Current Projects
Grace Daycare and Primary School
The Real Uganda has been working alongside Liz Mukiibi, owner and head of Grace Daycare and Primary School, near Nakifuma, since 2009.
Former volunteers fondly remember it as a loving (and very humble) home to a whole bunch of kids over the years. It’s not an orphanage, per se, but a secure home for primary-aged children, whose families are having a temporarily tough time.
The kids, Liz, and our volunteers have always lived in a collection of small, dark rooms, with little electricity, and no ceilings.
Enter Jen Rivas, a former volunteer (circa 2013!) During the Covid-19 lock down, that spanned 2020 and 2021, she raised funds to construct a new home for everyone. Work went on during most of 2021 and the first half of 2022.
Enter Hopeline Germany, a non-profit organization founded by Jens Hirshfeld, a former volunteer (circa 2014!) who responded to our call for a school library. Textbooks covering all subjects for Primary Classes 1 through 7, and a number of readers and other resources for all ages, plus 2 tables and 8 chairs were delivered to Grace Primary in September 2022.
Enter Luena Foundation, who started in on the girls’ dormitory with beds. Together with Hopeline Germany, we were able to completely outfit the girls’ dorm with beds, mattresses, bedding, mosquito nets. This work was completed in October 2022.
It’s an absolute dream come true!
A huge indoor common area, bright airy bedrooms, sturdy furniture, comfy beds, proper electricity and ceilings!
I mean, you’ve got to see this place:
Next steps?
You guessed it – the boys’ dorm needs some love. Luena Foundation has graciously stepped in to provide interior doors for the home and begin construction on double-decker bunk beds for the boys’ dorm.
Your donation will be used to complete the boys’ dormitory needs, and begin working on the badly degraded pit latrine and bathing area. The current budget for these activities is $2,000.
GoAbroad Foundation is taking tax deductible donations on our behalf. Please remember us when you’re making your annual donations.
The Real Uganda offers 2 – 12 week locally-led communty-based volunteer programs.
hamilton Buikwe Kids Care Center
The Real Uganda has been placing volunteers with this school in Buikwe Trading Center since 2009. Run by Paul Mulamira, the school runs classes from Nursery to Primary Class 3. They typically serve just under 100 kids.
It’s a humble school catering mostly to the children of local area subsistence farmers. School fees are kept low to keep attendance up. They also strive to give their students daily meals, as the kids often come to school with empty tummies.
In 2022, former volunteer Jaq Lamshed (circa 2017!) answered our call to provide consistent hot meals to these littles. Currently, they receive a cup of porridge for breakfast and posho/rice and beans for lunch.
Here’s Paul’s report and a view of the school in action:
Other needs?
Paul is finalizing the purchase of a small plot of land adjacent to the school. This will give them room to grow. BUT, more urgently, Hamilton School badly needs a new pit latrine.
The current latrine was recently sanitized and emptied, thanks to former volunteers Shreya Sharma and Nora Sjue (circa 2022!). It’s therefore still usable. However, Uganda Ministry of Education requires it to be larger to accommodate the separation of boys from girls during toileting.
We’ve got 2 great ways to support this very important initiative:
We aim to complete construction of a new school pit latrine. It will have 2 stalls for boys and another 2 for the girls. The current budget for this project comes in at $2,500.
Watch our Tiktok of the building site
We can’t wait to watch this little school grow into its new space.