September saw me back in Uganda in time for the opening of the final term of 2015 at Ruhanga Development School. Most students returned from Term 2 and some even brought new friends along with them who wanted to join a low-cost school but one with lots of exciting books, games, sports equipment and bright looking classrooms.
I have seen the Christmas Decorations out in the shops even in the Ugandan sunshine, so this reminds me to suggest that you could spread the cost of Christmas over a full year and this time give a different kind of present, Most children in Ruhanga Village will get few presents, but you could help to give them one of the greatest gifts of all – an Education. For just £3.50p a month you can sponsor one of the children at Ruhanga Development School and receive a certificate to give the recipient with both their name and their sponsored child’s photo on it. Sponsoring does help western children understand how lucky most of them are, and especially when it comes to Christmas & Birthdays.
800_Willie, 797_Albert, 791_Swiburu and 801_Redeemer are just a few of the many still needing sponsorship here at www.sponsorachild.co.uk Your support keeps all our children’s fees to a very low level and enables many vulnerable youngsters from the surrounding villages to receive a good education
This is a very important time as the end of year exams are held early November and these will tell a student if she/he is to be promoted to the next class or repeat the same year again. Also we will for the very first time be conducting our own Primary 7 leaving exams. Students gaining Grade A or B will be offered bursaries to continue on to Senior School but many others will leave formal education and this is where our new Vocational Training Centre will fill in the gaps and offer low cost classes in various practical subjects. Initially we have opened classes in tailoring, (one year) shoe making/repairing (8 months) and a short 2 month course on Computing/Office Skills & Entrepreneurship. We are continuing with the making of re-useable sanitary pads for girls and making them is good practice for using the sewing machines correctly before graduating on to more complicated items. Students from our school have continued to enjoy free computer lessons. We now have 7 full-time paying students for tailoring plus another 4 part-timers who were initially sponsored for two months by LTHT and are able to continue utilising sponsorship from a ULCP trustee
To teach catering skills we started building a coffee-shop but now the foundations are in and the walls are up everyone has agreed that it would be better to open a full-scale restaurant as well as offering quick snacks and refreshments to passing motorists. This will give catering students the opportunity to learn a wide range of cooking & baking skills plus learn how to deal with customers. However several thousand pounds are still needed for completion of the building and to this end I have opened an online fundraising page with BTDonate where donations can be received from around the world.
All of you who have visited Ruhanga will have been on short or longer walks in the surrounding hills; last week I achieved something I had been considering for many past visits but never done before – I reached the two pylons that stand way up on the highest point surrounding Ruhanga & watched the sunset.. Thanks to a couple of strong lads I also made it back down safely! I guess I must be the oldest person to climb up there. There are many beautiful walks all around Ruhanga, that volunteers can enjoy – either alone or with a local guide.
A recent volunteer from the USA, Suresh, was born in Uganda and returned again after 45 years away He spent a month making bookshelves and desks for the classroom’s plus a number of other carpentry jobs. I am hoping he will return again in 2016.
Other volunteers over the past months have repainted classrooms, assisted in the Medical Centre and with screening our children, and organised many varied activities both in term time and during the holidays. Fundraising over the past months, especially those who ran in the Uganda Marathon has enabled us to complete the school water tank complete with small room below to store sports & games equipment plus toys & dress-up clothes for the little ones & also put in showers both the boys and the girls bathrooms.
Once that was completed, Denis got together materials to continue with the re-named restaurant and thanks to fundraising the builders have now finished the walls and reinforced the tops with ring beams made from iron rods inside solid concrete (like RSJ’s) A septic tank is already in place for customer toilets, and the walls for that will be added soon. Then hopefully with some more funding coming in we will start on the roofing work.
Volunteer numbers have been low this year, mainly because ‘Original Volunteers’ seem to be advising potential volunteers asking about Africa to book for Morocco or Ghana which they run themselves. Please help Denis to continue his work with the community and tell all your friends about volunteering at ‘Uganda Lodge’ where the only cost is your airfare, which can be under £350 return, airport transfers and £105 per week for your accommodation & all meals. See www.ugandalodge.com
One ‘lifetime experience’ whilst in Uganda not to be missed is a safari trip with Denis where you will sleep right next to hippos, buffaloes and even crocodiles and get right up close to lions and elephants on the game drives. For those with a higher budget he will also arrange a trek for you to spend an hour with the rare mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Volunteering with us is an ideal holiday to choose if you have ‘no-one to go with” as we are there to help and advise you all the way, no single supplements and you will soon make new friends.
Lots of different activities goes on in and around Ruhanga, and besides studying students enjoy themselves and always invite volunteers to join them We recently wished P7 students ‘Good Luck’ in their exams and here are some of the photos.
Our children find various ways of spending their time. Many helped (??) Steve make two excellent new football pitches complete with goalposts and its hoped the grass turfs he bought will be ready to play on when the new school year begins in Feb. After some heavy downpours others started practicing to become builders..
Please do contact us if you have any ideas for fundraising for our current project which is to get the restaurant completed and opened. Then we will be able to start training students in catering, get an income from passing traffic and put the surplus towards the ongoing costs of the Medical Centre.
Denis is is also open to leasing, selling or making a partnership on developing some of his 100+ acres of land alongside Lake George at Kasenyi Fishing Village in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Bringing development here will obviously benefits to the people in the fishing village, but ultimately profits would come back to his home Parish of Ruhanga
That is all for now. Thank you for reading and hope to get back with you again before Christmas with another update
Hello Everyone,
wanted to join a low-cost school but one with lots of exciting books, games, sports equipment and bright looking classrooms.
This is a very important time as the end of year exams are held early November and these will tell a student if she/he is to be promoted to the next class or repeat the same year again. Also we will for the very first time be conducting our own Primary 7 leaving exams. 
Students gaining Grade A or B will be offered bursaries to continue on to Senior School but many others will leave formal education and this is where our new Vocational Training Centre will fill in the gaps and offer 
low cost classes in various practical subjects. Initially we have opened classes in tailoring, (one year) shoe making/repairing (8 months) and a short 2 month course on Computing/Office Skills & Entrepreneurship. We are continuing with the making of re-useable sanitary pads for girls and making them is good practice for using the sewing machines correctly before graduating on to more complicated items.
Students from our school have continued to enjoy free computer lessons. We now have 7 full-time paying students for tailoring plus another 4 part-timers who were initially sponsored for two months by LTHT and are able to continue utilising sponsorship from a ULCP trustee
To teach catering skills we started building a coffee-shop but now the foundations are in and the walls are up everyone has agreed that it would be better to open a full-scale restaurant as well as offering quick snacks and refreshments to passing motorists. 
This will give catering students the opportunity to learn a wide range of cooking & baking skills plus learn how to deal with customers. 
However several thousand pounds are still needed for completion of the building and to this end I have opened an online fundraising page with 
A recent volunteer from the USA, Suresh, was born in Uganda and returned again after 45 years away He spent a month making bookshelves and desks for the classroom’s plus a number of other carpentry jobs. I am hoping he will return again in 2016.
Other volunteers over the past months have repainted classrooms, assisted in the Medical Centre and with screening our children, and organised many varied activities both in term time and during the holidays.
Fundraising over the past months, especially those who ran in the Uganda Marathon has enabled us to complete the school water tank complete with small room below to store sports & games equipment plus toys & dress-up clothes for the little ones & also put in showers both the boys and the girls bathrooms.
Once that was completed, Denis got together materials to continue with the re-named restaurant and thanks to fundraising the builders have now finished the walls and reinforced the tops with ring beams made from iron rods inside solid concrete (like RSJ’s) A septic tank is already in place for customer toilets, and the walls for that will be added soon. Then hopefully with some more funding coming in we will start on the roofing work.
Volunteer numbers have been low this year, mainly because ‘Original Volunteers’ seem to be advising potential volunteers asking about Africa to book for Morocco or Ghana which they run themselves. Please help Denis to continue his work with the community and tell all your friends about volunteering at ‘Uganda Lodge’ where the only cost is your airfare, which can be under £350 return, airport transfers and £105 per week for your accommodation & all meals. See 
One ‘lifetime experience’ whilst in Uganda not to be missed is a safari trip with Denis where you will sleep right next to hippos, buffaloes and even crocodiles and get right up close to lions and elephants on the game drives. 
For those with a higher budget he will also arrange a trek for you to spend an hour with the rare mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Volunteering with us is an ideal holiday to choose if you have ‘no-one to go with” as we are there to help and advise you all the way, no single supplements and you will soon make new friends.
That is all for now. Thank you for reading and hope to get back with you again before Christmas with another update