The love for children drove me out of my initial career

Kellen Kiconco Makuru is a Social Sciences graduate from Makerere University who later pursued a Masters in Diplomacy and International Studies at the same university, but did not practice any of that. She, instead chose to follow passion and is currently an administrator, curriculum developer and nutrition researcher at Little Sailors Kindergarten and Day Care Centre in Ntinda, a Kampala suburb.

“I wanted to practice what I had studied, and maybe work with a reputable organisation or join a government institution but I did not get the opportunity due to difficulty in getting jobs.

However, I had a special interest in children especially understanding their behaviour. A friend connected me to Daffodils Kindergarten in Kampala as an Art teacher. While there, my love for children blossomed.

Each day at work, brought a new perspective, therefore, I read a lot of books about children, journals on the Internet about child behaviour and did research. I sought to understand even the smallest details about children.

I later developed interest in special needs children, food and nutrition. This led me to start developing curriculum that fit the needs of the little minds.

I chose to divert from my first career because I noticed that the modern parent has little time to notice, monitor or follow up on the children’s development academically, socially, physically and morally. Ten years down the road, I have been able to discover disorders, instabilities in children and have also come up with solutions or recommendations.

For instance delayed speech, anger and tantrum management, ADHT syndrome, autism, eye-hand coordination, eating disorders, and attention syndrome, among others are some of the problems whose solutions I can give.

It has not been a smooth ride. From the moment I broke the news to my parents that I was going to teach at a kindergarten, my father, to date is not happy with me. Students joining university should choose a career from which they derive passion and are able to perform diligently.”