Our projects: Transforming children’s lives one step at a time
August 2020
EVC Uganda would like to thank all sponsors and donors for your continued support, especially throughout the current COVID emergency. Your donations make a huge difference to the quality of children’s lives and provide them with a solid education.
St Matia Mulumba is a Primary School which has benefitted from your tremendous support. It is situated in Kyankoole village in a desperately poor area of rural Uganda. Before EVC Uganda was established in 2014 the school consisted of a few classrooms and had very basic facilities. Class sizes could be up to 70 in number. The children who boarded slept in their classrooms at night on makeshift mattresses.
The school had no clean water so parties of children were sent daily to gather water from a nearby polluted pond, which would then be boiled to kill germs and infections. There were 3 toilet cubicles to be shared amongst 350 children and 15 staff. There was no mains water supply, no proper personal washing facilities, no showers, no electricity and no lighting. Cooking and eating occurred outdoors. A lot needed to be done.
A Girls’ Dormitory
EVC Uganda’s number one priority had to be the girls’ living conditions. In Uganda, many children repeat years or join school late, so some primary school girls can be quite mature and in their early teens. With your tremendous donations, EVC Uganda was able to fund and construct a girls’ dormitory which was officially opened on 28th November 2018. The dormitory has a secure perimeter wall, ample toilets and private washing facilities.
At last, the girls have the ability to get a good night’s sleep and have space for their personal possessions! The dormitory has solar-powered lighting, smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
In addition, EVC Uganda handed out small personal solar lamps to the children for individual personal study after darkness descends. They can take these solar lamps home during holidays to assist study and other home activities.
Clean Water
Clean water is essential for drinking, food preparation and washing. With no mains water supply, the supply of clean water is a problem especially in the 4 to 5 months of the dry season.
EVC Uganda organised a drilling machine, drilled a borehole, installed a solar-powered submersible pump together with 2 x 5,000 litre storage tanks. We plan to supplement this with rainwater collection equipment and more storage tanks.
Our aim is to provide the whole school with a clean and plentiful supply of water throughout the whole year.
A Boys’ Dormitory
Work started on 27th April 2020 for our next priority: the boys’ dormitory. We have now reached roof level and completion is set for the end of September 2020.
Work left to do includes plastering, painting, electrics, more toilets, washing facilities and installation of beds. We should be ready to accept the boys on their return to school and they will be absolutely delighted after all the years of ‘living rough’.
Promoting Healthy Living
Our EVC Uganda administrators, Gonzaga and Margaret, regularly hold talks on the importance of personal hygiene. The school started a regime of regular hand washing in 2019 and this has become even more important with the onset of the COVID pandemic. Simple water dispensers and soap are installed near toilets and dining facilities.
All washing is done by hand including mattresses, bedding, sheets and the children’s clothes. Everything is scrupulously clean for the children at all times. It’s labour intensive and tiring work every day.
Our next steps
There is still so much more to do including more toilets, dining hall (that can be used as an assembly hall) and an indoor kitchen, perimeter fencing and security cameras as anyone can currently wander through the campus, school bus, library, IT Suite, vocational training classrooms for skills such as carpentry and tailoring, books, sports equipment, teaching aids and equipment.
And finally… the results! The difference you make!
You’re never too young to learn; these happy nursery children play and study outdoors. They will have a real chance in life.
If you're able to help, please visit our Donations Page. Any amount you can give will mean so much to these poor children in our care. Thank you!