Real Life Maths in Africa
My church has been supporting Rubaga Youth Development Association (RYDA), Kampala, Uganda since 1996. In brief, their mission is to advocate for orphaned and vulnerable children and to offer them opportunity to learn life and vocational skills at their accommodation and education centre outside Kampala. RYDA is a registered NGO (non-government organisation).
In January, through the exhaustive work of the Executive Director, Board and Staff, the United Nations through the International Labor Organisation (ILO) granted an application for funding to pursue a 22 month program to counter child labour in two central districts of Uganda. Child labour (children from 7 to 17 years) is abhorrent to the policies of the Uganda government, but none-the-less remains a continuing problem in the country.
Would your primary or early secondary students rather be in school or smashing boulders by hand into gravel and loading the scree onto trucks?
Key primary objectives of this project, funded through a local contribution combined with the grant from the ILO International Project on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) are that:
- 333 girls and boys will be provided with scholastic materials and prevented from entering child labour.
- 167 boys and girls currently in child labour withdrawn and rehabilitated.
- 117 ex-child labourers integrated into Ugandan primary and secondary schools.
- 50 ex-child labourers trained in various trades after completing rehabilitation.
- 75 focus households or families educated in income generating activities to remove the perceived need to send children to work in the first place.
But what has this got to do with Maths education?
Answer: I was stunned by the detail and breadth of RYDA's application, in particular, from the mathematics point of view, the content of the 7 page spreadsheet budgeting for every required item for 22 months down to litres of fuel and bottles of water. Also by the exchange rate involved purchasing in Ugandan shillings and converting to US dollars, the currency of the ILO. It seems to me to be a wonderful set of data for an integrated mathematics/social education unit around Years 10 & 11. So much more meaningful than studying the accountants of a text book company from a mythical city.
No doubt there are creative primary teachers who could also build a learning unit around the project. In 2008 Lyse Lake and the Year 5/6 team from Kalinda Primary School built an extensive African study generated by first exploring RYDA's mission.
You can research more about the RYDA Child Labour Project at the link below. I have access to, and am permitted to share, the draft report and budget documents. If you become interested, drop me an email: doug@blackdouglas.com.au
