Geoffrey Olila
Geoffrey Richard Olila was the headteacher of Mother Mary Nursery and Primary school in Lira City by the time the government closed schools in March 2019 as part of the COVID-19 containment measures.
The closure of schools meant that the 32-year-old Olila couldn’t earn a salary to support his family of seven. Luckily in December 2020, Uganda Police Force announced the nationwide recruitment of Special Police Constables (SPCs) to work as polling constables.
Olila seized the opportunity, applied, and was recruited. He earned a monthly pay of Shillings 375,000. Sadly, this was short-lived because police discharged the constables shortly after the 2021 general elections. Olila had saved close to Shillings 800,000 from his overall SPC salary, which he topped up with the money he raised from the sale of his animals and acquired a motorcycle on loan.
Olilia is now a Boda boda rider and earns an average of Shillings 30,000 a day. He says that president, Yoweri Museveni’s advice that teachers should be innovative and self-reliant haunted him for so long that he decided to find something to do.
Olila, who missed out on the Emyooga funds, after successfully registering under one of the groups, is now contemplating whether or not to return to teaching when schools open, saying that he feels whatever money he earns from the Boda- boda business is enough to sustain his family.
His advice to teachers is that they should be creative and focus on doing anything, which can bring them money instead of shying away for fear of lowering their status.
Sam Atul, the proprietor Arch Bishop Luke Orombi Comprehensive School, says that although several schools tried supporting their teachers at the beginning of the lockdown, most of them ran bankrupt and stopped helping.
Asked whether the schools losing teachers, Atul is optimistic that teachers will resume when schools open because he believes teaching is a calling.
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