Teaching is parenting in practice

About 18 years ago, Victor Mwebe was not sure whether he would be a teacher. He spent his life selling used phones on William Street in Kampala or repairing electronics as a part-time teacher.

The son of the late Michael Sendaula, a teacher, and Imelda Nambi, a retired midwife at Kojja Health Centre IV, Mwebe is one of the three boys in a family of five siblings.

Long road to classroom
Growing up, Mwebe had passion for repairing electronics as well as electrical installations and he had a dream of becoming a Catholic priest yet since 2001, the 38-year-old is firmly identified as a teacher.

He started his education at Ntenjeru Public School and St. Balikuddembe Kisoga Senior Secondary School and later joined Kisubi Seminary and quit his priesthood dream because of his stubborn behaviour. He returned to Kojja SS for O-Level before joining St Peter’s Nkokonjeru where he completed his A-Level in 1991.

Mwebe then joined National Teachers’ College, Mubende to pursue a career in education before dropping out after one semester for the lucrative phone business in Kampala which was booming at the time.

But one of his mother’s colleagues encouraged him to register for primary teaching emphasising that he needed a permanent job.

He reluctantly obliged and was among the more than 500 applicants from Mukono District before the current principal education officer, Margaret Nakitto encouraged him to join Shimoni Demonstration as a licenced teacher. Seeta Church of Uganda Primary School was their Resource Centre in charge of students from Goma Sub-county and Mukono municipality. He graduated as a Grade III teacher in 2005 while teaching at St. Beatress Buwava Primary School since 2001 but he kept operating his phone business. He was forced off the streets when phone thefts became rampant and business became too risky for him.

In 2008, Mwebe joined Uganda Martyrs University, Nkozi under St John the Baptist, Ggaba Primary Teachers’ College and two years later, he graduated as Grade V diploma holder.
Since 2009, he has been teaching Mathematics and Science at Nabbaale C/U Primary School in Mukono District where he is the acting deputy head teacher and sports teacher in charge of netball and football.

It’s in the blood
All his siblings trained as teachers but only him and his elder brother Ben Sendi, the Director of Studies and teacher of Luganda at Mukono Kings High School, still teach.

“At first I did not like teaching. My preference was electric wiring and repairing. But after teaching needy pupils all my life, I came to believe that it was my appointed profession. There is also a scarcity of teachers of sciences and I feel I have a duty to perform.”

On weekends and holidays, Mwebe makes electrical installation and repairs, a profession he learned from his uncle Joseph Mpagi Kisa, a retired telecommunications engineer. This supplements his monthly income.

Balancing act
“Teaching is so demanding. From the moment I wake up to when I go to bed, I am encouraging these young people to do something, often against their will. I teach them to be kind, share, say thank you; it is exhausting,” Mwebe said.

The Maths teacher adds that teaching leaves him knackered yet it is on very few days that he feels he has completely succeeded. He adds that this has made him more conscious of a parent’s point of view as a teacher.

“It has increased my patience and understanding of children. On particularly difficult days, I imagine my pupils are my own children and remember how important it is to respect and understand them as individuals. Of course, things still get difficult, but I see situations a little differently than I did before,” he says.

One instance that is still stuck in his mind is a rape case against his pupil by their relative in 2017. When the child confided in him, her parents felt betrayed, especially when he reported the incident to police and they arrested the culprit.

“I felt that I had to do something about it because I imagined this child getting exposed to so many ills including the girl getting pregnant or even contracting HIV,” he says.

Keeping updated
He keeps reading books to be useful to his learners. “I now acknowledge learners’ emotion without judgment and this has helped me to connect with the more troubled children in the school.”

After all these years, Mwebe is still excited about the kind of teacher he strives to become.

“I hope to be the kind of teacher that inspires learners. I want to help them achieve their dreams and help them know they can do anything their heart desires. I want to encourage my students to never give up on what they do,” he says.

He has handled learners who have become doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, politicians, and businessmen, among others.

“I am happy that some people are proud of me for helping their children,” he says.

Mwebe, says the biggest achievement from teaching has been the access to unsecured loans that have helped him construct a house as well as rentals and buy a boda boda for his supplementary income. He can only quit teaching if he gets a well-established business but he wants to stay as long as he can.