Climate and Challenges of Arriving at School in Uganda
Location:
Luwero, Uganda
Art Medium:
Mural
Partner:
Concern for the Girl Child
Artist:
Allan Kyakonye
The Challenge
Across East Africa, long distances between homes and schools are common and are a real barrier to girls’ education. The girls normally travel 4-6 kilometers to school, which normally takes them two hours. The distance alone makes attending school hazardous, as girls are vulnerable to gender-based violence along the way. Additionally, when there are heavy rains, the roads are completely impassable, resulting in girls not being able to attend school.
The Action
The girls recognized that the challenge of roads being impassable was one that required infrastructural changes, so they decided to advocate for improved roads that would remain passable even after heavy rains as well as construction of a local school that wouldn’t require travel.
The SYD girls worked with Creative Action Institute to develop a mural that depicted how the long distance and bad weather conditions impact girls’ education. During the community event, the girls were able to effectively explain what the mural represented and encourage discussion.
50 members of the community attend the community event. This included parents and 12 local and government leaders. Having these stakeholders in attendance was critical to achieving the CAP goals.
At the community event, the sub county chief pledged to push for construction in the nearby village. Parents pledged to support school programs and support the girls’ requests for help.
The Impact
• Local leaders successfully advocated for road upgrades, improving access to education for girls in the region! The road is being built with culverts to divert the flow of water and prevent road flooding.
• The sub-county office shared that there are now plans to build another school in the community to reduce the distances some of the girls have to walk to get to school, noting that the girls’ presentation was a wake up call.
Photo Gallery
