Uganda

Background:

The World Children's Fund Mama Kevina School is both an orphanage and a boarding school that provides education and care for orphans in Eastern Uganda.   The boarding school caters to both orphans and some local paying students and is located just a few kilometers outside of the town of Tororo in Eastern Uganda, about 200 kilometers from the capital, Kampala.

Started as the Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School, it was opened in 2006 with international financial support, and with the goal of providing both secondary education and vocational training. The student population is mostly from Northern Uganda where many children have been affected by ongoing wars, floods and HIV/AIDS. Many of the students' parents were killed by rebels or AIDS which left many of the children as orphans; some boys had been forced to be child soldiers. Enrolled at the school are students ranging in age from 11 to 24, who attend secondary grades 1 to secondary 4. 

Starting at the beginning of the Second Quarter of 2012, the World Children’s Fund started significant financial support of the school monthly operational funding.  This funding is being used to cover the school’s various operational expenses, enabling it to significantly raise the level of academics and support for the students and orphans, also enabling the school to attract more paying students.

Project Goals:

• Starting at the beginning of the Second Quarter of 2012, the World Children’s Fund started significant financial support of the school with $7,000 per month in operational funding.  This funding is being used to cover the school’s various operational expenses, enabling it to significantly raise the level of academics and support for the students and orphans.  This also enables the school to attract more paying students, high quality teachers and work towards the long term goal of becoming self-sufficient.

• Continuous improvement of infrastructure and buildings on campus to attract more paying students
• 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
• Equip the students with extra-curricular activities to participate in the regional games and sports to enhance the performance of the students and school in the region, and music, dance, and drama.
• Supply the students of World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina Comprehensive Secondary School with food supplies and support the local youths in the surrounding slums.
• Support the school with medicine so that the school nurse can treat the children within school premises.

• Support school garden to reduce food expenses.
• Support of Nurse’s Office for student medical needs. Decrease cases of malaria among school staff and students.
• Support school with costs for candidates sitting for Uganda National Examinations

Project Objectives:

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

• Food supplies for the students and staff
• Support of the school garden work, i.e. planting of maize
• Anti-malarial medication and mosquito net supplies for the students and staff
• Support 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
• Purchase of office equipment supplies like photocopier, printer, and office furniture
• Facilitate participating in community outreach and inter-house competitions with music, dance, drama, regional games and sports held in partnership with the Tororo District.
• Support of infrastructure/ construction projects on campus
• Support the school with costs of senior four candidates sitting for the Uganda National Exams (UNEB).Funding facilitatescandidates taking their national exams. This facilitation includes providing meals for those who invigilate exams, and the allowance for the invigilators, transporting the exam candidates to and from from District offices to the school and back to the District offices.  Funds will also be used to purchase laboratory equipment required for these National Exams.
• Provision of large cooking stoves that can prepare food for 400 students and teachers
• Purchase and install lightning arrestors at the school

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

Continuation of general food, student, staff, and school supply support.  Morale of all staff and students continues to be very high, with a pride in the school never seen before.

World Children’s Fund – New Construction Project

We are delighted and very excited to announce that World Children’s Fund has committed to fund the construction of four new buildings, which will substantially increase the capacity of the school to attract more paying students to help subsidize the non-paying students and move closer to becoming a self-sustainable school. The funds will go towards the construction of new girls’ and boys’ dormitory buildings, a dining hall, and a new office/classroom block.  Construction is slated to begin in December.  This brings the partnership between WCF, RMF and Mama Kevina to a new level, and promises to make the school a model program for the area.

The Third Quarter of 2013 was very productive. We continued the purchase of food supplies for the students and the payment of the teaching staff salaries to keep the school’s operations running smoothly. Additionally, the student participation in the regional games and sports, as well as Music, Dance, and Drama was facilitated; and the renovation, rebuilding and expansion of the girls’ bathrooms and the construction of a security gate for the school moved forward swiftly.

Medication and medical supply donations

In addition to infrastructure projects and food and staff payments, RMF/WCF funds in this reporting period also contributed to the purchase of medications for the nurse to treat students within the school premises.  Funding also facilitated the purchase of cooking stoves, thunder arrestors, and their installations.

Music, Dance, and Drama

Students participated in a Music, Dance, and Drama event at the school. Parents were invited to witness the talents of their children and promote their children’s efforts and the school’s programs. It was a great display of the children’s eloquence as some were orators, which made the presentation of a poem a great success. Students are performing increasingly well in the subjects of English and English literature, as evidenced by the poetry reading.

The parents were all very proud as they are generally from very poor rural areas without the resources for the arts, and they were impressed with all their children had learned. Parents were also pleasantly surprised to see their sons and daughters present cultural dances that they never expected the children to know, since they were never in school and do not have the chance to attend these performances in the village cultural galas. Through drama, students conducted meaningful plays on HIV and AIDS and the dangers of peer influence. These plays are a fantastic, memorable means to teach both students and the audience important lessons on HIV/AIDS.

Sports

Our students are not only improving in academics and the arts, but also in sports and games. World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina student, Stephen Kiprotich, won a gold medal from Moscow in the International World Games and Sports. Students are also gaining notoriety in the eastern region of Uganda, with several students doing very well in regional games and sports.

Some of these students have performed so well recently that some of the area’s bigger schools have approached them with an interest in sponsoring them with athletic scholarships to join their schools. These students have thus far declined to leave as they are proud and happy with the World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School, noting that they would prefer to stay and promote the name of the school in the region.

Sponsoring John Ochwo

John Ochwo, the heart patient sponsored by RMF/WCF, continued being cared for through funds for his medication, provided to him monthly. He is also being supported with his school fees and scholastic materials every term.

Results and/or accomplishments achieved during this reporting period:

• Participating in sports and games has improved the health of our students, and has also promoted the name of our school in the region.
• Participating in Music, Dance, and Drama has improved students’ skills and confidence and also resulted in greater performance in English and Literature.
• Students continue to learn about the realities of HIV and AIDS through drama, and the dangers of peer pressure. Thanks to RMF/WCF, these children will be a strong backbone in guiding the future of Uganda.
• Students regularly receive computer lessons and novels for their literature lessons. The laboratory is well equipped and students are able to participate in practical science classes within the school premises.
• Computers, text books, laboratory equipment, medicines and medical supplies, photocopiers, printers, head teacher’s desk, and mosquito nets were bought.
• Teachers are highly motivated with salary increases and timely full payments. Commensurate to this, performance of the students in class has been improving exponentially.
• RMF/WCF food sponsorship for the World Children’s Fund Mama Kevina School continues, with students receiving all of their meals each day.
• The School Clinic was plastered, painted, and furniture was put in place. The school also purchased much needed medicines, medical supplies, beds and mattresses.
• Students receive medical treatment within the school premises.
• A visiting doctor was recruited to reduce the cost of taking students to St. Anthony Hospital for cases requiring advanced care that the school nurse cannot provide. The visiting doctor not only treats the students, but also has ample time to educate students on STDs, and HIV/AIDS.
• Malaria cases have been greatly reduced due to the school’s supply of mosquito nets and teaching the students to properly use the nets.
• John Ochwo, our rheumatic heart disease patient, continues to receive medication and attends his monthly examination at National Referral Hospital Mulago, Kampala, both of these services are provided by RMF/WCF.