Impact Story: Grace Nursery & Primary School, Uganda
Ms. Nassozi Divine, in Uganda, was initially a classroom teacher, but her popularity amongst students and their parents motivated her to start her own school. Her Grace Nursery and Primary School, established in 1995, now boasts over 100 students.
As the school was growing, it became difficult to accommodate the increasing number of enrolled students. A loan from Letshego Bank allowed Ms. Divine to expand the school’s infrastructure.
Ms. Divine also joined EduQuality, a programme of Opportunity EduFinance. Through the programme’s School Leadership Professional Development workshops, Ms. Divine was able to improve her knowledge on financial and business administration, branding and marketing initiatives, and staff retention strategies. Additionally, the programme’s cluster meetings, where school leaders in the same geographical area exchange knowledge among peers, helped her learn about school fees collection strategies, culture practices, and teacher engagement strategies in other schools.
In addition to running her school, Ms. Divine works to reduce instability in the students’ home environments, which is a barrier to learning for many children in her community. The school offers parenting seminars to support the families, and these have boosted parent participation in school matters.