is a priority as from P4 all lessons have to be
taught in English. The better their understanding, spoken and written
English is, the better their ability will be to access the curriculum.
So we would really welcome such help from any fluent English speaking
volunteers and also need TEFL specialists or volunteers who are
confident that they are skilled in teaching English as a second
language.
- Teach English to all age groups
including the older classes where the children already have some
English. The ability to speak English cannot be underestimated. If any
person in Uganda can speak English there earning potential is
immediately improved. Saying that their earning potential is doubled is
probably an understatement.
- Work with groups (4 to 10) of children out of class. The greatest need is for writing and conversational English. Reading benefits from this at the same time. Writing is better taught in small groups as shared writing is less daunting. Shared writing can be a class exercise, too. This is a real priority.
- Maths teachers. Our children find maths difficult and maths exam results are usually the poorest.
- Demonstrate to staff the skill of teaching to mistakes through marking analysis - especially in maths.
- Support the children and teacher by assisting in class - any subject.
- Volunteers
who are confident may want to teach the whole class. They should only
do so with a teacher present in the class at all times. Volunteers
do not speak our language, class sizes are very large and like children
in your country, ours may be silly with strangers!
- Teach
art. Children rarely have the opportunity to draw and paint. You will
need to supply the materials because we can't afford them. Please ask
staff where they may be purchased locally.
- Teach music and singing to groups or whole classes of children.
- Demonstrate
science experiments and teach the children that science is fun. Liaise
with the school via email to find out the teaching plans and then
research this before you come!
- Organise
games after school. Football, netball, rounders, baseball. Simply teach
the children any games you know. Just relating positively with and
playing with the children is valuable.
- Organise and work at a homework club. Most children don't have the opportunity to study at home.
- Visit children's homes and liaise with parents concerning any difficulties/needs.
- Electrical skills to extend the electrical wiring.
- Carpentry skills
are needed to make built in cupboards and shelving in each classroom
and the staff room. It would be good to involve staff in this, so that
your skills are passed on.
- Building work such as finishing the building of the badly needed teacher's accommodation.
There
is a sewing kit in the volunteers' cupboard in the store room. Please
use it to teach the children how to repair their uniform. They need to
learn how to repair tears and sew on buttons.
You
could also bring out some small buttons, needles and thread for their
dresses, shirts and trousers. Don't give the sewing kit away though
because there are up to 1,800 children in the school and if one has it,
they will all want it! When you leave, ensure that you put it in the volunteer
cupboard ready for the next volunteer.
And it's not just the girls who enjoy it! Gender equality is one of the values we are striving to promote.
Highlights
- Living with an extended Ugandan family (Home Stay - this is not a Guest House) thus ensuring that you are never lonely and have a real experience of Africa. Moses' family ages range from 4 years old to 75. Our volunteers have really enjoyed living with and becoming part of the extended family of our Project Manager. It has been such a rich and interesting experience for them.
- Moses and his immediate family live in a house in the compound. His aunty, sister and her child also live there. His mother stays regularly. There are countless adopted relatives living nearby and visiting. Neighbours are always drifting in and out as are traveling salesmen and workmen.
- The block of newly constructed volunteer accommodation with new beds, shelves, bedside table, clothes hanging and mosquito nets, showers, toilets and electricity.
- Attend the local churches. There is no pressure for you to do this, but the community love it if you do. The Catholic Church in Bujagali is amazing if you want to hear African singing. You don't have to be Catholic to go to a service. You will love it.
- There are possibilities of leisure activities at Bujagali Falls and in Jinja town. Quad biking, white water rafting, bungee jumping, discos, restaurants, etc.
- You can visit the capital, Kampala or Sipi Falls.
- You can go on a safari. The end of a placement is a good time for this.
- Mabira Forest - best in the very early morning and from 4pm when the monkeys are about.
Qualifications
Volunteers need to be 18 years old at the time of application. There is no upper age limit.
You need to be normally fit and healthy.
No qualifications are needed. We just want anyone who is ready to offer his or her time serving the children of the school and the local community in an open hearted, generous and understanding way.
Language English
Cost The volunteer fee is a flat rate of $440 a month or pro rata.
Dollars must be new notes, without tears, creases, writing or dirty marks on them
and they must be no earlier than 2006. Notes must also be in denominations of $50
or larger.This is because damaged notes are not exchanged by banks and the larger
the note the better the exchange rate.
Please see our document: Costs, other possible Expenditure and Useful Information,
which explains it again - but we promise you there are no hidden snags or extras!
Cost Includes
- Accommodation is with the Project Manager and his family.This is a real experience of Home Stay, living with an extended African family instead of in Western surroundings as in a guest house.
- Breakfast and lunch every day is included in the fee.
- The cost of a simple evening meal/dinner is 7000 Uganda Shillings which is about $3.The price will increase if you order more things. Western tastes are expensive in Africa and Moses is a poorly paid teacher so he can't afford to subsidise you.
A complete breakdown of the Volunteer Fee is downloadable from the Volunteer Documents page.
The Head Mistress and Project Committee keep full records of fees and expenditure in the Volunteer Fees Record File, which volunteers are free to view at any time. A small percentage of the volunteer fee is a donation to the school. At the moment we are having to use this to buy basic teaching materials. We would like to save it for the 3 projects below but at the moment this isn't possible.
- Building more teacher's accommodation. The footings are in, but we ran out of money to go any further with this.
- Extension of the current electrical wiring
- Metal shutters and doors for all the rooms in the school - these last longer, are more secure and keep the dust out better
The donation from your fee will be recorded in the Volunteer Fees Record File. We are trying to be transparent in our management of the Project as we know that it fosters the growth of trust. We feel we are pioneers in this respect. When the accumulated donations are spent, this too will be recorded. As we are a now a CBO our accounts will be audited each year.
Please note that in keeping with this being an authentic experience of Africa Home Stay living, the food is mainly African. It's plain and simple. It can be bland in flavour when compared to western food, but it is cleanly produced, wholesome and nutritious. We have never had a volunteer who has disliked the food. A sample menu is available for download on the Volunteer Documents page.
If volunteers wish to live in more luxurious accommodation in Jinja or at Bujagali, they are free to do so at their own expense. Such accommodation is available a mile away. Volunteers must then pay for any food taken at Moses' home, including lunch for 2,000/- which is less than £1.
We don't insist on it, but would be very grateful if volunteers living elsewhere would make a donation to the school of just $40 a week. It will help us build up our funds to enable us to develop the school.
However, some such volunteers bring resources for the school or install a facility such as metal shutters or have a water tank put in. Naturally, we would not expect them to make such a donation if they choose to live away from school for all or part of their placement.
We are grateful when volunteers do donate and give us such things, but it is not a criterion for acceptance for volunteering at our school. We are pleased if you just come to offer us your company, assistance and time. The fact that you care enough to come and spend time with us is a wonderful boost to our morale.
Application to be a volunteer
Application is via a simple application form which may be downloaded from the Volunteer Documents page, then completed and emailed to the Project Manager. Please do email the completed form to Moses as it helps us to keep proper records. Some volunteers haven't done so, which means we now have gaps in our records.
On arrival at the Volunteer Accommodation volunteers are required to show the Project Manager their Travel and Medical Insurance Certificate. Volunteers are not accepted if they do not have Travel and Medical Insurance that is in date to the end of their time at the project and in their name.
Airport pickup and flights
Flights are arranged and paid for by the volunteer. Airport pickup will be arranged for the best price available if the volunteer requests it. Currently, this is 140,000/- each way - about $58. You will be greeted at the airport by the driver who will display your name on a large card.
Contact
Moses Owino, the Project Manager, by email through the form on the Contact page of this website
Telephone +256782460012
When the volunteer's application has been accepted, volunteers need to book and confirm their flights, then email these dates, times and flight numbers to Moses Owino who will arrange airport transfer. The volunteer pays the driver on arrival at Moses' house. It is possible to stop on the way from the airport to withdraw money from a bank using a visa debit card. Credit and Mastercards do not work in Uganda.
We do ask!
In the past well meaning volunteers have approached other organisations and NGOs without consulting us to ask them for help for the school. This was so well meaning, but it threatens our autonomy and our ability to be self - determining. So we do ask our volunteers not to do this without fully consulting Moses Owino in the first instance. Moses will then consult the Head Teacher, school staff and the School's Management Committee after which he will communicate their response to you.
Volunteers are advised to research Uganda prior to coming to ensure that they are aware of any and all measures they need to take to ensure their well being, health and security whilst in Uganda - in the same way that they would do for any other developing world country they were visiting.
Volunteers should acquaint themselves with the information about Uganda available on the website of their home countries' Foreign Office.
