(This article was first published in the New Vision on May 25, 2022)
By Andrew Masinde
Isaac Omoding is a senior-man teacher at Alakas Primary School in Amudat district.
He started his teaching journey at Ongino Junior Primary School, a private institute. In 2004, he was to at Ding-dinga Primary School in Amudat district.
He found a community that did not value education due to the low pupil enrolment and a high level of absenteeism.
Christopher Angolokeri, a resident, says, although the school was the only one in the community, it had less than 200 pupils. Parents considered taking their children to school a taboo.
“The boys were taking care of livestock, while the girls were doing home chores, instead of going to school,” he says.
Omoding sensitised the community about the value of education at functions, such as burials and at the market.
“The community started valuing education with the enrolment increasing,” he says.
Omoding has since been chosen as the community champion for education.
Fighting FGM
Because of his good mobilisation skills, Omoding was selected by the district to monitor activities geared at ending female genital mutilation (FGM) in Amudat.
“Parents would pick girls from school and take them for FGM, after which they were married off,” he says.
Omoding traversed communities sensitising them about the dangers of FGM. To make movement easy, he bought a motorcycle with a sh3m bank loan. Whenever there are cases of FGM, child marriages or child abuse, he accesses the victims using his motorcycle.
Susan Adimo, the child protection officer in Amudat, says Omoding has helped many girls and boys whose rights have been abused. Sometimes, he transports police officers to the crime scenes.
Evelyn Kyepundoi, a student who almost dropped out of school at 12 years when her parents wanted to marry her off, reported the case to Omoding who talked to the girls’ parents but they turned a deaf ear.
He reported the matter to the district leaders who rescued Kyepundoi and took her to a boarding school. She is in Senior Three and hopes to continue up to the university.
“Omoding is my father now and I will study hard so that I do not disappoint him. I also thank all the leaders who are contributing towards my education,” she says.
Religion
Three years later, Omoding was promoted to headteacher.
To execute his duties, he enrolled for a course in community mobilisation.
Omoding realised that the lack of religion was partially responsible for the level of immorality in the school. Children were violent with boys raping girls on their way from school and they did not respect their elders.
He introduced daily prayers and reading of the Bible at school assemblies. He would also invite religious leaders to the school to guide the learners spiritually.
“Soon, the students created their own scripture union to hold daily prayers,” he says.
In 2015, he was transferred to Lokaris Primary School in Amudat, as a deputy headteacher. The school is located in the mineral mining area.
Immediately, he embarked on sensitising the community and the mining areas about the importance of education.
“It was not easy convincing them but, slowly, there was a change with the leaders enacting by-laws making child labour illegal,” he says.
Omoding says he faced resistance from the community who accused him of denying them cheap labour.
“But I did not give up and, indeed, children started coming to school,” he says.
Wooing Children To School
Omoding introduced music dance and drama to entertain the children. During the events, he would include a session to talk about the importance of education.
Some pupils would come to school without books and pens, so, he used his salary to buy them scholastic materials.
He also mobilised teachers in his and other schools to talk about the value of education in their communities. Consequently, the local authorities chose Omoding as the chairperson of the teachers’ association in the district and he holds the position to date.
In 2017, he was transferred to Katikit Primary School in Amudat district, where he was made the senior-man teacher.
The school had good infrastructure, but poor discipline. He says the learners were violent, did not respect their teachers and many would not attend classes.
Rev. Peter Longivokou says before Omoding’s appointment, learners were undisciplined and parents were not involved in their children’s academics.
Omoding introduced prayers. Being a church-founded school, he got the support of church leaders. In addition, he requested Rev. Longivokou to talk to parents and children about the importance of education every Sunday.
“He also introduced guidance and counselling sessions, which helped change the mindset of the learners. Today, the school has disciplined and dedicated learners and teachers,” he says.
Violet Nafuna, a teacher, says Omoding was pivotal in ensuring that teachers work as a team. She says, in the past, there were misunderstandings among teachers. Omoding would invite the aggrieved teachers and counsel them about the need for unity.
Introduced Gardening
The school had a lot of land, yet pupils did not have a balanced diet. Omoding introduced school gardens where the learners planted vegetables. The vegetables are consumed at the school and the excess is sold. The proceeds are used to buy pads and scholastic materials for the children.
Open Defecation
Many children were defecating in the open and Omoding introduced hygiene lessons where he taught the students about the value of using.
He also sensitised parents during meetings about the importance of using latrines.
Rev. Dan Ayenget, the parent teacher association chairperson, says: “In the region, many people had false beliefs that when girls defecate in the latrine they become barren, while boys get curses. However, after many lessons, parents started adapting to the changes.”
He adds that Omoding has led to the reduction of parents marrying off girls.
Mwanamis Nasimiyu, the headteacher, says Omoding has helped the community value education through various innovations aimed at bringing children to school.
“He organised a tour for the children to appreciate life outside Karamoja. When they returned, they realised other communities were different so they also needed to change their ways,” she says.
Last year, he was posted to Alakas Primary School in Amudat district. His first order of business was mobilising the community to take their children to school.
“The school had a low enrolment, especially in upper classes, as learners kept dropping out,” he says. The number has started increasing and he believes by the end of this year, the number will be higher.
Co-Curricular Activities
Omoding says, at all schools he has been posted to, he has been at the forefront of promoting co-curricular activities.
“He is a big resource in the district and we will forever be indebted to his service. He has helped the district to source for good teachers and he has always used his salary to transfer the teachers to the schools once they are identified,” Walter Kalaimoi, the Amudat district inspector of schools, says.
Education
He went to Kodukulu Primary School in Kumi district and then Bukedea Secondary School where completed Senior Four in 1994. He then joined Bishop Teaching College in Ngora district for a grade three certificate which he completed in 1996.
Advice
- Teachers should be dedicated to their work.
- They should always love the children and it is through this that learners will also love what they teach them.
- Respect yourselves if you want children to do the same
