With activities ranging from stationary book clubs to a mobile library, menstrual and mental health education, leadership workshops, agricultural instruction, digital competency, and support for a boys’ football academy, Susan Tusabe’s NGO in Uganda has grown to include over 600 children and 90 mothers.
One of the several languages spoken in Uganda, Luganda, has a proverb that reads, “Okutambula kulaba, okudda kunyumya.” Live your life, then come back to share your tale.
The foundation of Kampala’s literacy and arts education NGO, Art of a Child, is the liberating power of storytelling. Susan Tusabe, the group’s founding director, saw a need for reading in the kids she encountered on her daily commute to work and decided to launch the company in 2016.
Susan Tusabe’s NGO in Uganda has expanded to include over 600 children and 90 mothers, with activities ranging from stationary book clubs to a mobile library, menstrual and mental health education, leadership workshops, agricultural instruction, digital competency, and support for a boys’ football academy.
There is a proverb in Luganda, one of the languages spoken in Uganda, that goes, “Okutambula kulaba, okudda kunyumya.” Live your life, then return to tell the story of it.
The emancipating force of storytelling is the cornerstone of Kampala’s literacy and arts education at NGO Art of a Child. The organization was founded in 2016 by Susan Tusabe, the group’s founding director, who identified a need for reading among the children she encountered on her daily commute to work.
About thirty kids attended those early meetings; today, the NGO’s portfolio of programs has expanded to include over 600 kids and 90 mothers. Activities have included everything from stationary book clubs to a mobile library, education on menstruation and mental health, leadership training, teaching about agriculture, digital competency, and assistance for a boys’ football academy.
“Literacy has changed; it’s not just about writing and reading anymore,” the author claims. “Those who are literate ought to be able to apply knowledge to advance their communities. Our goal is for youth to be capable of effecting positive change.
According to Tusabe, Art of a Child has been able to adapt to the changing requirements of the various communities it serves as a result of its diversification.
The obstacles that this type of NGO frequently encounters in both urban and rural environments—first opposition to outreach that doesn’t always result in an instantaneous, palpable benefit—have been lessened by the programs’ success. “Perhaps as a result of what they have witnessed or the organizations they have interacted with, they anticipate receiving a scholarship or allowances as payment for attending. However, those who stick around end up with more. For instance, people who cultivate mushrooms have made so much money that they have saved money and can now purchase equipment.
As a furious, full-blooded tournament speeds past him on a dusty pitch, he declares, “We try to create three pillars: education, character, and football.” One boy hits a volley so fearsome that it knocks the entire goal frame off its moorings. According to Bugembe, the academy is always in need of new footballs, more coaches to expedite the boys’ training, and strong and dependable healthcare provision.
He defines character as “what you are and what you do.” Thus, these boys are able to express themselves in public and acquire self-worth and confidence. To find the boys a happy life, we need everyone to collaborate with us and Art of a Child.