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Meet
Our Sister School in Africa!
Picture Slide Show
News from Uganda….
Rwentutu School is a primary school of
approximately 100 students, 25 of which board at the school! Our group
traveled approximately 55 hours to find a school full of beautiful
children and five young teachers… full of energy but working in
conditions which would bring you to tears. Each class had desks, a
shelf, a blackboard and a bucket of crayons… few textbooks and even
fewer books for writing in. The area is poor in a way that we just can’t
understand. Some families live in mud huts with thatch roofs… no power,
no water, small fires outside to cook over. The school site is
breathtaking however, in the shadow of the Rwenzori Mountains which
border the Congo. The school itself is newly finished and consists of
two buildings with four classrooms… water arrived on site by way of a
pipeline while we were there… it was an amazing event and will make a
real difference in the lives of the children and staff… there is still
no power however. The group in Vancouver who has built the site funds it
through private donations – they will continue to raise money to build a
proper dorm, a medical facility, a multi purpose building with cooking
facilities… hopefully power will be a possibility. So many things we
take for granted – like water you can drink, medication to avoid disease
and death, families to look after you… the unacceptable sadness is that
many of these children struggle with basic existence… at any given time
we each had cause to question our own good fortune… mine came when a
young student, just 8, died of Malaria. It leaves you with a sadness you
can’t fathom but a determination to continue the important work of
supporting this amazing school. It was such a privilege to work beside
these dedicated teachers, to talk about education, to provide learning
materials, to share their days, their concerns and their teaching lives.
They have a passion for their work and for the children in their care…
two actually live on site and tend to all the needs of the young
students who live there, dawn to dusk… they make $80.00 a month. We are
so proud that our children have made a connection to the children of
Rentutu school… we plan to continue our friendship and find ways to make
the world ‘a smaller place’!
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