KEC-A Village of Hope

Andre from the Peace Corps provided grassroots training to the students of Kaguma Education Centre…it was called the Peace Corps SKILLZ Grassroots Soccer Program, where the students were certified to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Students were trained not only in soccer, but in skills of self-esteem, self awareness, and they were trained to be supportive to each other, to love, share, respect and care for oneself and for others.
They were trained on how to have a positive thinking and how to convert negative life (thoughts) to positive.

They marched along the streets surrounding Kaguma then had cake and those that trained were awarded certificates. Congratulations to the students who were awarded certificates and thank you to Andre and the Peace Corps for their support!!❤️

Last week was sanitation week and the students and community members participated in a general community clean up! They picked rubbish around the Kaguma Trading Centre and along Kaguma Street.
The activity was spearheaded by Andre Buller and Kasaija Yasin Darren (both from peace corps) and Asuman from AAID. Teachers participated in the activities as well. This was a community event to encourage cleanliness and good sanitation.

Last week it was National Drop everything and READ day in Uganda…Andre (from the Peace Corps) who was teaching soccer participated in the activities with the students from Kaguma Junior School, Kaguma Education Centre. Thank you Andre!!!!

We made a recent donation to purchase school uniforms for several children who could not afford them. It’s important for all children to feel that they are equal to every other student and uniforms help with this mind-set. They were all very happy!😃

Andre from the Peace Corps teaching soccer, training on positive thinking, sharing, creating friends, caring, setting goals and dreams! The students are thriving!!

We met Andre from the Peace Corps in Fort Portal, Uganda during our last trip to Uganda in June. Today was his second visit to the school and he met with some of the teachers. He is going to meet the children every Friday for a 1 hour soccer lesson. This is an out of classroom curriculum that equips children with health tips, creating friendships, assertiveness, etc... we are thankful for Andre’s commitment to engage with our school!! Thank you Andre!!

The 2024 year is in full swing at Kaguma Junior School! As always, the children are happy to be back at school! We are excited for the new year to start with our new Executive Director, Samuel Warawa….😃📚📖

We are very proud of the 2023, P7 graduation class at Kaguma Junior School!!! All students tested out at the district level one or two level. This is our first graduating class from P7 and we are extremely proud of all of them!!!🎓

Heave work-it does a body good!!!

Why heavy work is important, especially for sensory seekers.

https://ilslearningcorner.com/2016-05-heavy-work-activites-heavy-work-prevents-proprioceptive-dysfunction-and-fosters-proprioceptive-success/

The most significant thing for the Kaguma Community this summer was the dedication of a new Borehole/Well. The community came out to support the ceremony, sponsored by our Partner, Run4Water, a non profit based out of TN, who raises funds to install wells throughout Africa. Thanks to their terrific community support, they raised a significant amount of money to make this dream a reality for this community and for that, and fresh drinking water, the community as well as KEC-A Village of Hope are very appreciative for their outstanding efforts and ministry at Kaguma Education Centre.

CFC #24195: If you want to support an international charity in the areas of education, food and nutrition, and community improvement, choose KEC-A Village of Hope for your CFC beneficiary- choose CFC #24195!!!❤️😃❤️😃

We asked the teachers what their construction improvement needs were and then set off to complete the blackboard and desk projects. We purchased full sheets of plywood and put two coats of Black Chalk Paint on them to make fully functional and visible chalkboards for each of the classrooms. Also, the writing surfaces on some of the desks were almost doubled so that the students had wider writing surfaces. The teachers and students loved the improvements!

During the Wazi vision screenings, they identified scarring in this young girls eye, causing problems with her sight. With a very generous donation from Dr. Do, Keith’s ophthalmologist, we were able to send this young girl and her mother to a hospital, far away from their home, to get the proper eye surgery that she needed. She is doing well and is back in school!!!!

Friends that are U.S. Federal employees: CFC enrollment has begun! This is our first year being listed. Please consider adding KEC-A Village of Hope to your list of contributions. OUR CFC NUMBER IS 24195. As most of you know, this is a charity started by a few fellow Soldiers (we deployed together to Iraq) and some of our family members. This charity supports a local village school in Uganda and is making a difference in so many children's lives. We would love to start a breakfast program there. This is an excellent opportunity to make that dream come true. Please consider us when completing your form. Thank you!!

While we visited Kaguma Education Center in Western Uganda, we took the 6th and 7th grade students, school employees and board members on a day-long field trip, using the money that four of the KEC-AVOH board members donated from their yard sale profits!! On the field trip we visited the Equator, Salt Mines and the Queen Elizabeth National Park. We took a boat ride and a Safari tour. We saw thousands of hippopotamuses , and also elephants, impalas, and many other native animals. Most of the children and adults have never been that far away from their home or village before, so the day was filled with excitement, learning, and new experiences. During the trip, the children learned about science, history and social studies. We hope you enjoy the photos that we took during this big adventure. It was a remarkable experience for everyone!

These are the future leaders who ran for various offices within the school and won!! I love how our team there is teaching leadership and encouraging the students to play a role in the school!

It is customary to rent rooms for our staff. During our last visit we discovered that the rooms had dirt floors, so this is the recent dump of sand that they used to mix with cement to lay floors in two of the teacher's room! This will make their living environment much more clean and sanitary.

These are our P7 students in the classroom and outside learning about agriculture. They are a spirited bunch!

Here are some pictures of our students for the 2023 school year that started in February. We are looking forward to seeing them during our next visit. They are filled with so much spirit and joy!

In February, the team from Kyaninga presented Our PTA Chairperson, Mr. Musiime Wilson the special needs pit latrine. The P7 class together with Headteacher Patrick, and teacher Catherine were humbled by the support from Kyaninga. This is a very nice facility that the P7 class has access to, on the new school property.

KEC is experimenting with raising rabbits as a way to help support the school. These little guys sure are multiplying!!! The rabbits are given inoculations and the P7 students are learning about animal husbandry.

The end of the school year ended abruptly at the end of November because of an outbreak of Ebola in neighboring districts. The School celebrated the graduation of the Nursery Top Class (Kindergarten) with the School Board Chairman, Philip Ruhweza speaking to the parents about the value of education. He was followed by Jovail (Aderyi) Nuwagaba who represented the KEC-UG Board and she talked about Human Resources. Finally, Lydia Natsite, the bursar encouraged the parents to save their money so they could pay for school tuition and uniforms in the coming year.

Thank you for volunteering at Kaguma Education Centre. She has provided a lot of guidance to the school and they are very appreciative for all of her efforts. Here you see some of the older girls with their new uniforms!

This is the final 0.2 miles of a marathon that 100 MTCS elementary students ran to help raise money for the well for KEC! They raised $2500!

Many of you know that in the rural Village, that we support, there is no running water, electricity, internet, or modern sanitation. Just a few days ago, we brought solar power and Internet to our school. Now, teachers will be able to research online and we will be able to communicate better with our team on the ground. This is a giant step for this community and our school….