IREAD unveils early childhood education facility in Luweero
The ECDs are built with funds donated by Ugandans of Indian origin who were expelled in 1972 by President Idi Amin Dada.
By Norah Odoi
The Institute for Rural Education and Development (IREAD) opened on May 10,2024 an Early Education Centre (ECD) in Kanseka village, Bamunanika Town Council in Luweero District.
This is the 19th centre donated to Uganda by a North American nonprofit.
Working with the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Kingdom of Buganda and the Rotary Club of Wobulenzi, the state-of-the-art facility will provide quality grassroots education to learners between 3 to 6 years.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, IREAD chairperson Zahir Lavji asked the community to take ownership of the facility to make it a self-sustaining one.
“One of the best ways to make your children successful is to give them a basic foundation when their brains can be creative that’s from age 1-8” Mr. Lavji said.
He went ahead and urged the men and women of the community to continue bringing more children to hit a target of over 100 children this year. All IREAD ECD Centers offer activity-based learning for children aged 3-6 and over 50 children have been enrolled.
Similarly, the IREAD Rotary Liason, Frederick Kitakule urged the community to enrol their children in the program to maximise their potential when they join other levels of education.
Presiding over the event, Owek. Cotilda Nakate Kikomeko lauded the initiative by IREAD to boost the overall education system in Uganda.
“We thank the founders of IREAD for endeavouring to help the children thrive through the provision of ECD facilities. Only 9% of children in Uganda aged between 3&5 receive early childhood education so with the opening of the Fatma bai ECD centre the kingdom expects that more children will get the opportunity of early childhood education for improved learning as they proceed with education on other levels. In our strategic plan of 2023-2028, our education ministry in Buganda is tasked with providing more quality education and partnering with IREAD will enable them to pull it off.” she said.
The ECDs are built with funds donated by Ugandans of Indian origin who were expelled in 1972 by President Idi Amin Dada.
The ECDs are intended to provide a cheaper alternative to early childhood education which is very expensive or non-existent in the government programs.
