Jolly Children Academy, Bbika

Tuesday 9th February 2010

Our last day in Uganda & in the morning we visited Bbika school in Wakiso district, 25kms north of Kampala. The school is called the Jolly Children Academy and is named after Jolly Nyeko the founder of Action for Children, Uganda. Riannas Fund has provided funding for additional classrooms at the school & we were accompanied on the trip by Alex & Jessica from Action for Children.

After turning off the main road we travelled along a narrow track through the rural area. There had been a storm earlier in the morning & we had to get out of the vehicle at one stage to ensure that we could pass along the muddy road. We arrived at the school and were greeted by the 192 children attending. The school currently has 6 Primary school classes & we were met by the Headmistress Janet Koote & some of the children.

We visited each of the classes and John took over from the teachers and asked the children some questions, the children in the Maths class were especially good. It was great for us to see the children being taught in 2 of the classrooms provided by Rianna's Fund. A further classroom is also very close to completion, which will allow the youngest 2 classes to have their own room as they currently share the main hall which is divided in two by a bamboo screen (and can be very noisy).

We then visited the Action for Children 'transition' centre based on the school grounds. There are currently 10 babies or small children being looked after by Alice (the 'mother') and the home is linked to a freephone Helpline operated by Action for Children in Kampala. The children receive food & medical help until they are well enough to be put up for fostering in the local community. The baby Tanya is holding in the photograph below is a recent arrival who the staff have named Moses. He is around 4 months old & was found abandoned, nothing is known of his family.

After looking over the site of the school we had some time to play with the children during their lunch break & leave some small gifts for the children with Janet, the Headmistress.

We then headed back to Kampala for a review of the week with David & Emma from ACET, Uganda. We have seen some great projects during our time in Uganda, including a number of existing & new projects. We hope to be able to support some new home & school projects in the near future!



Steve, Tanya, Jon & John
Rianna's Fund


February 2010