Hannah Lou is an International Youth Fellow, currently placed in Uganda. As part of her Fellowship, she travelled to northern Uganda to meet program participants and produced a short film about the teachers she met.
Watch her film and read on for her reflections about this experience.
At the start of my Fellowship placement, a colleague and I drove 12 hours north of Kampala to the West Nile region for a week of in-field work.
On my first day in Yumbe, I met Teacher Fred Sabo. He was one of 80 teachers from across the region that had been brought together for a school visit, to collaboratively observe the structures, environment, and work in a selected school. This peer group of teachers would then share their observations, identifying the school’s strengths, and pointing out what elements could be improved. Having some experience in the education sector in Canada, it was enlightening and enriching to see what elements are at the core of quality and safe education in the context of Uganda — noting the safety of the outside play area, the hygiene of the bathrooms, or the teachers’ engagement in their lessons.
Teacher Fred wasn’t a loud presence audibly, but throughout the day, I noticed him taking extensive notes, taking time to observe the details and carefully formulating his opinions. Out of the 40 teachers I met that day, his committed and thoughtful presence stuck with me.
On my last day in the West Nile region, I had the opportunity to visit Kuluva School — a preschool supported by Madrasa Early Childhood Programme in Uganda (MECPU) in Arua. Children were playing outside, with a few teachers scattered around the grass to keep an eye on the learners now taking full advantage of the time to run around. One teacher seemed most involved with the children — pushing the kids on the merry-go-round, leading others to go on the slide, and encouraging the children to share the outdoor play materials. To my surprise, that teacher was Fred!
After the lunch break, I had the chance to interview him and learn about the extra challenges that he faces as a man fulfilling a role often seen as women’s work, according to local sociocultural norms. Fred also underlined how traditionally, many teachers have used fear and corporal punishment as a means of control in the classroom, creating an adverse environment for learning and relationship-building. After our interview, I followed him into class, where I witnessed his naturally calm demeanor shift to energetically engaging the children in active learning activities, always including a celebratory and congratulating element for the students. What a joy to see him utilize these play-based skills he strengthened through MEPCU trainings. The intent with which he had built these activities was clear: to create an inviting and fun learning environment.
After spending some time in Fred’s classroom, I stepped out to interview the head teacher, Florence Driciru. Even after over 40 years of working in Early Childhood Education, Florence exudes as much passion as Fred. She was able to give me a more holistic overview of how far this school has come.
Getting the chance to sit down with these teachers and hear about the impact MECPU’s support has had on their teaching and the children’s relationship with the school has been such a privilege. Florence’s pride in her establishment’s growth over the years brought a smile to my face that has stayed from the beginning of our conversation.
As soon as we got back in the car after our goodbyes, I could not wait to call my parents and my sister to share with them what I had witnessed that day. I just couldn’t keep this story to myself. I felt a strong need to create something that not only showed the impact MECPU has had locally, but also how motivating and empowering it is for these teachers to gain such knowledge, as it gives them tools to amplify into incredible outcomes.
Every aspect of this first experience in creating an impact story video was so enriching. It challenged me to develop my own vision and clarify the key messages I wanted to transmit at every stage of the production process — from the interviews through to the final editing. There were so many moments of the interview that were heartbreaking to leave out. However, a key learning for me was the prime importance of judicious editing — defining and not straying from a comprehensive storyline that communicates a clear, and hopefully inspiring, core message of commitment, success and meaningful impact.
This project speaks volumes to one of the values I live by: every single person you meet in your life has something to teach you. I have learned more about education, pedagogical principles and local Ugandan culture from speaking with Fred and Florence than I ever could have by Googling it. I’ve learned the core importance of always acting with careful intent and how doing so can transform small gestures and connections into immeasurable impact — as seen at Kuluva School.
Although I gained so many insights from my interactions with Teacher Fred and Head Teacher Florence, I must say the greatest lessons from my school visits came from the children I had the privilege to meet and photograph — who reminded me of the great joy in learning, and that curiosity is truly the key to growth. From that perspective, I am immensely grateful for the incredible opportunities afforded to me as an AKFC Youth Fellow for daily discoveries, eye-opening experiences and constant learning!
Hannah Lou is one of almost 600 young people from Canada who have participated in AKFC’s International Youth Fellowship. Applications for the Fellowship are open! Apply by Feb 1, 2026.
