Community
5 December 2008
Uganda visit for Joanne McGuinness
Partner and Head of the Family Department, Joanne McGuinness has recently returned from a visit to Lungujja in Uganda.
Travelling in her role as a trustee of the The Kabanda Trust, Joanne visited Nansana Royal Primary School and the Rock of Joy Children’s Centre.
Although the Ugandan government provides universal primary education, in practice this means attending school with class sizes of over 100 children. Many parents have little option but to send their children to a fee paying school. Nansana Royal now has 150 pupils and charges fees but many families find it difficult to pay the £40/term school fees, particularly in time of illness, which means that the school struggles to make ends meet and children often miss large chunks of their schooling. A number of children are orphaned or live in one parent families due to the effects of HIV/AIDS.
At Rock of Joy Children’s Centre, with the support of the Kabanda Trust, they provide free schooling for 300 children who would otherwise not be able to access an education. The school has developed in the last four years from 12 children to its current numbers but it still has another 3 years to go before it will be completed & has the full complement of primary school classes. Joanne went out to meet the 9 teachers and other staff.
“The Kabanda Trust provides grants for specific items such as new classrooms, desks, equipment, stationery and school uniforms as well as providing funding for the boarding house. Additionally we have been able to send enough money each month to feed the children and for their health expenses.”
‘Since we founded the Trust in 2003, we have been overwhelmed by the interest and support. I think that people are so interested and give readily because it is a local charity founded in Trentham and we can give a complete guarantee that all the giving is well managed and reaches the children and the community. Having spent time in Lunguja I can absolutely testify that we have saved and changed lives. Our projects provide education, practical care and skills to the community to hopefully move towards self sufficiency in the future.’ comments Joanne.
The trust has recently launched a new web site, where there are many opportunities to support the charity through the purchase of cards, calendars and practical gifts such as mosquito nets. To find out more visit www.the-kabanda-trust.org.uk
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