Kikondo, UG – Benam Infant School grows enrollment to grow children – Jul 2024

Benam Infant School opened last year with 7 pupils and now has grown to 25. It’s managed by Jaja Sarah, a qualified nursery schoolteacher with teaching experience of 50 years. As an active community worker, Sarah realized that many busy parents wanted their 3-and 4-year-old children to attend pre primary school, unavailable in Kikondo village. As the chairperson of Zinabala Vicoba, JaJa Sarah knew many families wanted an infant school in Kikondo village. So she applied for and received an Education loan through Wamukisa and used her family support to start an infant school. https://betterlives.org/2023/02/kikondo-ug-benam-nursery-school-serves-breakfast-and-learning-to-local-children-feb-2023/

Working parents of 12 Benam pupils used to take their children to a local 80-year-old caretaker. Now their children attend Benam, giving the children a better learning experience, the parents time to earn, and the old caretaker time to rest. Her children have now started taking good care of her. Most of the parents with children in Benam school have benefited from activities of Wamukisa, like FAITH gardening and trainings.

Benam infant school has its motto as “Toil and Achieve” which means “Hardworking Pays.” Benam pupils learn as according to the curriculum Jaja Sarah received from the district education department. All the 10 pupils who reached primary school age qualified after passing primary school interviews at Hills Primary School. This achievement led to parents bringing in more children this school year. Hills School is working with Jaja Sarah in a way that all young children under 5 years who parents bring to Hills School are directed to Benam, which builds respect and confidence among teachers and parents of Kikondo village.

Benam pupils now have two types of school uniforms, embroidered blue, and yellow with green. The uniforms signify stability to the village and that the school and its students are on a path to grow. Jaja Sarah expects to see an increase in the number of pupils because of the uniforms, and some parents have requested she start lower primary school, levels 1 to primary 3.

Jaja Sarah is approaching her retirement so she has trained two assistant teachers who she hopes will carry on and sustain the work with her supervision. Pupils at Benam school now have an opportunity to learn well. Toil and Achieve benefits both the teacher and her learners.