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Efulansi Mukyala Biwoye is a devoted teacher.

“Teaching is not only a profession but a calling in my life.”

The teacher Efulansi Mukyala Biwoye is going against all odds to assist vulnerable children continue with learning amidst COVID-19.

The story of Efulansi Mukyala Biwoye, a teacher at Namumere Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) center is one that stands out, full of passion and charisma. When COVID-19 broke out in the country, to curb the spread of the pandemic, the president gave a directive to close all the educational institutions and have learners go home to be with their families. To date schools are still closed, and it is not yet decided when they will be officially re-opened as authorities are still trying to figure out how learning can effectively continue in the new normal.

Current situation
This situation has left teachers the most affected in the country as most of them have been left jobless to the extent of even abandoning their professions for other trades to continue earning a living.

Although this state is so disturbing and overwhelming, this has not ruined Efulansi 's passion to continue teaching amidst this tough season.  Efulansi is a 43-year-old widow with six children (5 girls and 1 boy) and a grandmother of four. She comes from Nakisenyi village, Bulongo sub-county, Luuka north county in Luuka district.

With COVID-19, the district is also known to be one of the most vulnerable in the country that has been further pushed into adverse poverty as most of its residents have been hit hard, especially teachers who highly depended on teaching as their only livelihood.

"Seeing children at home doing nothing while parents were busy attending to daily responsibilities, made me question what creative way I could come up with to ensure they keep engaged and not lose out on what they had learned."
Efulansi, teacher

About Efulansi
Efulansi is a teacher by training with a passion for teaching and grooming children. She got educated up to senior four, then moved to a teacher training college to study a course in primary teaching. When she moved to Namumere ECCE center, she later enrolled in ECCE training as a caregiver.

Before COVID-19
Efulansi's s day would start at 3:00 am, prepares breakfast and the grandchildren for school, and leave by 7:30 pm for school. When she arrived at her school, she would start her lessons with the learners with 30 minute breaks in between until they end their classes at 12noon. As teachers, they would stay on to create local play materials that they would use on a daily for stimulating the children's learning.

The president ordered the closure of all educational institutions in March 2020, since most schools defied the precautionary measures against the spread of COVID- 19. This changed the story for Efulansi and her colleagues as learners had only been to school for a few weeks and not all had cleared the school fees. This left Efulansi and her colleagues closing the school without paid salaries.

A passionate teacher

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"Teacher Efulansi is very good, fun, helps me understand in class and drums for us as we dance, " states Loyce Nemuwaya with a smile.

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"Little children need continuous brain-stimulating activities, to facilitate their brain development and have a good start in life," says Efulansi. 

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"When something is your calling, you will do it even when not paid. I feel a great responsibility towards these childre", she states.

Efulansi 's passion to see learning continue amidst school closure, could not let her settle until she would do something about it.

"Seeing children at home doing nothing while parents were busy attending to daily responsibilities, made me question what creative way I could come up with to ensure they keep engaged and not lose out on what they had learned," Efulansi stated. 

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Little children need continuous brain-stimulating activities, to facilitate their brain development and have a good start in life.

She and her other colleague decided to attain permission from local authorities to allow her to start and run three community centers which include: Efulansi zone, Katanga zone,  Buzaya Zone, and Nakasenyi zone. They each manage two centers while observing the precautionary measures of COVID-19.

Challenges amidst COVID- 19

"The increasing number of learners from other schools besides Namumere ECCE center who we cannot support due to COVID-19 strict government measures and limited spaces for learning, leave us no choice but to turn some away." She sadly stated.

Efulansi and her colleagues offer free teaching services at the different centers which makes it very difficult to make  a variety of learning materials like play materials due to lack of resources to purchase materials.

"The teacher is so good and I love the way she teaches the children with love and a lot of patience. We are glad to have her teach our children."
Babirye Mariam, a parent at the center

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Motivation to teach

Although the season is difficult, Efulansi believes that teaching is just not a profession but a calling in her life. "When something is your calling, you will do it even when not paid. I feel a great responsibility towards these children to see that the learners are assisted in their learning with love and care" she enthusiastically stated. The children also love her, and parents appreciate her dedication towards supporting their children’s learning.

Lessons learnt

One of the great lessons Efulansi has learnt during this period is that it’s important for her to engage in some income-generating activities beside her profession. "I currently grow some food for home consumption and the rest for selling." She said.

She is currently renovating her rentals and creating more room so that she can rent out and have more income to run the home amidst situations like these. "It has been challenging for most of my colleagues to transition amidst this season, as teaching was all they could do." She said with a sigh in her voice.