Visiting Schools in Uganda

School visits with our Edify staff offer the most informative and engaging experiences with educators and students. After completing our Internet-in-a-Box trainings in Jinja and meeting with key partners, we visited several EdTech-focused schools during our last day together in Uganda, in March, 2022.

DESTINY CHRISTIAN HIGH SCHOOL

At Destiny Christian High School, the proprietor showed us where they intend to build their new and expanded computer lab over the next few years. He then brought students and teachers into their existing lab and gave us the opportunity to share what a classroom session would be like with Edify's new offline learning device and the Internet-in-a-Box software. Students and teachers explored the content on their own, browsing maps of Uganda, watching videos on various subjects, researching in Khan Academy Lite, Wikipedia Offline and more, and demonstrating the enthusiasm for learning content that we found everywhere in Uganda.

Toward the end of our time together at Destiny Christian High School, I shared a quote from William Butler Yeates with the classroom that education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire. The proprietor liked this quote and shared as we stepped outside. "We have been filling buckets but with Edify's help we are going to start lighting fires." His energy and enthusiasm for improving the use of education technology at his school was infectious and the growth and improvements in this school are already evident.

"We have been filling buckets but with Edify's help we are going to start lighting fires."

GOD'S HOPE HIGH SCHOOL

The second school that we visited was God's Hope High School in Nakaseke. We interacted with a group of dedicated students and the ICT teacher who supported their research and learning on the computers. One student shared with us how he saves up his own money to buy internet data that he can use to continue his learning. Since data is expensive in Uganda, most schools still do not offer Internet-connected learning in the classroom. This made the group especially interested to dig into and browse the resources that we shared on Internet in a Box. It seems that world maps and lessons from Khan Academy both caught on quickly with the group. We also met with the Director and a group of teachers to share about this project that was about to launch at their school

In each school we visited, we found students eager to learn and teachers and leaders doing what they can to improve their use of educational technology. Every school shared shared about how Edify has been encouraging them and helping them to improve. It was so refreshing after two years away from the field to encounter again what God is doing in these schools where dedicated Christian entrepreneurs and educators continue to serve the children in their communities. The future is bright for Uganda's schools with such committed educators and what a privilege to work with Edify supporting schools to expand and improve sustainable Christian education!