(UGANDA) “Are you sure there is a community ahead of us?” This is usually the question first-time visitors to Opangul ask. Snuggled in rural northern Uganda, Opangul is made up of four villages, and as one approaches it, the major village windy-path gets narrower as the thick tall grass, towering over five feet high, starts to cover it up. It is fitting that its name “Opangul” means “a hidden place” in the local language spoken in the area.

This is usually the question first-time visitors to Opangul ask. Snuggled in rural northern Uganda, Opangul is made up of four villages, and as one approaches it, the major village windy-path gets narrower as the thick tall grass, towering over five feet high, starts to cover it up. It is fitting that its name “Opangul” means “a hidden place” in the local language spoken in the area.

Opangul is just one of ten communities supported by the Diocese of Lango, Church of Uganda (COU), a development partner of World Renew Uganda in the Embrace AIDS program that started there in 2010. And for Opangul their name, “a hidden place,” has been their greatest disadvantage, affecting not only the possibility of getting health care but also limiting the community’s education opportunities from the elementary level on up. Why start an adult literacy project in an AIDS program, you may ask? Well, to effectively take care of one’s health, especially when using modern medicine, it’s important to read and understand prescriptions. In a community like Opangul, where nearly 90% of the adults cannot read or write, a literacy project was nearly inevitable.

“We did not want our children to suffer the effects of illiteracy the way we did”

“Because we are a community that is difficult to reach, many community members, especially the women, don’t know how to read and write because they have never gone to school. Our children walk about ten km a day to and from the nearest school, and we have no health facilities or proper roads. We are very poor,” says David, a church teacher who is also the adult literacy teacher.

The adult literacy program is not only educating parents, but the community’s children have benefited as well. With the support of World Renew and the Diocese of Lango, what started as a small group of 15 committed adult learners who met regularly at a grass-thatched Anglican church has now sprouted into a growing nursery and primary school. “We did not want our children also to suffer the effects of illiteracy the way we did,” says Siblina Anyao, one of the adult learners. “So we have donated over five acres of land to the school.”

In addition, a Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) has also emerged in the community with a membership of over 100 people. Their weekly meetings are not just about saving and borrowing money to expand their small household businesses, but also a place to discuss community issues and together map out solutions to challenges they are facing.  Now Opangul boasts more than 85 children who are attending Opangul’s own primary school! About 70 adult learners have graduated from functional literacy training so far, and they have moved into attending the VSLA.

As more community members register for literacy training, Opangul community is coming out of “a hidden place” and into the outside world and new opportunities.

 

Edward Okiror

Program Consultant
World Renew Uganda