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| Ndeeba Primary School |
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* January 2011 Ndeeba Primary Newsletter at the bottom of the page * The ACDT began sponsoring Kiro Kabowa Primary School and Kiro Ndeeba Primary School, both sister schools in one of the slum areas of Kampala in March 2008. The slum areas in Kampala are very dirty & muddy. People do their best to keep things clean but there is no drainage or sanitation. Many people do not have toilets & use a communal latrine (hole in the ground). When the rains come, the water remains in the area & is often dirty & a breeding ground for diseases like malaria. People live in small shacks, often large families in one room. The people who live in the slums are very poor but they do their best to try & care for their families as best they can. The children here have as much right to education as any child. Schools in Uganda are very different to ones in the UK. There are very few government schools with nearly all schools being self funded by school fees. That is the only way that the children will have any hope of a chance to get an education but the problem still remains that many of these children cannot afford the fees which can be anything from £8 per term upwards. In April 2009 Kiro Kabowa was forced to close as the land had been bought by a local factory. We were only given 2 weeks notice! At that time there were 300 children at Kabowa & 245 at Ndeeba. The site that Kiro Ndeeba is on is the size of a matchbox but we were forced during the 1 month school holiday in April 2009 to knock down the existing Ndeeba School & build a temporary new wooden school to take in all 545 children! We have built this emergency temporary school but this will not last long! Right now the classrooms are too small & cramped, the roof leaks, the flooring is mud. Some of the children are in the school compound, some are now in wooden shacks on an area that once housed washing lines. The situation is far from satisfactory. The one positive outcome of this however is that during this crisis situation all the children have remained in education with no gaps in their learning! But this school really will not last long & is not right or a healthy learning environment. These children deserve to learn in a better school, one that has a clean solid floor, desks that sit 3 children, not 6 & space in the classrooms for these extra desks. They need a roof that does not leak water on them like a shower whilst in class. In order for this to happen we need to build a new concrete school & soon! Our land size is so small so we cannot build out so we must build up! We are desperate to build a school these children can be proud of & within which we have the facilities to give them a clean & safe place to come & learn.
Nikki has gone through the accounts & our two main ways we have chosen to help them is by finding sponsors for the teachers & by raising the money to build a new school for these wonderful children. TEACHER SPONSORSHIP The classes range from Baby – P7 which spans an age of approx 3 years – 14 years. The site is tiny, but the will to survive and the desire to keep the children in school and not become beggars and thieves is huge. Nikki has spent a lot of time looking at the finances of the school which is running at a loss and, with no potential surplus income which can be put back into the school or pay for repairs, text books or anything that can allow this school to grow & develop. The teachers are AMAZING. They have a wonderful dedication to the children and their learning and often there has been no money to pay them. They have families of their own to support so the knock on effect is huge, but they keep coming to school each day to teach regardless. These teachers have shown such a massive commitment to children; it is so inspiring. 73% of the schools income goes on paying the teachers. There is no money available to feed the children a healthy balanced meal or improve the standards of the school, its equipment and the childrens learning experience. If we don't find a way to help, this school will be forced to close too and the future of these children will be bleak. That is why we have launched the Teacher Sponsorship Scheme. It will give individuals/schools/businesses and other organisations the opportunity to sponsor a teacher.
I WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR A TEACHER PLEASE TELL ME MORE
BUILDING A NEW SCHOOL We have looked at the finances involved with building a new school on the space we have. We need 9 classrooms, plus 2 dormitories, toilets etc…& an office as a minimum. The ACDT would like them to also have a small room as a library as right now they have no books, or even text books of their own. Music is something that is hugely important to children in Africa, dancing & singing is a normal part of their life & culture. The ACDT have provided the children with new drums, xylophone & choir costumes but we would like to give them a music room so they can practice & be in a position to take their music out to the public & give performances. Right now on our little space we need a three storey building. The minimum cost for this is £60,000 which may seem a lot but if you compare it to the cost of our schools in the developed world really is nothing for 545 children. On this basis we have launched our Buy a Brick campaign. Each brick costs just £1.00 Please help us save this great school. We at the ACDT are committed to doing our absolute best to try & help them
If you can help us help them we would be so grateful.
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The reason that the ACDT chose to sponsor these particular schools really stems from the day Nikki met the school director Rose. Nikki met Rose in March 2008 & was overwhelmed with what Rose was trying to achieve. Rose grew up in the slums in Ndeeba & many of her family still live near the school. Rose wanted to give something back to the children in her area & Ndeeba was her first school which on opening had 30 children! Since then the school has grown & grown! One of the special things that stood out to Nikki was her dedication to these children. She knows the area & knows that many of the children cannot afford the school fees. Even though it is these fees that are needed to run the school, Rose made it clear to Nikki from their first meeting that the school was open to everyone, & those that can pay, pay & those that can’t pay what they can & for some they pay nothing. It was this dedication to giving these children access to education regardless of their situation that really touched Nikki’s heart & made her want the ACDT to support them as best as they can. However schools have expenses that need to be paid & all the income comes from school fees. So with so many children paying little or no fees there is very little left to run the school & this is why right now this school is in jeopardy of being forced to close if we cannot help them.
Teacher sponsorship starts from £50 per month and we have 17 members of staff at the school so we are looking for 17 sponsors. Your sponsorship will be the whole monthly salary for the teacher you sponsor and will go direct to them. You will receive correspondence from your teacher so you can follow their journey and see what a difference your support is making to them and to the school.