My name is Francis Bizoza Bigirimana and I address you as ‘The African Travelling Teacher’ to share about my journey, vision and dreams – a vision for which I hold a deep conviction that together and in synergy with your cherished visions and those of other like-minded young leaders across Africa – shall blow the embers that will not only inspire but also spark our beloved continent’s vibrant leap forward.
But I digress-let me take you back to the beginning.
I was born on 13th November 1991 at Mutolere Hospital, Kisoro District in South-Western Uganda. I am the last born in a family of nine. Although I am Ugandan and indeed hold a Ugandan passport, I could have belonged to many communities in our neighboring countries of Rwanda -muraho- or the DRC – habari; mbote. As you may be aware, examples and scenarios like mine are bound across Africa especially along border towns where artificial borders continue to alienate our people into parochial hegemonies when our true destiny would be better served if we came
together and built a strong community.
If you asked me, I would say my background of where I was born is perhaps one that has continually watered my strong conviction and growth as a Pan Africanist. Needless to say, it is also one of my biggest motivations behind founding the African Traveling Teacher.
Great teachers nurture great men and women
While I take great pride in and derive so much gratification from my profession as a teacher, it would shock many of you to learn that I actually never dreamt of being a teacher. To be more precise, the thought of I, Francis, as a teacher, is one that I truly dreaded.
Let me tell you a story:
I always wanted to be a priest. I was fascinated by the flamboyant priests who always came to say mass at my local church. They usually parked their huge motorcycles at our home and asked me to keep watch and always tipped me generously for keeping the bike safely.
After primary school, I was admitted to St Paul’s Seminary in Kabale where I studied all my six years of second
ary school. However, by the time I completed the six years I had lost interest in priesthood. I am not so sure if I wasn’t fazed by the big motorcycles anymore or priesthood simply wasn’t my calling. After high school, I was not so single-minded on my career path. I was fantasising about law, journalism or Information Communication Technology because these were some of the most prestigious courses in Uganda at the time. However, my father wanted me to study Education but this was not my thing after all both my parents and two sisters were teachers.
As fate would have it, I was admitted to Makerere University to study Bachelors of Arts in Education. And boy, did I loathe it! Quite a number of us who had applied for education did not like the course. Coincidentally, the School of Education at Makerere
University is located near the School of Law. I and other disgruntled students spent the first semester disguising as Law School students. I was generally not focused until the second semester when I attended a
comparative education class taught by Ms Olivia Mugabirwe. She is the reason I am standing before you today as a proud teacher. As an empowered teacher, she took it upon herself to nurture students to develop the passion and literally fall in love with teaching. For me, she became a mentor and a mother.
Looking back at my life, from the hills and cold terrains of Kisoro, to seminary school in Kabale and the vibrant lecture rooms of Makerere University, I have encountered not one but many passionate teachers watering the seed of ideas and the innovation sprouting within the young people. Therefore, I stand here having leaned on the shoulders of those that have gone ahead of me. To say that I am self made would be a disgrace to those like Ms Olivia Mugabirwe that contributed to and are still contributing to who I am and who I hope to be. I am at this juncture excited to recognise my mentor, Madam Olivia Mugabirwe, who is here with us today. Please join me to give Ms Mugabirwe her flowers for her mentorship tow
ards me and many others.
Think of any profession today that did not need a teacher – none, right? And even if it were self taught or e-learning, there is a face behind the designing and delivery of the curriculum. Teachers stand at the foundation of our continent to foster critical thinking, creativity and problem solving skills which are essential for addressing complex global issues and achieving the sustainable development goals.
The African Traveling Teacher
My work as the African Traveling Teacher seeks to expose teachers to the richness of their continent while equipping them with knowledge and resources to nurture the next generation of thought leaders and social justice champions, as told through stories on our YouTube channel.I have had the privilege to teach across the continent; from DRC, South Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and many others. I have witnessed firsthand the untapped potential that we behold with the richness of our land coupled with the affinity for knowledge by our young people.
Ideally, education in Africa should be a mirror reflecting our rich histories, diverse cultures, and vast geographies-from the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda to the lush rainforests of the Congo Basin, to Rwanda’s mountain gorillas and the spectacle of the Masai Mara. Our education should esteem and celebrate our unique biodiversity and my work seeks to revolutionize the way we teach and learn through creativity and problem-solving.
We traverse Africa by road creating awareness on a number of pertinent issues such as climate change by visiting remote schools and engaging learners and their teachers in different story reading sessions and discussions. After the sessions, we guide learners to identify practical solutions to the scenario discussed. We ensure that the seed planted germinates and continues to flourish through our sessions with the teachers where we facilitate, skill and retool them to continue implementing the projects. We also use social media to spread our teaching and message, broadc
asting episodes of our activities on Youtube and encouraging engagement and discussion through social media.
4Our mission aligns with the African Union’s vision of a united and prosperous Africa. By focusing on innovative education that honors our rich heritage and addresses our current challenges, we will nurture responsible citizens who are equipped to lead our continent to its fullest potential. The point I am trying to put across is: that education and young people are the heartbeat of the work that we do.
I teach because I was taught. Like Nelson Mandela said,’Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’. I am a living testimony to the power of an education and it is my passion for teaching and the desire to empower teachers and youth across the continent that inspired me to start ‘The African Travelling Teacher’ which is what brought me to this stage today.
Revolutionizing how we teach: It is not what you know, but what you can do with the knowledge you have
While man
y countries in Africa are currently transitioning from a knowledge-based education curriculum to a skills and competence-based curriculum that is popularly known in some countries as CBC, there are also many teachers that have not been appropriately retooled to adapt to the teaching and instruction demands of the competence-based curriculum. Indeed, such a paradigm shift necessitates a comprehensive approach to ensure that no teacher is left behind.
As the African Traveling Teacher, we believe that this new curriculum being implemented across the continent is yet another opportunity that we can exploit to fuel the innovation of young people in Africa, and amplify their skills in our quest to catalyse Africa’s vibrant leap forward.
5We, therefore, seek to network teachers in Africa to learn from each other so as to empower the learners to embrace the modern education and do away with rote learning of cramming to simply regurgitate information and pass exams. Learners must be taught using real situations or s
cenarios inside and outside the classroom. Through discussing, observing, and creating products to solve contextual problems or even real-life situations, for the learner it no longer ceases to be what ‘you know, but what you can do with what you know’ and that ladies and gentlemen is for me the essence of creativity and innovation which are the hallmarks of a progressive society.
Inspiring action using local materials
My deep thoughts have been on how we as teachers can empower our youth to sustain indigenous knowledge. This is knowledge which is getting extinct in our communities as a result of an education that is not focused on what we have as a continent but rather looks at ours with suspicion and treats everything alien as perfect.
For example, One evening when I was about seven years old, I was poisoned and by morning, I had drifted into comma. At dawn, my distressed mother decided to take me to the clinic. Carrying me on her back, she met a man who in one glance suspected poisoning. He directed my
mother to an old man in a nearby village who would give local herbs to cure poisoning. He went and gathered the local medicine and gave me a doze. I immediately started vomiting and also got a running stomach. Within two days, I was back to my feet and could move around the compound.
I recently did a video with him to learn more about how he acquired that knowledge. This is a strong example of how we can use this knowledge as a way to teach about sustainability and climate resilience. By both capturing and learning from indigenous knowledge, we empower our students to protect and preserve the environment that forms the backbone of their communities’ economies.
Harnessing ICT for better education outcomes
Our lessons on global citizenship, sustainable development goals, and environmental conservation need to be designed not only to inform but to inspire action using local resources, and ICT, like the videos through the African Travelling Teacher, can do this. My first interaction with technology was at univ
ersity when I first held Ms Olivia’s video recorder in my hands. She had given us an assignment to investigate why the thematic curriculum in Uganda had not been implemented. We interviewed different stakeholders in the city and had to do a powerpoint presentation. Most of my group members ran away and I nearly bolted but my curiosity for gadgets and ICT saved the day. I tried my best and also consulted friends and I was eventually able to put up a good powerpoint presentation.
It was from that moment that I told myself,’If I am to be a teacher I want to be a teacher like Ms Olivia.’ That is how my journey of integrating ICT in teaching and learning started.
Alongside my classmate, we started an initiative to empower teacher trainers and trainees with ICT skills for the classroom. We managed to reach about 50 teachers whom we trained on making instructional videos. Later in South Sudan, I harnessed the power
7of technology under remote mentorship from my dean at African Leadership for Education Master Teac
her Program.
The universe was watching and soon another offer that aligns with my passion for edtech and empowering teachers came from Learning Equality that has established an offline first learning platform known as Kolibri, where I separately contribute my curricular expertise to their team to support Kolibri’s ongoing use and development. Presently, as the African Travelling Teacher, I am leveraging Kolibri to teach Global Citizenship under the Cultural Canvas-a collaborative project between students at Western Academy in Beijing and two schools in Uganda where students are using art to tell stories about their culture. A student records videos of their pieces of art and the cultural stories behind them and uploads them on Kolibri where students from the other country can watch them and learn about each other’s culture without requiring the internet.
Beyond the classroom
Yet, the vision does not end in the classroom. It goes beyond that; it includes mentoring young thought leaders, supporting them thro
ugh their initiatives and giving them access to resources and networks within their fields and allowing them to thrive.
My team is also dedicated towards building a network of African teachers-patriots passionate about their heritage, who collaborate and share knowledge on how to integrate and celebrate our continent’s potential in their lessons. Through this network, we ensure that every child feels a profound connection
to their land and is motivated to contribute positively to its growth.
I like to think of education as a right. Everytime you acquire a new piece of knowledge, learn a new skill or are exposed to learning resources, you become better than you were yesterday. You get to meet different people and walk into spaces you never would have. That’s the power of an education – you are equipped with knowledge and skills necessary to understand global issues such as climate change, poverty, inequalities in education and how to address those challenges. This is what will equip a 21st century learner t
o be able to analyse, think creatively and solve problems, so as to make the world a better place for everybody and future generations.
A Call to Action: Looking to the future: What needs to be done?
My story and my experiences thus far are only a testament to the fact that you can rise above your challenges, above your background and above your past. I strongly believe that we can inspire a generation of teachers in Africa. These are young leaders who are in the best possible shape to become valuable facilitators across the continent.
Even though I know that we are not yet there as a people, I am here to affirm that we can change the African narrative through the empowerment of teachers that all learners deserve. By investing in African youth as teachers, we are not only improving their individual access to opportunities and success, but also
actively nurturing them to become informed global citizens in their communities and the continent at large.
I’m here to say that your work, your ideas and your pas
sion can and will contribute to the making of the African continent. With your support, I believe that our dream of using ‘The African Traveling Teacher’ as our vehicle to fuel innovation and skills to inspire Africa’s vibrant leap forward is valid.
Source: Africa News Agency