On Monday afternoon after our rendez vous with John and the Acet team we met up with Pastor Paul Lubaale and travelled to the Gombolola district to visit 3 communities at Namusiisi, Kasimbika and Kabitende who are looking to build new schools. At the moment children have to walk several kilometres to attend classes and standards suffer from huge class sizes and a lack of investment. We were welcomed by the local pastors and members of the three communities who had been waiting patiently for our arrival and explained their aims to us. After leaving the team travelled to Jinja where we would be based for the next three days.
Tuesday morning saw our return to the Tumaini Childrens Home located in the sugar-growing area of Kakira, near Jinja. Riannas Fund have been supporting the Home in a small way for a number of years. There are 72 children in the Home & there is now a small school on the site where 22 of the home children attend. There are 3 classes in the school and two use the main hall of the children's home. (see photo below).
Pastor Nicholas who runs the Home with his wife Maria told us of the desperate need for food for the children living in the Home. Recently one of the main supporters of the Home has stopped providing for the food & also the cost of food prices has increased over the past few months. We learned that there are a number of children who have medical needs, including one girl who has recently been in hospital and that these necessary expenses are not being met. It was very difficult to hear and we were all struck by the urgency of the situation.
After leaving Tumaini the team from Riannas Fund set off to Malongo, which was about a 2 hour drive into a very rural area south of Iganga. Luckily the murram road had been significantly improved so it wasn't the bone-shaking experience of last year!
We visited Malongo last year & subsequently agreed to send funds to build 8 classrooms (initially 3 classrooms followed by a further 5 classrooms which are nearly completed).
It was amazing to see the transformation with one block completed and in full use - very different from last year when we met the children under a temporary structure in a huge downpour. This year there were 11 classes going on in the brand new buildings & and the old shelter, with the primary children in the middle of their mid-term test papers..and the sun was shining!
We met the children & teachers at the school. There are now 413 children registered in the new school, which increased from 150 when they had no proper facilities. We visited each of the classes & the children greeted us with a song.
After taking refreshments with the Headmistress, Jennifer the children sang and danced for us expressing their appreciation for their new school. It was a great afternoon, 100% positive and we set off on the long journey home feeling very upbeat.
Riannas Fund
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