The hardest part was never the grammar. It was persuading parents that it was not too late.
How it started
Four families in one living room, working from photocopied sheets and a great deal of improvisation. Three years later the class runs in three cities, and the teaching materials have been rewritten twice by people who actually teach for a living.
What works
Songs, before anything else. Then names for things in the house. Grammar comes much later than the volunteers first expected, and pushing it early was the mistake that cost the programme its first cohort.
The children who stayed are the ones whose parents switched to speaking Ateso at home for one meal a day. That single habit did more than the classes.
Getting involved
The programme needs volunteers who speak Ateso comfortably — teaching experience is welcome but not required, and there is a short induction.
