Charity no NGOs.5914/7950

Transcription

1 Charity no NGOs.5914/7950 The Jinja Educational Trust was founded to support children in Jinja, Uganda, through education, health and welfare. Our aim is to help young people to develop the skills they need to be self- sufficient and to be able to support and take care of themselves in the future. By providing opportunities for education we can break the cycle of dependency on aid. In recent years we have seen an increasing need to support some of the orphanages in Jinja and to help with feeding the children as well. The cost of living has risen dramatically in Uganda in the last few years, and it has hit the most vulnerable the hardest. It is clear we must also care for the children if we are to educate them successfully. Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world with over half the population being under 16. Malaria, AIDS, and mothers dying in childbirth still claim many lives each year. A good education could save so many of these young people. Education is not free in Uganda and many children cannot afford to attend school regularly. 10 Years ago the Trust started by offering sponsorship to students to help them continue with their studies. However it became clear that the need was so great it was almost impossible to choose which students were to benefit. With that in mind we decided the most efficient way to take the Trust forward was to develop community schools which would benefit all the students. Community schools are those where the land is owned by the community for use by local children. We look for a school which has good management and governance, a strong parent body and most essentially a committed head teacher who will work well with us.

2 OUR PROJECTS We endeavour to establish a protocol with all the projects which clearly sets out the support the Trust will provide, and the standards we expect to be met in order for that support to be continued. All projects must be self- sustaining, caring and trustworthy. We work closely with the teachers and staff to ensure all projects are professionally run. All projects are identified for us by our Country Manager, who is from the UK but who lives in Jinja, and the Assistant Country Manager, who is Ugandan. All our building work is done by Haileybury Youth Trust, another UK based charity based in Jinja, who train local young people in building skills to work on the projects. If the initial checks on a project looks promising it will be visited by the trustees. Most Trustees visit annually although two trustees go three times a year. This ensures we keep a close eye on developments while supporting the Country Managers. Our constant presence reassures the local community that we see our work in Uganda as a long term commitment. We take one project at a time manage it well and make sure it is sustainable; our largest project to date is Mutai Senior School. This was in a dreadful state when we first visited 18 months ago with 200 students trying to work in 2 rundown classrooms. Within 6 months we had rebuilt the school to a place the community can be proud of, and which can now attract better teachers and more students. Oct 2011 July 2012

3 We have 2 orphanages we assist. Mama Jane for 130 children between 3 and 16 years old, and Son Rise who take new- born to 7 years old. Son Rise will keep the children as they grow up but it is a project that was only started 5 years ago. At both homes we help with feeding the children and healthcare as well as with education. Both homes are run by inspirational women who have proved exceptional managers and carers. We have built a medical clinic, new classrooms and bedrooms at Mama Jane. At Son Rise we have refurbished the home; we provide food and fund the education for all school age children. Happy, healthy children who all need a good education as this is the only chance an orphanage child has of a future away from the streets. At 16 most orphans leave the home with just 10 to make their own way. As well as these projects we help two nursery schools and two primary schools. We do not own any of the projects as we believe the local people need to take responsibility for them; we are there to support and work alongside them. All projects are monitored by the Country manager who visits each one at least once a week to ensure our protocols are being followed. The Country manager reports back regularly to the CEO Trustee, who is in the UK. Trustees aim to meet 6 times a year, once during a trip to Jinja.

4 Future Projects Mutai has proved a huge success with the community who have taken it upon themselves to plant the school grounds and keep it tidy. The school numbers have increased and a bursar appointed to manage the funds. We had always envisaged Mutai as part of a much bigger project including a sixth form and vocational classes. However it is essential to do this in stages. This gives us a chance to see how the school manages the new buildings and that they are used appropriately and looked after. With Mutai we are confident that they are ready for the next phase and we will be starting a new lab, classroom block and staff living quarters (by law we must build this) next week. This will enable Mutai to have a sixth form at the start of the next academic year, which will be in January We are also looking to develop their agriculture as a vocational course as they have much of what is needed on site already. The Head master informs us this would be a very useful first vocational course for some of his students and it is an A Level subject in Uganda. Buyala Community School. This is in a rural area about 10 KMs from the centre of Jinja. It has many similarities to Mutai in its governance and leadership; it has 400 pupils between 3 and 12 years old who currently work in wooden rooms 80 to a room. It is hard to work when the rains come through the walls, and the headmaster doesn t even have any walls to his office! A new school here could transform the whole community, we hope to start with a new classroom block of 4-6 classes in October. At Mama Jane we will refurbish the textiles room so that this can be used to teach the older children a skill to get work when they leave.

5 Our Future The Jinja Educational Trust is committed to offering the best we possibly can for the children in our care. We need to provide a good education with healthcare to ensure the children can make the very best of all the opportunities offered to them. We work closely with several supporter schools in the UK. These schools are generous in their financial support and educational support. This year we have several experienced teachers who are spending 3 weeks of their summer holidays to help develop the education across all the projects we support. This will be to offer us an overall view of the management and quality of education. They will work with the local teachers to see what can be done to support the work they are doing, the idea being not to impose our ways on them but rather to use our expertise to enhance what is already being done. Some have been before and this has proved very successful. We have the support of doctors and dentists in the UK who visit to offer the children free healthcare and medical examinations. This is part of the overall approach of caring for the wellbeing of the whole child so they can make the most of the opportunities offered to them. We fundraise through schools and rotary clubs in the UK as well as having a loyal base of personal supporters. This year we held our first big fundraising event which was a dinner in London attended by over 350 people. We were quite amazed and overwhelmed by the generosity of those who came. This has enabled us to rebuild Buyala and look for further projects.

6 We have a good network of local contacts in Jinja who support and help the Trust, without this we would not be able to function as effectively as we do. In all we have over 1,000 children in our combined projects and it is essential we can give these children the confidence that they can rely on our continued support. With this they can be encouraged to make successful and independent lives for themselves. Many many more children deserve this chance and if we are able to enhance more schools both from rebuilding and through educational support we could make a huge impact in in Jinja. The area has so much going for it; it is rich in natural resources, it is a stable peaceful place, the children are so willing to learn and desperate to attend school. More local businesses are starting to open up and there is a real positive feeling about at the moment. We must make sure the children have the education to make the most of this and they are able to go forwards with their community. Sue Symonds

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