Wokober

VISION

Learners with creative abilities, nurtured to their full potential as creators, problem solvers and leaders, for a better world.

MISSION

To harness the ingenuity of toy making as an approach to creative learning among children, in an environment that inspires wonder, innovation and collaboration, to propel them to greatness never imagined before.

CORE VALUES (IDEAS)

INGENUITY

We always strive to create unique scalable solutions.

DARING

We challenge ourselves to try the impossible, recognizing failure as a significant process to create the new.                                                                                    

EXCELLENCE

For the routine activities we do, we challenges ourselves to do the best and continuously improve with every opportunity.

ACCOUNTABILITY

We Stand for our believes, do what is right and take responsibilities for our mistakes.

SOCIAL IMPACT. 

With our creations, we strive to solve real problems in the society or create new experiences to make the world a better place. 

Ben Wokorach is the Founder and CEO of Wokober. In the current state of the organization, Ben is responsible for the strategic direction, communication, and coordination of stakeholders, customers, partners, and the team. He collaborates with two program/activity leaders, i.e. the Toy Festival and Mentorship Program, to ensure the successful execution of planned activities by providing the necessary resources.

For the LEAP Project, Ben will take the lead role since the Mentorship Program, which is a part of the LEAP Project, is currently the organization's major activity and a key driver of its strategic future. Ben will dedicate the necessary time to the LEAP Project, working alongside Morris Opiyo, who serves as the team lead for the Wokober Mentorship Program, and Denis Onyago, a learning facilitator directly involved with the learners.

The LEAP Project holds significant importance at this particular time for Wokober as it pilots its major activity, the mentorship program, which aligns perfectly with its growth trajectory. Therefore, the LEAP project team will consist of the CEO, the Project Lead of the Mentorship Program, and one of the lead learning facilitators.

Ben, as the team lead, was a 2022 Engineering for Change Fellow (E4C) and during the fellowship, he worked 20 hours a week with EarthEnable Rwanda, designing affordable housing alternatives for the low-income population. He brings valuable experience in working effectively virtually, including goal setting, weekly progress meetings, and the use of tools such as Slack, Miro boards for communication and collaboration, and calendars to manage tasks and priorities. With this experience and a deep understanding of the LEAP Project's objectives, requirements, and timelines, Ben will effectively coordinate the team, ensuring that every member remains focused on the project's goals.

The supporting team members are carefully selected based on their expertise and responsibilities that align with the project's requirements. The presence of the Mentorship Program Lead enables smooth flow of information, results, data, and recommendations within the team.  Having the lead learning facilitator ensures that resources, information, and ideas are directly and immediately incorporated into the program.

As a startup, Wokober team embraces a flexible and adaptive mindset, allowing it to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and shifting priorities. The team shall continuously monitor progress, identify potential risks or bottlenecks, and proactively address them to keep the project on track and make it a priority despite other organizational commitments.

Nurturing young learners as creators by Leveraging the ingenuity of Toy Making as an approach to creative learning. 

While Uganda has significantly increased access to education through Universal Primary and Secondary Education, the quality has remained poor and continues to deteriorate daily, as indicated by a UN report from 2021. To a greater extent this is attributed to a traditional approach to learning and delivery of curriculum that is theoretical/memory based aimed at passing tests.

In addition, the private sector dominates the education system in Uganda. According to the Ministry of Education and Sports in 2021, there are approximately 13,000 privately registered schools compared to 7,000 government registered schools. Among these schools, there is a prevailing culture of competing for the highest passing grades nationwide, often at the expense of quality. This is evident in the yearly celebrations of schools in national newspapers. Pupils and students who show exceptional talent and demonstrate the potential to excel in the National Exams (UNEB) are nurtured to promote the reputation of the school and attract more enrollments, while the majority of students are left to struggle in their circumstances.

This issue is significant because millions of children in Uganda complete primary education and reach young adulthood, but lack even the most basic life skills such as communication, creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, and hands-on skills to earn a living or contribute to society's growth. Currently, the unemployment rate among youth in Uganda stands at 65-75% (ACODE, 2022).

Wokober leverages the ingenuity of toy making as an approach to creative learning nurturing young learners to their full potential as creators, problem solvers, entrepreneurs and leaders improving lives in their communities.

Toy making has been and is still at the core of children’s play culture in Uganda,  a first step towards creative exploration by a child. These toys that are normally made out natural materials such as sorghum stems, bamboo, clay and scraps such as wires, fabrics, boxes, cardboards etc, are at the intersection of;

• Imagination – one has to create a mental picture of their make,
• Crafting/Engineering – The hands-on process of manifesting the idea,
• Play – The application of the product.

Unlike the current traditional memory based approach to learning, Toy making with scraps is unique, its process is engrained with ingenuity.  Wokober Education Initiative leverages these ingenious process as a new solution, a new approach to creative learning organized as a two phase program.

Phase one program; an annual toy making festival organized as a competitive event were children (Age groups; 2-8, 9-12 and 13-15years) showcase their creativity through toy making. A social event that is fun in an environment that is inspiring. Learners gets to exhibit their creativity to the community, listen to field experts for future career guidance and prospects, 20-30 winners get awarded cash and materials prizes for their creativity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW79lVH2LSA ).

Phase two program; is an eight-month project-based learning and mentorship program, designed to further nurture the 20-30 winners. The curriculum draws inspiration from the ingenuity of toy making and consists of a series of learning modules, including exposure, ideation, creation, product application, and personal leadership (http://www.wokober.com/files/WOKOBER_MENTORSHIP_CURRICULUM_2023.pdf). In this phase, learners are divided into two age groups, 2-11years and 12-15 years. As part of this program, Wokober has established a supportive community comprising facilitators, mentors, parents, and development partners who guide and create an enabling environment for learners to thrive and develop beyond just enhancing their skills and knowledge.

For Wokober Toy making Festivals, the target population are in three age groups; 0-8 years, 9-12 and 13-15 years

For the Wokober Learning and Mentorship program, there are 2 age groups;

2-11 years and 12-15 years.

To date, Wokober has undertaken two major forms of research:

• Foundational Research: Initially, a literature review was conducted to comprehend the underlying problems and the magnitude of educational challenges in Northern Uganda, Uganda, and sub-Saharan Africa. This research also aimed to understand the distinctiveness of toy making, including the processes involved, such as imagination, material sourcing, hands-on creation, and the utilization of toys for play, sale, or gifting. The research also explored the connection between toy making and early childhood development, specifically cognitive development, creativity, imagination, and general social development. This initial research phase was instrumental in helping Wokober conceptualize its solution.
• Formative Research: Following the conceptualization of Wokober's creative approach, which leveraged the ingenuity of toy making, the team took a bold step by organizing a Toy Making Festival in December 2022. The festival served multiple purposes: firstly, to test the assumptions made by Wokober; secondly, to select learners (the winners of the festival) who would serve as participants in Wokober's ongoing testing and piloting process; and thirdly, to promote creativity within the community. The festival attracted 69 participants, each of whom crafted their toys on-site and paid a participation fee of $6 for the two-day event. The team observed and recorded immediate results, noting the influence of a competitive environment on participants, particularly in the older age group (9-15). Many participants demonstrated a desire to enhance their toys, with some creating up to three toys, with each subsequent creation being better than the previous one. In early 2023, the Wokober team conducted post-festival research, sampling 30 participants to gain insights into their festival experiences and the impact on their lives, all in an effort to enhance the design of future festivals and contribute to Wokober's overall objective.                                                                       On May 15th, 2023, Wokober launched its mentorship program, which aims to nurture the 20 winners of 2023 through a project-based learning curriculum. The first module in the curriculum is "Exposure", designed to broaden the learners' perspectives and introduce them to possibilities beyond their current knowledge (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ZrfLwxEWo ). This stage is crucial in elevating their imagination and fostering their development as creators. The exposure component involves study tours to various creative industries and places. During this stage, the Wokober team conducted pre-tour interviews, made observations during the tours, and facilitated debrief exercises for the learners to share, write, and draw about the new things they had learned, including processes, materials, tools, and products.

The research conducted by Wokober to date has generally provided valuable insights into the effectiveness and potential of the Wokober Education approach in solving the current educational problem in Uganda and its potency for strategic scalability in the next five years. Specifically, the initial foundational research provided a strong basis and conviction to conceptualize the two-phase learning program of Wokober, which is a new approach to creative learning.

Understanding how deeply rooted the culture of toy making is in the community allowed Wokober to strategize and launch its initiative as a toy festival, which was a low-hanging fruit to capture the attention of the community, beneficiaries, and different stakeholders. Now Wokober plans to organize the festival annually and build a business model around it by attracting sponsorships from companies, organizing exhibitions by partner organizations, and creating opportunities for the sale of accessories. This business strategy approach is intended to enable the sustainability of the initiative and its expansion to different regions of Uganda.

The observation and documentation of the festival, combined with an understanding of the uniqueness of the toy-making process, provided the basis for the design of the Mentorship curriculum that leverages the ingenuity of toy making. During the launch and study tour periods (Exposure), through interviews with learners and observations, the team realized the need to customize the curriculum and implementation plan for each learner. Each learner has chosen different projects to work on, stays at different locations, and studies in different schools. The team also realized the need for ICT for communication and documentation, as well as to assist learners in their projects. For example, Laker Angle, who is 12 years old, wants to build a robot that can dance or sing to cheer her up when she is sad.

During the launch period, the team also realized the need to create a strong supportive environment for the learners. Some learners come from villages or homes where domestic violence is prevalent, or they face various social challenges as a result of the war in Northern Uganda two decades ago. This has challenged Wokober to create a community called "Wokober Community," consisting of mentors, parents, facilitators, and development partners within the social and creative space.

Within a period of a one year, Wokober has made a significant stride in establishing an evidence base for its educational solution, however there is still a need to strengthen this foundation. Engaging in a LEAP Project now  presents an opportune moment for Wokober and also aligns with its growth plan leveraging the momentum and recognition gained. The support, and resources provided through the LEAP Project can accelerate Wokober's research efforts, allowing it to explore new research methodologies, and deepen its understanding of the educational benefits of toy making and creative learning.

strengthening the evidence base shall help to validate and communicate the impact of the new approach to stakeholders, including parents, and funders, building trust, credibility and securing additional resources to expand the reach and scale to other parts of Uganda in the near future.

strengthening the evidence base shall also allow Wokober to continuously improve its programs and ensure they meet the evolving needs of learners. Through rigorous evaluation, Wokober can identify areas of strengths and areas for improvement within its solution, just like I has started doing during the implementation of module 1. This feedback loop enables Wokober to refine its curriculum, mentorship practices, and overall program design, leading to more impactful and engaging learning experiences for children. 

1. How effective is toy making as an approach to creative learning (creativity, problem-solving skills, and cognitive development) among the age groups of 2-11 and 12-15?

2. How can the integration of ICT enhance the learning experience in Wokober's Learning model/Approach?

3. What are the effective strategies for scaling Wokober's educational initiatives within the next five years ?

How effective is toy making as an approach to creative learning?

Desired Outputs:

• Conduct a comprehensive literature review on the impact of traditional toy making on creative learning in children.
• Design and implement pre- and post-assessments to measure the development of creative learning abilities in Wokober Mentorship program learners.
• Analyze the data collected from assessments to identify trends, patterns, and improvements in creative learning.
• Develop a report summarizing the findings and their implications for the enhancement of Wokober's educational programs.

How can the integration of ICT enhance the learning experience in Wokober's Learning model/Approach?

Desired Outputs:

• Identify ICT tools and resources that can enhance the learning experience of Wokober Mentorship.
• Develop pilot programs incorporating ICT into Wokober's educational initiatives.
• Gather feedback from users on the effectiveness and impact of the technology integration.
• Document the findings, including best practices, challenges, and recommendations, in a report outlining the potential ICT in enhancing the learning experiences.

What are the effective strategies for scaling Wokober's educational initiatives within the next five years?

Desired Outputs:

• Conduct a comprehensive review of scaling strategies and best practices in the education sector.
• Identify potential partnership opportunities and resources for scaling Wokober's initiatives.
• Develop a scaling plan outlining strategies, milestones, and indicators for monitoring quality and impact.
• Create a report summarizing the scaling plan, including actionable steps and recommendations for effectively expanding the reach of Wokober's programs.

After the conclusion of the LEAP Project sprint, Wokober will leverage the outputs and insights gained to put them into action in the following ways:

Program Enhancement: It will integrate the findings and recommendations in  refining its program curriculum and implementation structure. Example, regarding the effectiveness of toy making as an approach to creative learning Wokober will refine its activities and mentorship methods to further enhance the core skills among Learners. The pre- and post-assessments conducted shall serve as an ongoing evaluation tool to measure the effectiveness of the program enhancements.

Integrating ICT: Wokober will evaluate the outcome during the LEAP Project to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of integrating ICT into its Mentorship Program and plan for way forward. This may involve developing interactive digital resources, or integrating ICT tools into the existing curriculum to enrich the learning experience and engage learners further.

Scaling Strategies: Using the scaling plan developed during the LEAP Project, Wokober will identify appropriate opportunities for expansion within the next five years. This may involve forging partnerships with schools, community organizations, or government entities to reach a larger audience. Wokober will also leverage the insights gained from the scaling strategies to secure funding, recruit and train additional facilitators, enlarge the Wokober Community and establish monitoring and evaluation systems to ensure the ongoing success and sustainability of the scaled initiatives.

Short-Term Outcomes:

Through the LEAP Project, Wokober will gain valuable insights, research findings, and data related to its educational solution. These learnings will allow for refinement and enhancment its mentorship programs and the curriculum. By incorporating evidence-based practices, Wokober can improve the quality and effectiveness of its educational initiatives, resulting in a more impactful learning experience for the children participating in its programs.

Long-Term Outcomes:

Sustainable Program Growth and Impact: The LEAP Project outcomes will contribute to Wokober's long-term goal of sustainable program growth, scale and increased impact. By refining its educational solution based on research evidences, Wokober can continue to provide high-quality creative learning experiences to a larger number of children over time. The long-term outcome is the expansion of Wokober's educational program across Uganda in the major cities of Lira, Arua, Soroti, Mbale, Mbarara, Fortportal, Jinja and Kampala reaching 100,000s of children in these different regions .

 Positive Educational and Societal Impact: As Wokober's programs continue to evolve and improve, the long-term outcomes shall see the learners becoming creators, innovations, entrepreneurs and leading building a better society for the people around them.