Education & Safety for Rural Girls Matale Uganda

It is with great privilege and a grateful heart, that I write this update to you, our dear ZoomUganda and Harambee Centre supporters.  First, the joyful news.  On behalf of the ZoomUganda and Harambee Centre’s teams, we are beyond grateful to announce that we received a generous $200,000 grant from the Nike Ever Higher Fund!  We continue to be grateful for the generosity of Nike employees and the company’s donation matching program that have continually contributed to various Harambee Centre projects over 10+ years.

Fulfilling the goal of building a safe place for Matale girls to focus on their education has been almost ten years in the making, starting with the girls of ZoomUganda (http://www.zoomuganda.org/) and their courageous act of opening up their lives to a wider world.  Their work has enabled us to share the story of hope for an HIV/AIDS impacted community to audiences from Portland, Oregon, New York City and all the way to London, United Kingdom.  

In 2016, we look forward to sharing with you the progress of the construction journey, and the subsequent opening when it is completed.  Please see an architectual rendering of the dormitory below.  In addition, we also look forward to sharing with you other projects we will partner with the St. Andrews leadership to fundraise for.  We hope that you will continue to support us on this journey, as we look towards developing a world class education for the students of Matale.    

Other 2015 Matale highlights:

• In 2015, Mr. Judith Naluyima was officially selected as the first female head teacher (Principal) for St. Andrews S.S.S Matale.  We have great confidence in Ms. Naluyima’s leadership capabilities and the strong message she sends to the girls of Matale.
• St. Andrews Alumni held their first fundraiser as a contribution towards the girl’s dormitory work.  Robert Kasumba spearheaded this effort.  Robert is one of the students that got the opportunity to travel to Portland in 2009 as part of the sister school student exchange program with Southridge H.S. Robert is now a Computer Science major at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.
• St. Andrews PTA voted to increase each student’s fees by 500 shillings (15 cents) in order for the community to participate in the fundraising efforts towards the girl’s dormitory work.
• The Zoomuganda exhibit was displayed at Google NY for three months.  If you know a venue that would enjoy hosting an educational exhibit like this one, please contact julie@zoomuganda.org.

It is this sense of partnership between us at Harambee Centre, you our donors, and our partners on the ground in Matale that makes this work very meaningful.  

For me, doing this important work is personal, because I am a young woman who was born and raised in this community.  Education has made the difference in my life from a potentially young, uneducated mother, to a leader in my community.  Being a part of a small but impactful team of people that is giving their time and resources to chip away at the educational achievement gap for young women in Matale is a privilege of a lifetime.

I continue to be grateful for your support, your generosity, and your passionate hearts.  It is my hope that this holiday season brings you and yours blessings.

With gratitude,

Noela + ZoomUganda and Harambee Centre teams.

• Rendering of the Girls' Dormitory (PDF)