It is hard to believe that it’s already October! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools in Uganda, including Rukundo Preparatory School, remain closed except for graduating classes. We’re all aware of how severely the pandemic has affected us in the West, but we challenge you to imagine the effects for those who were already living in extreme poverty. We are keeping our projects and COVID-relief efforts running as best we can despite the circumstances.
To many of our students, our school is more than just a school. It's a home away from home, a place they not only learn new skills and build friendships, but it is their only source for hot meals and clean water. Since we can’t be in the classroom together, our teachers have transitioned to visiting each of our students, at least once per week, to help with at-home learning.
We are continuing to pay all of our staff their full salaries because now they need it more than ever. And they are continuing to positively impact the communities we serve in a safe way. Our team has distributed food and essential supplies to almost 100 families and vegetable seedlings to 60 families. As a long-term approach to mitigate food shortages, we provided quick-maturing bean seeds - enough for a medium-sized garden - to 259 families. The bean seeds are a sustainable means to feed families in the short and for long-term, as part of the seeds will be saved for future harvests, then replanted, providing food for years to come. Additionally, our team has adapted our Girls Empowerment Program to at-home learning, and taught community members how to maintain their own safety and health. We are so grateful for our staff’s steadfast dedication during this difficult time.
These relief efforts support our communities in the short-term, so that they will not fall even further into poverty. But, there’s so much more long-term work to do. Our top priority is to construct our 4th grade classroom and continue with our plan to expand our school by one classroom per year up to the 7th grade, allowing us to educate over 300 students. We are working hard to raise $45,000 by June, 2021 to allow us to build the foundation for the entire first level of the existing primary school building. This foundation is necessary not only to build our 4th grade classroom but to provide the necessary framework that will support the future expansion of our school. Construction, for now, is halted until we can secure these funds and continue with our long-term plan.
As one of our ardent supporters, we would love to invite you to watch our virtual gala to learn more about how your donations to our school have helped us to impact the Kabale community: https://www.facebook.com/rukundointernational/videos/773618316822560. The gala is also associated with a virtual silent auction, which you can find here: 32auctions.com/rukundo2020.
This fun event was scheduled in lieu of our normal in-person gala, and is an hour filled with music, dance, testimonials, and more. There’s also a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card. Be sure to check it out, and, as always, thank you for your support.
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The last few months have been unexpected and challenging, but we have managed to keep things moving forward. Uganda remains under a country-wide lockdown, since March 18th. Despite this, we are happy to report that construction on the ground floor of our primary building is close to complete! This milestone will allow us to accommodate students up to the 3rd grade. The final step is to install a water tank to provide supplemental water to the toilets. Finishing the construction of the ground level also allowed us to relocate our main office to the school, helping to reduce costs, increase security for our office assets, and let our staff interact more regularly.
During the lockdown, thanks in part to a grant from GlobalGiving, we have been able to continue to pay all of our staff at 100%, which is a huge blessing to them. Our team is taking this time to review and reorganize administrative tasks and evaluate our initiatives to improve. We continue to monitor our students’ situations at their homes closely. The implications of the lockdown in a community where many rely on day-to-day labor have been dire.
We have used our school grounds and our COVID-19 relief fund to distribute three rounds of food to 64 of the most vulnerable families in our community. When picking up her food package from the school, one of the household heads had this to say: “I boiled water last night, and that’s what we took as supper. At least my children will have solid food after three days of emptiness. Long live Rukundo international.” We are confident that this initiative, made possible by donations to our COVID-19 relief fund, has helped to save lives.
To further combat food insecurity, our team was able to distribute vegetable seedlings to 59 families. Those families would like to thank our donors, especially because food scarcity has gotten worse during the lockdown. The seedlings will provide a great supplement to their diets once ready!
In the U.S., volunteers have worked tirelessly over the last few months to redesign our website. The site now includes all of our projects in an organized manner. Make sure to check it out!
No matter where you are around the globe, we understand things are uncertain and challenging right now, and that many worthy organizations need support. We appreciate you choosing to stand with us to continue educating and empowering this vulnerable community in Uganda.
If you’re looking for more ways to get involved, we have a new summer campaign – #Move4Love! You can help to "keep our school running!" You can find all the details on the new website. There is more construction to be completed and funded, until we have a full primary school, up to 7th grade. We need your support now, more than ever. Webale Munonga (Thank You).
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The next two rooms are currently under construction and will be for our P2 (second grade) classroom and a dining hall. When school opens in 2021, the dining hall will become a P3 classroom and hopefully, construction will be started on the next phase.
Unsafe conditions in town have required us to move staff offices into the school building and so the remaining ground floor space is being used for that purpose. As always, as our students and program expand, we complete one phase of construction and begin on the next two classrooms needed.
We have allocated all of our current construction funds to finish off the ground level and that project is approaching completion.
Our 2020 school year began in February and we have 134 students enrolled, as well as seven teachers employed. After two years in operation, Rukundo Preparatory School has a 93% retention rate and a 100% graduation rate. Attendance is at 90% or better for all ages.
Two years ago, 4.5% of students were under height averages and 2.3% of the students were underweight. Thanks to our rigorous nutrition and hygiene standards, all students have now met the defined WHO International Growth Standards.
All of our progress is thanks to you and your generosity as we continue to grow our school and expand our programs in Uganda. We can’t continue this work without you.
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This fall, we had to make the critical and time-sensitive decision to protect the slab where many of our future classrooms and other facilities are going to be added to Rukundo Preparatory School. When the slab was poured, we were told we had many years to complete the construction. Unfortunately, this information turned out to be untrue.
We used $12,000 from our annual budget to do what was necessary to protect the slab, but now we are faced with a serious shortage. Our new classrooms still need to be built to graduate students to the next level. We also need to build the lunchroom and other facilities so the children have a safe place to eat, away from the elements. Currently, the children use the P2 (second grade) classroom for lunch, but that won't be an option in the coming year.
We are hopeful that we will be able to make up the budget shortfall and build the classrooms we need for the future school year and incoming students.
The first half of 2019 has brought so many accomplishments! As a donor towards the construction of our school, you have facilitated our mission to empower Uganda’s most vulnerable populations through educational and economic opportunities that lead to self-sustaining communities. Because of you, 109 students are receiving holistic care at our school, Rukundo Preparatory.
The Deputy RDC (Resident District Commissioner) reported that he has never seen any school in Kabale with standards like ours, a compliment of the highest honor! We are also excited to report that we were recently able to purchase another small piece of land where the children will be able to have more room to play - especially soccer, their favorite sport!
We now employ 23 Ugandan staff members who support over 500 children and families directly, and countless indirect, beneficiaries. It's truly because of you. We can never say THANK YOU enough.
In addition, so far this year:
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