Bolstered by improved facilities, our two Uganda schools start semester back with renewed enthusiasm

Photo: Our primary school students are thankful for a new building which makes learning much more enjoyable: concrete floors, a sturdy roof, and permanent chalkboards are big improvements from their previous makeshift facility.

We are happy to report that the new Ugandan school semester for both our primary and high school students started on September 8. After a month-long break, our teachers and students were eager to return to the empowering pursuit of education. Our primary school students (ages 5-11) are learning math, English, science, social studies, reading, writing, and the art of handcraft. Our high school students (ages 12-18) are learning English, math, geography, history, agriculture, physics, chemistry, fine art, biology, politics, commerce, and entrepreneurship.

Thanks to profits from our native-led farmland along with donations from our generous donors, our primary school students are excited to be attending classes in the new building which now has concrete floors and brick walls — such a huge improvement from the dirt floors and wooden plank walls in the old building. The new building also has an elevated foundation to prevent flooding, and a sturdy roof that will shelter the children even in the heaviest of rain storms.

The high school students are enjoying the new computer lab located on our main campus. The lab contains 4 computers and textbooks about computing. We have been slowly adding the machines and accessories of the lab, and it is not quite entirely operational due to power supply issues. We are seeking funds to expand our solar array to provide sufficient power for the computers. But we are happy that the lab is now at least partially functional, and the students are thankful as the computers aid their studies greatly.

Our faithful native team in Uganda operates these two schools reaching over 350 children. In the remote region of southeastern Uganda near the Kenya border, our rural primary school reaches over 200 children who would otherwise have no access to education. Led by our dedicated headmaster Mr. Moses and a loving staff of caring teachers very dedicated to these students, the school is providing much promise and hope.

Thanks in part to profits from our farmland enterprise, our budget was supplemented enough to launch the rural primary school project in late 2011. In addition, vegetables and potatoes from the farmland help put a fresh-cooked nutritious lunch on their plates every school day, and safe drinking water from our well has prevented numerous illnesses. We also grow beans, corn, kale, and eggplant on the farm.

Our plan is to take graduating students from the primary school as candidates for the high school, which offers boarding facilities for non-local students. The next step of our vision is to establish a scholarship fund to help our graduating high school students attend universities in Kampala.

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