INEE Member Spotlight: Okello Francis Amodo

Location: Uganda - Palabek Refugee Settlement 

Title: Education Officer

Introduce yourself to other members. Tell us who you are and summarize the work you do or interest you have in EiE.

Hello, my name is Okello Francis Amodo and I work in Palabek settlement in Lamwo District - Northern Uganda which hosts 57,438 refugees, mainly from South Sudan. A majority of these refugees are children of school-going age. I have supported provision of safe quality education in emergencies here since 2017, working with AVSI Foundation as an Education Officer. Teacher and Learner well-being is at the centre of my responsibility.

What has been a highlight of your work as a professional in EiE? Feel free to share a personal story.

I feel humbled to be working with EiE, especially supporting education needs of the persons of concern. I work with AVSI Foundation to support children and youth among refugees and the host community in an AEP project called "Education for Life" to give hope and support them back to school to complete their primary cycle. Training teachers is my core responsibility to ensure alignment with the INEE Minimum standards

When and why did you join INEE, and what is the value of INEE membership to you? 

I joined INEE in 2018 after a recommendation from a colleague for me to take INEE's  online EiE course that was running at the time. This enabled me to gain a lot of experience in the implementation of EiE. I have participated in an international workshop on teacher well being in emergencies. Through the INEE membership, I have been able to get a lot of updates on opportunities in EiE.

How do you currently engage with the INEE network? (i.e. a member of an INEE network space or language community; receive news and attend INEE web events from time to time; use INEE EiE resources; etc) 

I am a member of INEE's English language community and I receive news, job adverts, participate in INEE events and use INEE resources. I recently participated in the INEE Teacher well-being online workshop, which helped me as a practitioner to work towards the betterment of teacher wellbeing in my area of operation.

How would you like INEE members to connect and engage with you? What skills, experience and/or technical support would you be willing to share or provide to other members and/or INEE Secretariat?

I am open to INEE members contacting me through my email or mobile phone contact. I believe that would be a good opportunity for me to share my practical experience working in emergencies with members of this platform. 

Anything else you want to share with members? 

Yes, I see many actors in the field operating with little knowledge of EiE and wondered if INEE could organize local events to have local partners have local engagements on how to approach EiE interventions.

*Published on December 2022.