Official Opening of the New Nursery at St Matia Mulumba Primary School, July 2025
November 2025
A report by Roger Nicklen, Patron, EVC Uganda
Preparations had been going on all week (and much longer for some) at St Matia Mulumba Kyankole Primary School. Boys were engaged erecting and painting rustic fencing along the walkways. Girls were busily sweeping and washing floors. Rehearsals were under way. And on the eve of the big day a number of parents descended on the school to sit on the ground for hours preparing endless bundles of Matoke* to be cooked next day.
Marquees were erected in the school compound, chairs were transported in, an altar was built, sound systems were installed, and many yards of bunting were festooned; all to make everything just so for the celebration to come.
All the while this was going on, the newly completed nursery building, still in pristine condition as it was yet to be occupied, was standing resplendent, bedecked with its own bunting, proudly prominent at the head of the track which leads to the main school. The secure fencing surrounding the nursery compound, the colourful murals on the exterior of the building and the brightly-coloured safety railings, all catching the eye of passers-by, and acting as a splendid advertisement for the excellence of all that St Matia Mulumba Primary School has to offer.
The big day dawned and the first thing that caught my eye on arrival at the school was that the EVC staff, Gonzaga, Prossy, Janet and Immaculate, were all in very smart marching outfits. So it was indeed to be a very special day with the staff there as a great advertisement for EVC.
The schoolchildren gathered in their allotted places. The choir sang as guests arrived and settled into their seats. Ted and Judi Fawcett and I were led to our places alongside visiting VIPs while the clergy were also assembling.
The time had come for the formalities to begin. Father Michael Kamulegeya, Education Secretary for the Masaka Diocese, accompanied by Fathers Joseph, Bony Rogers, Deogratias, Cornelius and Boniface, led a contingent of nursery children with Joseph the head teacher, nursery staff, EVC staff, Frank the building contractor and guests along the track leading from the school campus, and through the gate into the nursery compound where the new building was patiently waiting our arrival.
I was invited to step forward and cut the ribbon to mark the formal opening of this splendid building, immediately followed by Fr Michael visiting every room to bestow God’s blessings on the building itself and on those who would teach and learn in it. The nursery children then gathered round Fr Michael, Ted, Judi and I, so that photographs could be taken.
Formalities over, we made our way back to the school compound where the schoolchildren and other guests were awaiting our return, because the celebrations were certainly not finished.
Mass was celebrated by Fr Michael and the other clergy, with the excellent school choir leading the singing, and a small group of students forming a very colourful Offertory Procession.
Then we were in for a real treat. The schoolchildren and staff had prepared an excellent programme of entertainments: singing, dancing and, from the nursery children, a thank you tribute for their new accommodation. All of these entertainments were up to the school’s very high standards. I was much impressed by the matching outfits worn by the school staff and so taken with their dance routine that I leapt to my feet and joined in. The intervals between the entertainments were also being punctuated by a pair of local celebrities entertaining the crowds. I have no idea at all what they were saying, because they spoke only in Buganda, but more about them later.
The time had come for speeches, giving Ted and I the opportunity to express our admiration for the progress the school has been making, both academically and in terms of the material improvements throughout the school compound. I also had the opportunity to present Suzan, the head teacher of the nursery, with 100 pencils for the children, inscribed with the name given to the nursery building - Roger House.
What happened next revealed the reason for the presence of the two entertainers. The school had decided that the day of celebrations was also a good opportunity to raise funds towards the building of the much needed kitchen and dining hall. The entertainers set to work on the assembled guests, encouraging, cajoling and very nearly demanding contributions. They were not going to be fed until it was clear that no more could be extracted. When all the counting had been done, the total given and promised, in both cash and in kind, came to 13.7 million Ugandan Schillings, equivalent to well over £3,000. Put together with the funds already raised by and promised to EVC Uganda this has enabled the project to get under way.
The festivities were now at an end, save only the mammoth task of feeding the hungry mouths of all the children and guests present. The mountains of Matoke* had been cooked along with stewed beef, so a jolly good feed was available to all.
Ted, Judi and I returned to the priests’ compound at Kyansi, heads and hearts full of the inspiring events of the day, more certain than ever of the good work being done at St Matia Mulumba Primary School, which EVC Uganda can be proud to support.
*Matoke (the word is synonymous with the local Ugandan word for “food”) – is the East African Highland Banana, which is an essential food crop and a staple of many Ugandans’ diets, but not palatable to yours truly