Uganda: Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School Project

Project Goals:

• Provide funding for education for underprivileged children at World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School.
• Cater to operational costs for World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School
• Support the school administration in payment of staff salaries and the daily running of school programs.
• Supply of school text books, laboratory and chemistry equipment for science practices
• Supply of computers to equip students and staff with computer skills and knowledge
• Fund the students’ extra-curricular activities to allow them to participate in sports, regional games and inter-school competitions to enhance the performance of the students and the school in the region, as well as music, dance, and drama competitions, all geared toward enhancing talent development of the students.
• Support the school to feed the students of World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School a balanced diet that enhances the health and growth of the children. 
• Provide food supplies for the students of World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School and support the local youths in the surrounding slums.
• Support the school with medicines and medical supplies so that the school nurse can treat the children within school premises.
• Support the school’s gardening project so that the school can produce its own food as a way of reducing food costs.
• Support of the Nurse’s Office for students’ medical needs; decrease in cases of malaria among school staff and students.
• Support school with costs for candidates sitting for Uganda National Examinations.
• Fund housing and other facilities at the school such as dormitories, classrooms and administration offices

Project Objectives:
 
Support World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School with the following:

• Food supply for the students and staff
• Support of the school garden: food crops to supplement food supplies and trees for fire wood
• Anti-malarial medication and mosquito net supplies for the students and staff
• Support of the school clinic with medicines and medical supplies
• Payment of staff salaries
• Support computer purchases to teach IT skills
• Purchase of text books and other school teaching supplies and instructional materials
• Purchase of office equipment supplies like photocopier, printer, and office furniture
• Facilitate participation in educational activities at district level, community outreach and inter-house competitions with music, dance, drama, regional games and sports held in partnership with the Tororo District.
• Support infrastructure development of the school.
• Support children that need specialized medical treatment
• Support John Ochwo with medicines, medical supplies and medical consultation at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala for heart disease before taken to India for heart surgery and after return to Uganda.

Summary of RMF/WCF-sponsored activities carried out during the reporting period under each project objective:

• Two students (Dorothy and George) who needed specialized medical treatment were taken for treatment to Kampala and they are healing well.
• Staff salaries and wages for the support staff members were fully and timely paid.
• The school purchased food for the students and teachers during this reporting period.
• The school was able to buy apparatus, chemicals and laboratory reagents required for the forthcoming national examination in October 2015.
• The laboratory was painted and covers put on the water outlets; this is essential in reducing risks of accidents in the laboratory.
• Installed energy saving florescent tubes in the multipurpose hall so that students are able to do revision at night in the facility comfortably.
• With the funding from RMF/WCF the school maintained cleanliness in the school compound; grass was trimmed and flowers were planted.
• The funding from RMF enabled the school to purchase hand washing facilities in the compound as a strategy of reducing on the 4Fs.
• Maize and vegetables were planted to supplement the school diet.
• The funding was also used to process in-house examinations for the students and hiring specialized facilitators to offer special guidance to the students on how to answer questions in the national examinations.
• The school was able to pay its utility bills mostly electricity and purchase of firewood.

Results and/or accomplishments achieved during this reporting period:

• Teaching and learning is continuing smoothly and without any major interruptions.
• The senior four candidates who will be sitting for the national examinations in October have been fully prepared and the school is expecting good performances.
• The students were well fed and they are looking healthy.
• Two students (Dorothy and George) who needed specialized treatment were funded by RMF to be taken for treatment in Kampala. They are recovering well.
• Purchase of laboratory chemicals, apparatus and reagents required for the national examinations.
• The school has planted maize and vegetables that will supplement the food purchased by the school.
• Painted the laboratory and installed covers for the drainages in the laboratory.
• Timely and full payment of staff salaries and wages
• Cleaned and beautified the school compound to provide an environment conducive for learning.
• Prepared, processed and administered internal examinations and assessments.

Impact this project has on the community (who is benefiting and how):

• The project is reducing illiteracy rates in Uganda, in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing illiteracy levels in developing countries.
• The project is promoting girl education which is also part of the MDGs – promoting gender equality and equity.
• The school has created employment for teaching staff and non-teaching staff, and is thus a contribution towards wealth creation programs.
• This project has given a chance to underserved and poor children to access quality education.
• The project has stimulated a positive attitude in the community towards education. Generally now the community appreciates education much more than before.
• The school has become a driving factor for extending other social services to the area. The district local government upgraded the road going to school. This benefits both the school and the community. The road is now passable even during rainy season.
• This school has stimulated positive academic competition among other secondary schools in Eastern Uganda. When this school appeared in the national newspaper as the 2^nd best in Tororo District, the other schools felt their popularity was at stake, thus they started to work hard to maintain their positions. This has positive impact on education in the whole of Tororo.
• Local youth in the surrounding slums who used to loiter around the slum have reduced. This has impact on reduced crime rates in the area.
• The school has positively changed the face and value of the area. The area which used to be a feared slum has gained high market value because of the presence of the school. This is an advantage to the entire community of Tororo and Uganda at large.
• Purchased medicine to treat children who fall sick during the reporting period; they are treated by our nurses on school premises.

Number served/number of direct project beneficiaries:
During the last reporting period:

• About 403 students at World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School
• 30 staff members both teaching and non-teaching staff

Notable project challenges and obstacles:

• There is an acute shortage of text books. For instance students taking literature in English share novels – this is not an effective way of teaching.
• Some students who are HIV positive and are on ARVs need supplementary feeding to boost immunity – this is a challenge to the school.
• The Al-shabab Islamic militants are threatening to attack schools in retaliation for Uganda’s military presence in Somalia. This requires scaling up the security in the school.
• Our students after completing senior four are not managing to join advanced level due to lack of school fees to continue. The best solution to this challenge would be enabling WCF Mama Kevina School to establish advanced level classes so that these students can be retained, alternatively funding these students to join vocational institutions.
• The school is lacking computers so as to teach computer literacy and moreover it is now a government requirement for every school to teach computer literacy. The school needs computers to overcome this challenge. This challenge needs a quick solution because it could cause the school to be deregistered.
• Lack of staff quarters, teachers live far from the school and this interferes with their commitment of fulfilling their obligations to the school. For example, during the rainy season, coming to supervise morning preps and night preps becomes a challenge. The permanent solution to this challenge is to build and have staff quarters.
• The school needs a bus to support the school co-curricular activities because hiring a van to take the students for field studies is costly. The permanent solution would be to own a school bus.
• Need for playing boots for football and netball players

Project Photos

A: Learning in Progress

Throughout the reporting period learning continued without interruption

B: Processing internal exams for ongoing assessment and evaluation of students

School secretary typing internal examinations

C: Senior candidates 2015 — literature in English class in a special session

Learning is more effective in study groups guided by the teachers

D: Special guidance to students improves academic performance

Kisauheli study group in a special session

E: Beautification of the compound

Planting flowers in the school

Slashing the compound and keeping the grass short reduces risk of snake bites

View of school compound

A school compound where fruits are on the tree

F: Meals for the students

A well-fed student will perform better

Preparing food for the students

Preparing a meal from maize flour (posh)

G: Promoting health habigs (hand washing is key in reducing 4Fs)

The school has placed hand washing facilities at strategic places to prevent illness

H: Healing process of Dorothy Nyapendi and George Ogoli

Dorothy is undergoing treatment for her leg to prevent amputation

George Ogoli underwent emergency surgery

J. Some of the apparatus and chemicals stocked in the laboratory during the reporting period

Science subjects are compulsory for every student; a student who does not pass science examinations is not awarded the National certificate. Extra efforts are channeled into the science department.