Few adults from your childhood become as memorable as encouraging teachers. A good teacher can have a life-changing influence on a young person’s future and career choice.

Learning is one of life’s most rewarding things. Have you ever wondered who create this wonderful experience? Teachers.

A proficient teacher inspires students about their subject, because a student’s enthusiasm is the prerequisite for learning. If the subject does not raise interest, there will hardly be any learning.

Teachers around the world are celebrated on October 5th. Teachers put themselves on the line in difficult conditions, sometimes working even without pay. We asked teachers involved in FCA’s projects what they think about their work and the importance of education in their community.

Head Teacher John Egielan’s students are like children to him. Egielan now teaches primary school learners in Turkana County, Kenya. He himself grew up in the surrounding pastoralist communities and knows how tough it is to attend school. Poverty is the greatest obstacle.

Egielan’s single mother paid his school fees by collecting firewood.

“I don’t have any children of my own, but in school I support other people’s children. I am sure that my work pays off when I see them succeeding in life.”

Molly Azikuru and Godfrey Nyakuta teach primary school children in Bidibidi refugee settlement, Uganda. The settlement opened three years ago when hundreds of thousands of refugees arrived from neighbouring South Sudan. Teaching overcrowded classrooms in the midst of a humanitarian crisis is anything but easy. Nevertheless, Azikuru and Nyakuta maintain their calm and do not give in to the challenges. They dedicate themselves day after day to inspire their learners.

Jean Lessene has himself experienced the Central African Republic’s civil war and closely followed its impact on the lives of children and their communities. Employed as Head of the Education Sector, Lessene has evaluated the destruction of schools and participated in their reconstruction. For him it is clear that without education, the Central African Republic cannot achieve peace.

“Social cohesion and the significance of peace are among the most important things that a school can teach.”

Marave Chhay is an experienced teacher and one of the first career counsellors trained by FCA in Cambodia. Learners attending career counselling learn valuable working life skills, such as problem solving and taking initiatives, and they are trained to identify their strengths as well as follow their dreams. You will not reach your goals without making plans.

In schools with career counselling, like Anlongvil secondary, the number of school dropouts has decreased alongside improved learning results. The teacher or career counsellor is sometimes the only adult supporting and encouraging youth at a critical moment.