Joy as Kapchorwa gets first primary school library

Pupils and teachers in Kapchorwa District are optimistic that the newly-built library and skilling centre at the Joshua Cheptegei Junior School will improve education standards and research.

The two-storeyed structure was on Wednesday commissioned by the Japanese ambassador to Uganda, Hidemoto Fukuzawa.
The works were funded by the Japanese Embassy in partnership with the Joshua Cheptegei Development Foundation.

The Japanese Embassy funding was under the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP), a scheme administered by the Embassy of Japan to fund community development projects, which uplift the lives of people at the grassroots level.

“We believe education is not about giving lessons to kids, the books are the treasures and source of wisdom,” Mr Hidemoto said.  

“The children should have the opportunity to know about the world. Reading books invokes the curiosity of the kids and this will help them to choose what they want to do in the future,” he added.

Olympics 5,000 metres champion Joshua Cheptegei said: “We are very indebted to the people of Japan.” 

“The library will aid research and empower learners to learn beyond reading to pass exams, but in turn become better people,” the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres world record holder added.

This is the first library in a primary school in the whole district, according to the Kapchorwa District Education Officer, Mr Owen Chebet Kweko.

“We need libraries and skilling centres in every corner of the district to improve learners’ performances. The reason we have constantly performed poorly is because of learning materials, we want more support from the government and the embassy,” said Kapchorwa Woman MP Phyllis Chemutai.

Reading culture
The school head teacher, Mr Isaac Kwemboi, said the library will create a reading culture. 

“Literacy levels are still very low in this country due to lack of reading materials and the conducive space. With this in mind, we identified a bigger location within the school and designed a fresh, new and inviting space to promote our reading culture,” he said.

The completion of the two-year project couldn’t have come at a better time for Sarah Chebet, a Primary Seven candidate.  “It’s fantastic to have such environment for reading books, I am now very optimistic about getting a First Grade in my final examinations,” she said.

Funding
The Embassy of Japan contributed $92,000 (Shs345m) while the Cheptegei Development Foundation raised Shs185m. 

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