Mrs. Richardson, Mrs. Binnie and I are going to be trekking to the roof of Africa in for the Teachers on Top 2015 Challenge organized by the Varkey Foundation and supported by Gulf for Good. Please support me in any way you can in  achieving my sponsorship target. Sponsorship will be donated to the Varkey Foundation, which you can read more about below.

You can also watch this video to find out more:

https://vimeo.com/77250936

The Challenge

Taking the Marangu route on the eastern side of the mountains, we will trek through dramatically varying terrains including rain forests, meadows, moorlands and 'The Saddle' - a high altitude, 5km wide desert.   The journey steadily takes us to the renowned Gilman's Point (5,681m) and the glaciated summit at Uhuru Peak (5,895m).  Scary!

This is an EXTREME test of fitness, requiring  a minimum of 3 months training to build fitness and stamina.    Mount Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb, but there are plenty of challenging sections and trekking at high altitude is tough!

The Varkey Foundation

In many countries, teachers are required to have only slightly more education that their students. In fact, in sub-Saharan countries like Congo, Tanzania and Mozambique, fewer than 60% of primary school teachers have any professional qualification at all.

On a recent trip to Uganda, the Varkey Foundation specialist team found that facilities for teachers fell far below an acceptable standard. English literacy is poor, there are no personal development plans and no peer-to-peer or interschool support.

What’s more, teaching methods are severely constrained by poor teaching environments: blackboards with chalk are virtually the only learning resources available.

Instructional Teacher Training Programme in Uganda

Africa needs more teachers. In 2015, 1 million qualified teachers are needed to educate the continent's young people. In Uganda, this teacher deficit is stark. When primary education became free in 1997, schools were flooded with pupils, with just one teacher to ever 150 eager students.

The country and the continent don't just need more teachers. They need better teachers, equipped to offer a world-class education in over-capacity classrooms, with overstretched resources.

Our Solution

That's why we've pledged to coach 250,000 teachers over the next 10 years, all in developing countries. The Ugandan Low Cost Teacher Training Initiative is one of the Varkey Foundation's flagship projects, developed with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Tony Blair Foundation and UNESCO.

We have created a low cost, high impact programme to improve education across sub-Saharan Africa.  Although the scope of our mission is vast, our approach to this global education project can be tailored to meet unique local needs in smaller regions and specific districts.

Our Goals

We want to train outstanding educators in sub-Saharan Africa. Teachers with more knowledge, enhanced skills and greater understanding of how learning works. Teachers who are ready to spread their good practice, inspiring other teachers and improving education across the region.