YAVINS Education Center (YEC) is a brain child of The Youths as Volunteers Integrated Network Society (YAVINS), which is a Ugandan charity (5914/8603/MIA/NB/2010/06/2100) and a Canadian nonprofit registered organization (S-57049) founded by Samson Nabbimba Jr, supported by other Canadians.
About
YEC is a private licensed academic and vocational institution mandated to operate under the general objectives of YAVINS. YEC is a semi autonomous educational project with the major goal of offering an affordable system of educational training tailored to the local society’s needs. With the help of external support, YEC aims to meet the objectives of the general agency, as well as the individual students’ needs, and the current labor needs of the local society and country at large.
Funded by a combination of local school fees from parents, donor support from well-wishers around the world, primarily North America, charities, companies, and academic institutions, some of whom provide logistical support as well.
The school runs the Ugandan Ministry of Education curriculum. Additionally, modern training and curriculum from developed nations that align with the mission beliefs and do not contradict the laws of the society or country of Uganda may be included in the local training methods. This combined curriculum provides the children with a well rounded, globally competitive education.
One of our strategies targets special-needs children and orphans in the national area, providing them with the same educational opportunities provided to other children around the world. These may include, but are not limited to; deaf, blind, physically handicapped, and to some extent those with autism if services are available. Educational sponsorships are provided to marginalized children when available, prioritizing those living on the streets of Uganda.
There is a great need for labor, training, and external support to include these vulnerable groups and provide the same accessibility of educational and humanitarian opportunities that all other students receive.
Like the parent agency of the YAVIN Society, the school is in dire need of international assistance. This includes a need for professional and nonprofessional volunteers who enjoy working with children and youths. These volunteers are essential for bringing positive professional and moral ideas that expose our African children to the international academic standards essential for competing in the modern global job market.
Target Groups
YEC has been designed to support children from nursery/kindergarten to grade 13 (Senior Six), and school dropout youth. The K-13 system is comparable to the North American K-12 system.
Seeing the need for functional adult literacy programs in the area YEC aims to provide such programs once enough buildings are completed. However, due to a lack of space these programs can currently only be offered on weekends when the children are not in classrooms.
With enough space, funding and support, YEC also has plans to offer independent polytechnic college classes for children after grade 7. This will allow children to advance into full polytechnic programs, and graduate with technical trade credentials.
Additionally, YEC aims to function as a community development entity, providing meeting and training facilities for the areas community enrichment and self help groups. A registered self-help parents’ group, YEC Women’s Group, was started to foster economic development programs providing training in income generating activities such as agriculture, farming, and micro credit services. The two main goals of these programs are to provide community support to parents and attract external support from national agencies to lower the cost of children’s school fees.
Major Goals and Objectives
- Provide ethical workers who promote social and economic equality with high moral standards to help embolden youth in providing positive community growth.
- Instilling the values of accountability, honesty, ambition, and a strong sense of community in all individuals who attend YEC.
- Producing individuals with excellent mentorship and leadership skills with ethics rooted in Christian faith and positive cultural traditions with the idea that all people are equal before God and the law.
- Sending out motivated individuals ready to work independently.
- Sending out dependable individuals ready to follow through with objectives, work with teams or communities without personal bias towards differences such as race, tribe, physical ability or attributes, economic status or gender.
- Be good stewards of the environment.
- Bring together people of all ages and backgrounds to develop friendly, meaningful relationships geared towards positive behavioral change, and academic professional achievements through collaboration.
- Provide maternal and children’s health programs, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation awareness skills and income generating activities within the community.
- Provide learning and mobility aids for physically and mentally handicapped children.
Education Centre construction projects underway
Major Needs
- More permanent classroom buildings to replace the temporary seasonal shelters currently being used.
- Residential teachers’ quarters for our local and volunteer staff.
- School meal programs.
- Agricultural equipment such as tractors, water tanks, hoes, and other garden tools.
- Library, furniture, science laboratory, computers, and other electronic equipment.
- Health and first aid kits and training for sick children in the area.
- Academic and language (English) development materials, such as books, wall planners, geographical tools, international flags, and related teaching aids both electronic and non electronic etc.
- Vocational Educators and training tools, such as sewing and design machines, carpentry, joinery, hair dressing, kitchen and baking, welding and small foundry, mechanical, concrete and brick laying, landscaping tools, and arts and crafts materials.
- Brass band instruments, music instructors and training materials.
- Games and sports equipment such as soccer balls, nets, basketballs, hoops, netballs, paddles, rackets, table and long tennis, board games, etc.
- Playground equipment, including swings, climbing frames, etc.
- Volunteer staff including, counselors, special needs instructors, social workers, medical students and practitioners, teacher educators, and those with academic and non-academic skills who enjoy working with children in and out of the classroom.
- Solar and renewable energy systems and equipment.
- Sponsors for school children, especially orphans.
In need of more permanent classroom structures
Appreciation
Many thanks to our donor community around the world such as Canada, the United States, Germany etc. Additional support is always welcome. For more details on how to get involved please visit our volunteers page or learn how to provide additional funding please visit our donations page.
Merci
