Schools in Namatala Village in Uganda
Location: Namatala, Uganda
Grades: Primary Schools
Number of students: 2,078 (total)
In December 2010, A Spring of Hope collaborated with partner
Organization for Good Life of the Marginalized (OGLM) to identify four schools in desperate need of water. Namatala is mired in extreme poverty and social conflict keeps many parents in constant fear for the safety of their children. 94.6% of villagers are illiterate and women are commonly abused. ASOH's involvement in this village comes at a critical time as the village had just experienced a deadly outbreak of cholera.
Namatala Primary School Mbale has 951 students and 9 students.
Bugisu Community School accepts children between the ages of 6 to 15. Many of the school's 300 students are not expected to complete school due to pressure on the boys to join cattle rustling groups and a lack of interest to educate girls. Of
Budada Village School's 217 students, only 28 are girls. The nearest water stream is 32 kilometers away and is shared with cattle animals. Finally,
Bugema Village School recently served as a clinic for people dying of cholera. The school's colonial-era origins still accommodates 610 children.
Kabukye School
Location: Kamuli, Uganda
Grades: 8-12
Number of students: 723
After working with the
Organization for Good Life of the Marginalized (OGLM) to assist Buwaiswa Orphanage, ASOH learned that a school only 17 kilometers away is in desperate need of water. The only improved water source in the area was located at Buwaiswa so students at Kabukye were tasked with fetching water from the orphanage, limiting valuable time in the classroom. Instead, students and teachers collected water from a polluted stream (see picture). A hand pump was installed at Kabukye Christmas week 2010. With continued collaboration with OGLM, ASOH looks forward to not only ensure the continued operation of the pump but also to coordinate gardening and sanitation projects to significantly improve the quality of life and facilitate lasting change in the community.
Maahlamela High School
Location: The Oaks, South Africa
Grades: 8-12
Number of students: 723
Maahlamela is a typical high school in rural South Africa without running water. The school had been surveyed in the past, but drilling had failed. ASOH discovered Maahlamela through word-of-mouth in 2008. Thanks to our $130,000 grant from Chase Bank, we were able to finally fulfill our promise to bring Maahlamela water at the end of 2010.
Senianya Primary School
Location: Acornhoek, South Africa
Grades: R-7*
Number of students: 649
Fenced in with barbed wire, this school took precautions after a break-in cost them a computer among other stolen things. Senianya Primary had running water in the past, but when either the pump broke or the well went dry over 30 years ago, the government failed to address the school's problems. When A Spring of Hope arrived, the school had not had water since 1978 and the most recently working borehole had collapsed. In 2010, A Spring of Hope
along with partner
Seeds of Light stepped in to blow out and deepen the borehole
to restore water for the students. To see more pictures of Senianya Primary, please visit our
gallery.
Andover Primary School
Location: Acornhoek, South Africa
Grades: R-7*
Number of students:
In early 2009, A Spring of Hope received a letter at its P.O. Box in South Florida, USA from Andover Primary in Acornhoek, South Africa. The school requested a borehole after citing the hardships the students faced without water. Toilets were inoperable and learners could not wash their hands or get a drink. Andover School had long been marked as a promising drilling site by the time A Spring of Hope drilled there in 2010 after acquiring the appropriate funds. The school maintained a garden, full of corn in the summer, but overrun by dried corn stalks in the cold winter. The well, as it happened, went right in the middle of the garden, and we can expect that by next year, the sprawling dead corn stalks will be replaced by lush greenery. To see more pictures of Andover Primary, please visit our
gallery.
Hoedspruit Independent
School
Location: Hoedspruit, South Africa
Grades: 8-12
Number of students: 225
Hoedspruit Independent is a private school founded by the visionary principal, Axon, and is at present A Spring of Hope’s only project at a private school. Having grown up in the Acornhoek region and recognizing the importance of an education, Axon started a private school that now incorporates practical subjects such as graphic design,
business accounting, and engineering into the curriculum, all in an effort to make education work for students. Free from regulations that govern public schools, Axon finds it easier to hire
educators who are qualified to teach these courses. Having been forced to relocate after the government took away it’s land for development, Hoedspruit Independent found a new home in 2008, settling on a barren piece of land between Hoedspruit and Acornhoek, South Africa and erecting trailer classrooms
and converting permanent classrooms into temporary dormitories. The school struggled to attract students without water, and the beat-up Isuzu pickup truck the school bought to lug tanks of water up to the school each day was quickly breaking down.
Since our well project was completed in 2009, Hoedspruit Independent has seen a recovering student population, increased funding, a fully staffed kitchen, and showers for the students. A full-sized dormitory is in the works and things are looking up for the school. To see more pictures of Hoedspruit Independent, please visit our gallery.
Buwaiswa Orphanage Children
Home
Location: Buwaiswa, Uganda
Working with the
Organization for Good Life of the Marginalized , A Spring of Hope helped
provide impoverished children get water by funding the
installation of a well and handpump for the orphanage.
Buwaiswa Children’s Home is a place of last resort for orphans who do not have family or neighbors who will look after them. The orphanage looks to contact distant family members, willing members of the community, or foster families to look after children whenever possible. Because the orphanage is 18 miles from the nearest medical facility with just a bicycle
ambulance for transport, it is especially important that sanitation be a high priority. The village of Buwaiswa relies on a single borehole for its water supply, which is able to provide 20 litres of water every three to four days for each family, enough for drinking purposes. A Spring of Hope's well now helps reduce pressure on the borehole and supply the orphanage and the community with clean drinking water.
Lethepele Secondary School
Location: New Line Village, Acornhoek, South Africa
Grades: 8-12
Number of students: 631
Led by principal Mr. M.P. Morale, this school, tucked away in the backroads of Acornhoek, remains one of A Spring of Hope's most rural schools. The administration and students are very happy to have water. Plans to maintain a prolific food garden are underway.
Leoma Secondary School
Location: Finale Village, The Oaks, South Africa
Grades: 8-12
Number of students: 600
Led by the personable principal M.J., this school has made full use of their well installed in 2009. Situated in one of the poorest districts, Leoma, like all the other public schools at which we have worked, charges no fees for students to attend. The well, installed in 2009, has allowed for mealie meal and beans delivered by the government to be cooked at school. The availability of food at school has reduced hunger and thirst among the students, improving concentration in the classroom, and has reduced the amount of crime in the area surrounding the school. A nearby waterless school now comes to Leoma as one way to help address their water challenges. To see more pictures of Leoma High, please visit our
gallery.
Daniye Primary School
Location: Thulamahashe, South Africa
Grades:R-7*
Number of students: 500
Daniye is an R-7 school made up of three blocks of classrooms, one of which has electricity. Before A Spring of Hope put in a well, the school had a small vegetable garden that grew only in the summer and
learners made use of pit toilets without sinks, like most other rural schools. In 2008, A Spring of Hope visited the school for a well-opening ceremony where students performed skits and
danced. To see more pictures of Daniye Primary, please visit our
gallery.
Beretta Primary School
Location: Acornhoek, South Africa
Grades:R-7*
Number of students: 947
Beretta Primary was the first school to receive a well from A Spring of Hope. Under the leadership of Leanette Sithole, the school was a vibrant community, but stricken by a high AIDS orphan population. Before the well was installed, the school struggled to maintain a food garden. Since the well was installed in May 2006, the school has flourished. Having won R10,000 in a gardening competition, the school is at it again this year, this time going for a grand prize of R100,000. A significant amount of food produced
by the garden goes to struggling orphans and students' diets. The surplus fruits and vegetables are sold at holiday times to needy families in the community at below market price, supplementing Beretta's budget. Beretta Primary boasts award-winning sports teams and a variety of extracurricular activities including traditional dancing. Lynette credits the school's recent successes to the motivation the well brought upon the school's community, the motivation to do better.
See
our story to read more about Beretta Primary. To see more pictures of Beretta Primary, please visit our
gallery.
*Grade R, or reception year, is the South African
equivalent of kindergarten.
