Ruhanga Development School
The RUHANGA DEVELOPMENT SCHOOL was built and opened in 2008 at the request of villagers in this rural area of SW Uganda, using money raised by volunteers and visitors staying at the nearby Uganda Lodge
Before opening the school the Director, Denis Aheirwe. explained to parents of potential students that, although funds from Muzungus (white people) were helping to build the school, they would still be required to pay a small fee towards their childrens’ education. It was agreed to keep the fees low and on a not-for-profit basis charging some money each term to help cover the teachers salaries, teaching aids, pencils and books. Money raised by UK charities through a sponsorship scheme now contributes to the running of the school and very importantly provides a large mug of porridge for each child every morning for breakfast.
Numbers quickly rose and by the start of the new school year in 2009 there were over 40 students attending regularly. However as most families living in the surrounding hills are subsistence farmers there was little spare cash for the little ones school fees. The school had been tending to run at a loss with Denis in Uganda, and Ann in the UK subsidising things by buying sacks of maize meal (posho) for the breakfasts, and sending out school uniforms, books and pencils sourced from car boot sales and charity shops in the UK.
During 2007, concerns were raised over the number of young children that were living up in the nearby villages and still not attending school. Many families had 3 or 4 children between the ages of 3 and 7, some were caring for orphans as well as their own children, and others were single Mums whose husband has passed away and they themselves were not in good health. They were just struggling to grow enough beans and matoke (a green banana steamed and used as a vegetable) and provide the children with a small meal each day.
You can sponsor a child through the UK registered charity Uganda Lodge Community Projects by accessing the application form here
Alternatively email ann@Ugandalodge.com for more details and an application form to be emailed to you. If you are able to sign the Gift Aid form your donation to go even further.
Update March 2014 – we now have 450+ children attending the school on a daily basis, however many of these are waiting urgently for sponsorship. Please will you consider giving less than the cost of a cheap bottle of wine or one packet of cigarettes a month to educate a child?
Please consider Sponsorship as a Gift for birthdays, Christmas etc. You will receive a gift certificate with your (or your recipients) name showing plus a photo of your chosen child, as soon as we receive your first payment.
Note that with the low-cost sponsorship scheme we run, your money is not given to an individual child or family, but it goes directly into the school ‘pot’ and each month it is used to help subsidise educational materials, teachers salaries, breakfasts and other on-going running costs. All the children except for a few specifically identified special cases also contribute a small amount towards the running costs each term as this helps to avoid the local community expecting the foreign visitors to pay for everything. – Thankyou
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