End of Year Newsletter 2022
Dear UKHF friends,
After a two year forced closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are happy to report that the students of Healing Focus School have just completed their first academic year!
The students were so excited to return to their classrooms and we are relieved to report that there were no cases of COVID at the school.
Our teachers were formidable in making sure students received their education packs during the school closure which meant Healing Focus students were prepared to sit their school exams and pass with flying colours.
In order to safeguard the wellbeing of the teachers, Healing Focus requested an increase in their salaries, which thanks to your generous donations, we have been able to fulfil.
We are also happy to report that the Secondary School students have excelled in their schoolwork and set a positive example in the classroom. Thanks to loyal donors to the Scholarship Fund, UKHF was able to send 5 new students to continue their education at Nkuutu Memorial Secondary School, managed by Moses Sekelala, with whom Healing Focus and UKHF have a strong and healthy relationship.
Thanks to a generous donation from a group of children and parents in The Netherlands we were able to install electricity in the new classroom block. This means students can continue learning no matter the weather or time of day.
A new dairy project was started at the school with the arrival two cows. These replaced the goats the school recently sold. One cow gives 15 litres of milk daily. 5 litres are used for the daily breakfast porridge and 10 litres are sold in the local market. Not only does this provide a wonderful benefit to the diet of the children it also creates an income of almost €80/£70 a month which is essential for the school. This exciting project is another step towards the self-sustainability of the school!
Esther Bagoole maintains her essential work with the girls at Healing Focus and Nukuutu Memorial with her Femlead program, empowering young girls to achieve their full potential. Furthermore, the 85 girls living in the dormitories are being trained in life skills to prepare them to live independently once they graduate from Healing Focus School. They are taught household chores, cooking, cleaning and gardening and are given monthly goals based on their strengths.
The Vocational Training Centre continues to be active despite the hard economic situation in the country post COVID. The tailoring workshop produces clothes and accessories, which are sold at the local markets. It was also contracted by a local gentleman to sew his family’s wedding clothes in the beautiful traditional ‘Kitenge’ fabric.
The computer workshop is ongoing with the Ugandan government making computer classes compulsory in all private schools.
Of course there have been challenges along the way. Food and fuel prices have quadrupled, a prolonged drought has had drastic effects on the school crops and water resources and the recent wave of Ebola meant all schools in Uganda were forced to close two weeks early to mitigate the spread. This decision has seen positive results and the Ugandan government recently announced that all schools would resume, as planned, at the beginning of February.
A letter from Esther
Hi everyone,
On behalf of the Healing Focus Centre I just wanted to send a quick note to thank you and wish you all a wonderful holiday season filled with love, hope, warmth, kindness, health, and relaxation! Whether you celebrate Christmas or another celebration during this time, I hope that you can gather with your loved ones and enjoy time together, cherished moments, and special memories of changing the lives of the unprivileged children of the Busiiro community.
All the students are in good health and they are looking forward to joining new grades next year 2023.
As we take the time to reflect on all things in the program, we are grateful to have collaborated with you all and to have interacted with you in one way or the other. I appreciate each of you for who you are and all that you provide to Healing Focus Centre.
Once again, thank you for all you have done for the students and community of Busiiro this year.
Happy New Year 2023
Moving Forward in 2023
The 2023 Scholarship Fund Currently, UKHF is unable to send any new students to secondary school due to lack of funds.
It costs £940.00 to send one child to secondary school for one year. Secondary School students remain in school for a 4-year period. If you wish to sponsor a child for the 4 years of their secondary school education, please donate here.
Water One of the biggest challenges the school is facing is water shortage. Despite having installed water tanks and guttering on all the school buildings, rainfall is scarce. In July, the situation was so desperate that students were forced to walk 15 km to the nearest community well to collect water. This not only disrupted school schedules but also caused great anxiety within the community.
A long-term, sustainable solution is to dig a borehole on the school property. Feasibility studies have taken place and the project has been given the green light!
The total cost of digging a well amounts to £17,000.00.
We have been incredibly fortunate to receive £7,643.92 towards this project from our wonderful friends at The Adventurer’s Summit so we are well on our way, but we still need to raise the remaining funds.
If you can, please help by donating here.
Food The price of beans and maize has skyrocketed and the school is struggling to feed the students a healthy balanced diet. They have had to resort to rationing in order to make the food last.
UKHF is doing its best to help with the running costs of the school, which includes covering food, scholastic and health care expenses but we are running dangerously low on funds.
The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation has been gracious in providing us with funds towards the running costs but even then we only have enough to keep the school open for a few months.
Regular donations are what keep the school running. A monthly donation of as little as £5.00 can mean a child is fed a healthy, balanced diet for a year. Please help if you can by making a monthly donation here.
A little goes a long way in Uganda!
The new Nursery Building A project to rebuild the collapsing wooden nursery block was stalled due to changing regulations and the pandemic.
The Simon Catchpole Foundation has been fundamental in getting this project off the ground and we are hopeful that building will commence in 2023.
Watch this space!
All of us at UKHF, Esther Bagoole and all the children and staff of Healing Focus School thank you so much for your continued loyalty, generosity and support.
We wish you a wonderful festive holiday and a healthy and happy New Year.
UKHF Trustees