TUSP & The UN's Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of ambitious objectives to work towards in the achievement of global development: reducing inequality and striving for social justice for all, no matter who you are or where you come from.

For The Uganda School Project, it provides an excellent “framework” (or structure) to ensure the goals of our organisation, based in a small village of rural Uganda, match those of the rest of Uganda, the rest of East Africa, Africa as a whole, and indeed the overall global push towards a more fair, prosperous and equal society. 

In our case, TUSP works primarily towards Goal 4: “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” This is at the core of what we do. By providing the ‘Educational Infrastructure’ i.e. the physical spaces that allow children a safe, supportive and effective learning environment, we are removing barriers to access quality primary education. 

At Bumakenya Primary School, before we arrived in 2016, there was not a classroom in sight. Children would be learning in either a half-built church with no roof, or a temporary mud structure, and P1 and P2 class (ages 5-7) were learning under a tarpaulin attached to a tree. In an area well known for its torrential downpours during the rainy season, this would mean classes simply couldn’t go ahead much of the time. We have now built 8 classrooms, 5 pit latrines, and a 15,000 litre rainwater tank, as well as installing a source of clean drinking water and providing a free school meal every day.

he school infrastructure is a crucial component. Classrooms are essential for obvious reasons, but less obvious might be the smaller pieces; for example textbooks and furniture - because how would you develop early reading and writing skills without a desk to write on? Equally as crucial, and what helps promote lifelong learning, is our Educational Development Programme.

The Educational Development Programme, which includes a mix of Training workshops for our teaching staff and Literacy and Phonics Programmes for the students, helps our learners get so much more from the time they spend in school. The training workshops promote more engaging and effective teaching methodologies that differ from the traditional, less effective ‘rote learning’ - i.e. teaching by repetition or parroting. With this, teachers’ technical skills are improved, but equally as important is the motivation and empowerment gained through learning a wide range of tools and techniques, as teachers see the positive impact these methods have on their pupils’ concentration and engagement first-hand. 

Both the ‘Educational Infrastructure’ and ‘Educational Development’ components provide sustainability to our work. The structures built are designed to last for years to come, and the benefits from improved educational delivery will be felt year after year, pupil after pupil, for the remainder of each teacher’s career.

The benefits of targeting our interventions at the Primary level become even more evident when we look at some of the other Sustainable Development Goals, because they have a kind of ‘domino effect.’ For example, Goal 1: “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.” We are aware that many children that leave Bumakenya Primary School won’t go on to Secondary or Tertiary education. Therefore, by providing a foundation of literacy and numeracy for our learners, we promote the capacity for lifelong learning and subsequently a platform for improved livelihood opportunities.

The International Labour Organisation of the United Nations (ILO) estimate the informal employment sector to be around 60% globally, with a higher estimate of 70% in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Uganda, the informal sector accounts for a still-higher 75% of total employment. This means that on average, 3 of every 4 pupils at Bumakenya will not go into the formal, documented employment sector. But the benefits of improving pupil attendance and educational standards gives greater prospects for future earnings, regardless of whether that learner enters formal employment or not. 

Research specific to Uganda shows that every additional year of education results in an approximate 16% increase in future earnings in both the formal and informal employment sectors. If we can encourage children to stay in school longer, and combine that with an improved educational standard, it becomes clear that we can have a meaningful impact in the relief of poverty for the communities we work in. To continue the ‘domino’ effect analogy, this reduction poverty will then have a knock-on impact on other key SDGs: Goal 2: Zero Hunger and Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.

So in conclusion, of course our work needs to be specific to the areas in which we work, contextualised to the cultures, attitudes and beliefs of the community that surrounds Bumakenya Primary School in Namisindwa District, Eastern Uganda. But we also need to ensure that our vision, mission and values align with the bigger picture of the UN’s SDGsto ensure we have the biggest impact possible, and help to create a more just, equitable and prosperous world for all.