Uganda

Uganda

Uganda is a country of extremes and beauty. Its magnificent scenery includes the glaciers and snow-capped mountains of the Ruwenzori to the east, rolling savannah and thick tropical forests leading to semi-desert areas in the north.  Its borders lie with Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lying astride the Equator, Uganda covers an area of approximately 240,000 square kilometres, close to the size of the UK, between the two East African great rift valleys. 

According to the 2010 Uganda Bureau of Statistics Report, Uganda ranks amongst the 20 poorest countries in the world in terms of gross national product per capita ($430 compared to $29,500 in Spain), with over 30 percent of the population living on less than $1a day. Over three quarters of the people by subsistence farming; 33% of the population do not have access to a sustainable, improved drinking source.   Life expectancy in Uganda is just 50.4 years.

Currently, the impact of AIDS, rising food prices, deforestation and climate change collectively present pressing challenges. The AIDS pandemic has struck this area hard. According to one UN report, one in every five children in Masaka district is an AIDs orphan a growing with growing number of child-headed households which are particularly vulnerable.  Within Uganda, over 2 million children have been orphaned by AIDS.  Thousands of orphans in this region remain uncared for; the working population throughout this region has been decimated by this disease.  AIDS orphans (children who have lost one, or both parents) are invariably considered ‘unclean’, perceived to be sons and daughters of prostitutes, ostracised by society and forced to work for relatives or ‘friends’ of the family in often dire circumstances. However, government interventions and international aid are both making positive inroads.  

Within rural communities, one quarter of all families must walk 1 km or more to collect water. The nearest health facility is more than 5 km away for almost one-third of all rural households.  Walking is the primary means of transportation carrying whatever must be transported.  Only one third of all households own a bicycle. Less than 40% of all people own shoes.  The status of 79.2% of homes is classified as “temporary”;     1 in every 5 homes do not have even a most basic toilet. 

Uganda may be perceived as a diamond which offers a complex, multi-faceted, inter-connected set of faces: engaging, passionate, and often violently conflicting in their perspectives.  Despite its turbulent history and pressing challenges, Uganda remains a peaceful, positive, welcoming and forward looking country with a great future.  As Winston Churchill recognised, Uganda is truly “the pearl of Africa”.   

Nabugabo Community School

Working in conjunction with  SIS and the Kindred Project David and Judy Batten will be relocating to Uganda in July 2012. Their  goal is to raise sufficient funds to build and sustain a school on a hillside overlooking Lake Nabugabo, a satellite lake of Lake Victoria, in southern Uganda located 36 kilometers south of the equator, 23 kilometers east of the town of Masaka (00°22′12″S, 31°54′00″). Nabugabo Community School (NCS) will strive to offer a balanced education programme with the clear goal of ensuring that all pupils achieve ‘academic excellence’ to the best of their abilities with the active involvement of parents and guardians. Equally importantly, the school will offer a second ‘home’, hope and a meaningful future for the many children in the area who are currently unable to attend school for diverse reasons.

In 1997, Uganda introduced free and universal primary education (UPE), by 2000 school enrolment rose from 2 million to 7 million. Within five years, the number of children in primary schools almost trebled. However, pupil: teacher, pupil: textbook and pupil: classroom ratios all worsened. Many parents of primary school children must now spend more than the state does on their education. The government offers Universal Primary & Secondary Education to children but there are insufficient places available for everyone; the majority of poor children in Uganda still cannot access a decent education.

Children are expected to attend 7 years of primary education; progression from one year to the next is results based. Students who fail the end of year exams must repeat the year, if they can afford to do so. Many pupils drop out before completing primary school and only 40% achieve recommended competency levels in literacy and numeracy in many areas. The need to provide a quality education in the Nabugabo area is acute; the nearest school which lies several kilometres away is under-resourced and over-crowded. Moreover, many children simply do not a attend school because parents/guardians cannot afford school fees, uniforms, books and school meals.

The solution is to build and staff a school which offers a quality, affordable/free education programme for young people which also opens doors to the broader community: regionally, nationally and internationally. Nabugabo Community School is committed to doing this, opening the first phase (P1-3) in January, 2013.

NCS’ aims to create an environmentally responsible school community with an all encompassing vision statement: ‘To Open Doors to a World of Opportunities’ which will draw upon local, national and international expertise to create a model school which truly aims to create a ‘global learning community’ built upon local needs from an indigenous perspective. The NCS global citizenship programme will form an important platform for the school to stress the rights and responsibilities of all, leading to positive action as an individual, member of the family, the local community, the nation and our collective home - Planet Earth. NCS will comply with all Ugandan government regulations and respect national and local cultural traditions, the natural environment and its interdependence with the wider world.

 Recognising the importance of mother tongue development in the early years, Luganda will be the medium of instruction within an interdisciplinary framework. English will transitionally become the medium of instruction within increasingly subject specific areas in Primary 3 to Primary 7 classes.

David and Judy Batten have purchased one acre of land for the school premises, with the option to extend the 55 year lease. Plans are underway to build the Head Teachers’ house by July, 2012. A further two acres of land may be rented in the near future with the option to purchase at a later date. It is anticipated that the school will open with three classes for pupils aged 6-9 in January, 2013; the beginning of the academic year in Uganda. An additional class will be added every year thereafter to present a primary 7 class for school leaving examinations in 2018. The option to extend school facilities to include a library and a health care centre all offer important, positive opportunities for consideration. 

For further information about this exciting new project contact Judy or David at ncsuganda@gmail.com and become part of this dream.