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King's International Nursery and Primary School was set up by Naomi 5 years ago as she saw a real need for many of the children in the area to be educated in a way that would inspire them to achieve their very best and to make a difference to Uganda with their lives and ambitions. The school is an independent international school, which follows the British Curriculum and focuses on learning through investigation and every day activities, rather than on rote learning, which is the learning style of most Ugandan primary schools. As King’s is an independent school it gets no funding from the Ugandan government. Instead it relies on school fees from parents in order for it to run and for the rent to be paid on the building, as well as living costs for the family that live in the school which include Naomi and her son, her parents, the ex street boys, and 4 younger children whom she has also adopted from difficult family situations.
However, many of the children who attend the school (around 70% of the 56 pupils enrolled) are from the slums and other very deprived areas of the city, so are unable to afford any of the fees. This means that the school is constantly struggling for finances as Naomi would never stop any of the children coming to the school on the grounds that they can't afford the fees. The school has recently relocated to Muyenga which is a more well-known area of the city in order to attract some more fee paying children so that the school can survive and progress. However this means that the rent for this building is considerably higher than before and at present the school is really struggling even to keep up with the rent.
I am a qualified primary school teacher and I went out to Uganda in February - April this year. Due to finances I was unable to stay longer, although I would have loved to. There is so much work to be done and with my qualification and experience I gained on my PGCE course I was able to help the school in many ways. I helped with planning and training of the staff, who are Ugandan, and are trained in a very different way compared to teachers in the UK. It was an absolutely life changing time and the people in that school have taught me so much. I would really like to go back out again to help some more and I am working very hard to make this possible as Naomi greatly benefits from support through volunteers as well as finances.
At present the school is not supported by any Charity in Uganda or the UK. I am writing to your Trust to request any possible funding you can give to the school, to help it become more sustainable and for it to continue providing the excellent education, love and care that it gives to some of the most underprivileged children in Kampala. The long term aim for the school is to have its own building so it can expand to include more of the city’s poorest children and give them access to good quality education.
At this point in time it will be impossible for the school to continue into the academic year 2013/2014 if they do not receive any funding. The school is losing some fee-paying children due to emigration, which has impacted significantly on the school’s finances. The closure of the school would have a huge impact on the children from the slums who attend the school, not only on their chances of a good education but also their health as the school also provides their meals for them as well as meeting many of their emotional needs. Although there are some Ugandan primary schools that are not fee-paying, the children who attend these have to provide reams of paper for the school, buy their own uniform and stationery and provide their own lunch. These expenses therefore make it impossible for the children from the slums to attend any school if King’s International were to close.
The school’s long term aims are to instil a love of learning and education into these children, many of whom have come from really traumatic and hopeless situations. Many of these children have suffered abuse at such a young age and witnessed things that have the potential of robbing them of their childhood. Naomi wants to nurture and educate these children through King's International School, to give them back their childhood, and also to help them realise that there are people who care for them and love them and that each one of them is an individual with strengths and dreams for their future that can be fulfilled if they really work hard to achieve their potential. She wants them to realise that they are capable of making a change to their own situations and their futures and that they have the potential to have a positive effect on their community and country as a whole. The school also provides some financial and emotional support where it can to the families of its poorest students. Regarding the fee-paying children at Kings, this has proven to be an excellent experience for them in learning that equality and fairness in education should be extended to all children, regardless of social background. This is a key element in helping to break down social divides that exist in education in Uganda.
I know this project seems such a small, almost insignificant one to many people, especially in the light of so many other problems of hunger and war and economic depression in the world and I believe this is why it has been difficult to raise interest and support in it. But I firmly believe that this small project has the potential to have a significant impact on the community and even Uganda as a whole. Every child has the right to an education that will nurture them, build up their confidence and love of learning and I believe that when this is instilled into children from developing countries, it can have a profound impact on the future of that country as a whole, as it changes the attitudes of the next generation and can help to break the vicious cycle of poverty and hopelessness which is such a common theme in so many developing countries across the world.
When I visited the school and learnt about the horrific starts that some of these children have had to their lives and yet I saw them smiling, laughing and so eager to learn, with dreams for the future, I knew this project was a worthwhile one and that is why I am so passionate about helping to keep this school going.
The school aims to raise £5000 in order to keep running into the next year. The money will go towards daily food for the children from the slums who attend the school as well as, resources for the school, staff wages, fuel for the mini bus, running costs for the building such as electricity, gas and water bills and also the rent for the building. ANY financial support that you are able to contribute would be so greatly appreciated.
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