The Importance of Teacher Housing in Uganda

Uganda is currently facing a number of challenges with regard to its primary and secondary education systems that make it difficult for students to receive a basic education. One of these is the logistical problem for teachers in making the commute to class, particularly in rural areas. Here’s why providing teacher housing programs at remote Ugandan schools can help to improve the quality of learning for students — and how you can help.

The Problem

In many rural areas, such as the Nakaseke district, teachers are obligated to leave their families in order to work because schools are so far away. In addition, teachers are often forced to live in the very classrooms where they teach or in makeshift accommodations that lack basic amenities. This not only affects their morale as professionals and dignity as human beings, but also hampers their ability to prepare for classes and provide a stable learning environment for their students. 

This presents two problems for education in Uganda: a lower immediate quality of education for students, and greater difficulty for rural schools in attracting and retaining qualified teachers.

The Solution

Because of this, the former Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has advocated for the creation of teacher housing, emphasizing its role in ensuring that educators can live with dignity and perform their duties effectively. Having adequate living spaces creates an environment where educators can dedicate themselves to their vocation without the added stress of securing safe and comfortable living conditions. 

Teachers who are provided with proper housing are also more likely to stay in their positions, reducing turnover and creating a more stable educational environment for students.

To this end, the Ugandan government is taking steps to construct teacher housing for some schools, but more needs to be done to ensure that all schools in all parts of Uganda can hire and keep high-quality teachers.

How You Can Help

Anyone can help to ensure adequate housing for Uganda’s teachers — and better educational outcomes for Ugandan students — by supporting nonprofit organizations that work to improve learning opportunities for children.

Support Teacher Housing (and Better Learning) With Simone’s Kids

Simone’s Kids in Nakaseke, Uganda provides high-quality primary and secondary education and meets basic needs for children in order to help them break the cycle of poverty. Your donations help purchase school supplies, textbooks, basic medical care, and food for Ugandan students as well as housing for teachers. 

This Christmas our goal is to raise $500,000 to provide staff housing in Uganda. Our mission at Simone’s Kids is to provide our students with the best quality education, and our goal to build staff housing on our land only further supports this mission. Culturally in Uganda, housing is a part of teachers’ contracts. We currently rent various apartments throughout Nakaseke to provide housing for our teachers. We believe that better housing will attract advanced teachers with quality education to move their families to the remote village of Nakaseke. Furthermore, we want to honor our teachers by providing them with living quarters that make them feel comfortable and safe while they work hard to educate our students.

You can also maximize your impact with recurring donations to Simone’s Kids by joining The Village. The Village is a passionate group of donors committed to bettering the lives of children in Uganda by making monthly donations that help to provide better meals, more teachers, more activities, and even post-graduation services. Give today!