(This article was first published in the New Vision on June 15, 2022)
By Jacky Achan
Enid Ayebazibwe was her father’s last hope to have a teacher in the family. He yearned for one of his children to follow in their mother’s footsteps.
She was a headteacher and he was a politician — a sub-county chief.
“We were seven children. Our father encouraged us to read hard. He would say, ‘do not ashame this family.”
“He would always ask us ‘what do you want to be, career-wise?’ He encouraged us to be teachers,” she says.
In 2014, Ayebazibwe’s mother passed on.
“After Senior Four, my father approached me and requested me to pursue my mother’s profession,” she says.
Ayebazibwe did not object. She joined Buloba Teachers’ College, where she qualified as a Grade III teacher and later Nkozi Teachers’ College, where she upgraded to a Grade V teacher.
It was a tough journey to becoming a teacher.
“I stammer. I remember stammering so hard on my first day in a classroom,” she says.
Fortunately, Ayebazibwe had an empathetic supervisor who encouraged and advised her to avoid sentences and use word per word while teaching.
“It helped. The stammering only returns when I am tense,” Ayezibawe says.
What started as a plea from her father turned out to be a blessing to learners, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
How It Started
Despite being a qualified lower primary school teacher, Ayebazibwe started her journey as a nursery teacher at Nakivubo Blue Primary School.
The headteacher encouraged her to be patient until there was a vacancy in primary school, which Ayebazibwe did.
At Nakivubo, Ayebazibwe met the first child who needed support to stay in school. The child’s father was absent.
“Her mother put her under my care in school as she went out to work and make ends meet. But the child was always downcast. I continuously counselled her and she stayed in school. That girl later became a TV personality.”
Ayebazibwe was then transferred to Railway Primary School in Nsambya. She was teaching Primary Two and headed the girl guides and scouts club.
Here, she encountered an only child to two Police officers at Nsambya Barracks.
He (the child) never liked school and ganged up with older boys to write love letters to girls at St Peter’s Nsambya. He would ferry the letters.
It took Ayebazibwe’s counselling for him to reform.
“He later got a job with a UN organisation and now lives in the US,” she says.
Paying Fees For Her Learners
When Primrose’s (not real name) both parents got involved in a bodaboda accident, she was left devastated.
“She was inconsolable in school. I was asked by Kitante Primary School, where I teach now, to go to Mulago Hospital to find out how they were doing. Both parents had their legs amputated, lost their jobs and had no means of survival. Her father worked in the Old Taxi Park, while her mother was a vendor. Primrose dropped out of school,” Ayebazibwe says.
She took up the responsibility to pay her school fees and provide basic school requirements from Primary Two and she is in Primary Five now.
Primrose is not the only child Ayebazibwe is paying fees for. There are two other disadvantaged boys she got from her neighbourhood.
“They go to Kireka UMEA Primary School, where I can afford to pay for their school fees.
“I earn sh400,000 a month and I have to pay fees for my four biological and three non-biological children. They are a big number, but I manage,” she says.
Looking After THE Vulnerable
Parents have also entrusted Ayebazibwe with their vulnerable children. Besides being from disadvantaged backgrounds, some are terminally ill, she explains.
“A child will come to school with no food, yet they must take medicines. They cannot do it on empty stomachs. I share whatever I have with them.”
These are part of the hundreds of children that have found a godparent and counsellor in Ayebazibwe.
COVID-19 Interventions
When Ayebazibwe saw children in her neighbourhood — Kireka, Kamuli B zone in Wakiso district — sell masks and other merchandise during the COVID-19 lockdown, she decided to offer free home schooling at her home.
They were unsafe hawking given the nature of the virus. Ayebazibwe told some of the parents that: “Instead of them moving around selling masks, give them to me.”
She started teaching about 20 children at her home.
“I was also tired of sitting home and just doing house chores. I would teach my children, in addition to the willing ones from the neighbourhood.
“My children were getting skilled in making liquid soap, one suggested we skill the other children too and we embarked on it.”
The children under Ayebazibwe’s care were from nursery to primary level.
Finding Joy In Teaching
It is not about money, but what you have done for the disadvantaged or needy children who come into your life, Ayebazibwe says.
“It is respect and understanding the children that draws them closer. It builds trust and they can share their most sacred stories and find direction in life.
“The children trust me with their life stories and I give myself to help where I can.
“You know teachers don’t make that much money, but what makes us happy are the selfless things we do for our pupils that impacts their lives. That is where the satisfaction comes from.”
Ayebazibwe has been a teacher of the English language for the lower primary level (Primary Two-Four) for at least 20 years.
This year, she has been given literacy that has science, social studies and religious education to teach.
“I also teach physical education. It is something I have always enjoyed teaching.” Ayebazibwe says to teach, one must have passion.
“Mine is a calling not because I am a qualified teacher, but because I am driven by the love to teach,” she says.
Who Is Ayebazibwe?
Enid Ayebazibwe hails from Kazo county, Kanoni sub-county, Kitongole village in Kirihura district. She was born in 1978 to Charles Kampikaho and Ruth Bahurire Kampihako.
“I am the fourth of seven children, although two passed away,” she says.
Ayebazibwe attended Kantagamya Primary School and Kanoni Secondary School for O’level. She then went to Buloba Primary Teachers’ College (PTC) in Mityana, where she qualified as a Grade III teacher, then to Nkozi PTC, where she qualified as a Grade V teacher.
“I am now looking for money to upgrade to degree level. It is a necessity now demanded of teachers,” Ayebazibwe says.
What Others Say About Ayebazibwe
Jane Kyakuwa, headteacher of Kitante Primary School
Ayebazibwe is hardworking. She is self-driven. We are always at school by 6:00am or earlier. She heads the scouts and girl guides club and the school water and sanitation club. She also handles all areas of education, which is unique.
Allen Nakiganda, parent
My daughter was approaching three years in the middle of the lockdown. I wanted her to join baby class once lockdown was lifted. I heard someone in the neighbourhood say Ayebazibwe is a good teacher. I asked her to teach my child and she agreed. By the end of the lockdown, my child could write her name, count numbers, read and speak English quite well and went to middle class. Ayebazibwe never asked for pay. I only used to provide sh1,000 daily for my child’s snacks.
Paul Malala, supervisor of education services, Kampala Capital City Authority
I worked with Ayebazibwe in Makindye and Kampala central divisions. She has passion for teaching. Ayebazibwe has a number of children under her care. Most of them come from less privileged areas (ghettos) of Kitante and Kamwokya. Their parents struggle keeping them in school. Ayebazibwe has taken charge of the children and encouraged them to keep in school. Ayebazibwe creates that conducive environment for them.
Golden Tips
- Make children your friends and listen to them to get the desired results n Give children life skills in addition to academics.
- Impart reading and writing skills to children, especially lower class as they are key in academic life.
- Be God-fearing, give them themes daily and let them contribute too.
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