Our programme for sponsoring children to go to secondary boarding schools had been working well but the children were mainly studying far from their homes, and we became convinced that if we built our own, non-profit, school this would benefit far more children. I was asked to lead Adelante Africa in the ambitious project of building a secondary school to give quality education to the children in our area. I knew it would be a challenge, but it was one I couldn’t refuse.
The first and most immediate task was to raise money, and this was when it occurred to me that, as thanks to a reunion organised in 2010, I had all the contact details of my class at Mayfield, we might be able to build one of the classrooms between us. I wrote to everyone, and was completely taken aback by the enthusiasm and generosity of my classmates. I also wrote a lesson about Adelante Africa in one of my coursebooks, which has resulted in sponsorship and donations from teachers and students all over the world.
Thanks to the generosity of these and many more, we were able to begin building the Adelante Africa Secondary School in November 2015. The school is about half a mile from St Joseph’s Primary school and a mile from Omwana Tugende Children’s Home. It is on a hillside overlooking Igayaza and it has ample room for the buildings, playing fields, and a small farm where children can help to grow food. The project has been ably overseen by two of our most active volunteers, Fr Joachim Kisakyamaria, and Fr Paul Kato, Catholic priests who have been helping us since the beginning and without whom we would never have got Adelante Africa off the ground.
The school opened its doors to our first intake of 110 students at Senior One and Senior Two in February 2017. It is a mixed non- denominational school (and as such is one of the first in Uganda). A board consisting of members of Adelante Africa (Spain and Uganda) and local people with expertise in secondary education run the school. The school is non-profit and fees are as low as possible in order to cover some of the running costs. Orphans continue to be sponsored (as at St Joseph’s primary school) and make up just under half the class size (20 to 23 out of 55 children). We accept all local children who pass the Primary Leaving Exam that we can fit in, but with a maximum of 55 students per class, which, although it sounds like a lot, would be considered a very small class in Uganda! The first term ended in May with all the children performing very well in the end of term exams. We have great hopes for our school and for the children who go through it.
There is, of course, still a lot of work to do. Although we hope that the school will be self supporting in the not-too-distant future, it is our responsibility to raise money for the building and setting up costs, and also to find sponsors for 20 children per year. We hire the best possible teachers, paying slightly over the odds as necessary and with good staff accommodation, in order to attract them to a rural area. So we also decided to look for people to sponsor the teachers’ salaries, and at present there are three teachers all with sponsors coming from the U.K. This lowers running costs and allows us to charge lower fees. We also have a volunteer programme for teachers from Spain and Britain to visit and act as teaching assistants, giving an extra hand and helping out, especially with the students’ level of English.
10 The Old Cornelian SUMMER 2017
C H R I S T I N A L A T H A M - K O E N I G A ea t dlneArcfia
As regards the buildings, the first phase is more or less completed. We have two classroom blocks with two classrooms in each (two of which are being used this year as girl’s
dormitories), a science laboratory block (we are still trying to fund the installations and equipment for the inside of the laboratories), an administrative block, a kitchen and storeroom (where the boys are sleeping this year!) and a staff block. There are latrines and bathrooms for girls and boys and for the staff.
This year we are hoping to build proper dormitories where the children can sleep more comfortably.
For me becoming involved in Adelante Africa has been an extraordinary experience, even more so since I started going out on a regular basis - I try to spend at least three weeks a year there. Meeting the children, their parents, the volunteers, and other local people face to face makes one realise how much a small effort from another part of the world can transform the lives of people living in conditions which for most people in the West would be described as abject poverty. And yet… their optimism, work ethic, and energy never ceases to astonish me. Our website
(
adelanteafrica.com) is full of information, photos and videos with up to date information on what we are doing. Do have a look. You might find it as life-changing as I have!
OC
Christina Latham‐Koenig Class of 1971
ACTIONSNOTWORDS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
