Construction of the building was completed in 2022 thanks to your generosity – now we are working on infrastructure!
There was a partially constructed kindergarten school in Rwenshama village. This school was started by another organization but was never completed and abandoned when the organization left. Thanks to support of several generous donors of Sahaya International, we were able to finish the construction of this school, and the inauguration happened on July 20, 2022. This is now the Sahaya BACHO kindergarten school! The local government gave ownership of this school to BACHO. Very few places in Uganda have a kindergarten school, so this is a very unique opportunity to set children on the right path from a young age. To develop this school program further and optimize the various activities for the children, we receive guidance from teachers in the USA and Belgium via nearly daily communications, for which we are very grateful.
The school has a an approximate enrollment of 120 children.
The school was in dire need of proper furniture . Instead of purchasing relatively cheap plastic furniture (which won’t last long), it was better to have a local carpenter make wooden desks and benches. One set of table and chairs, which can fit 6 children, costs approximately 320 USD. Smaller children will play on carpets. Our target goal for fundraising for furniture (tables and chairs, including for the teachers; book shelves) was approximately $7000. In addition, we need also storage bins, toys, books, school uniforms, and many other educational materials, estimated to cost about $3,000. So this was a subtotal of 10,000. Thanks to a fundraising campaign, including a $5,000 matching gift by an anonymous donor, we were able to reach this goal! Scroll down to see some pictures of the furniture being delivered to the school.
Our fundraising priorities are for infrastructure and operational expenses listed below. Can you help? Any donation, makes a difference!
1). Operating expenses (teacher salary and lunch for all children): $865 per month, or $10,830 per year
2). Fence: we need to build a fence around the school and playground, to keep the many children safe from attacks by wildlife, especially buffalos and elephants. Recently an injured buffalo from Queen Elizabeth National Park has been roaming around the village including around the kindergarten school, and has been terrorizing the people, with already a few injuries. The cost for a full fence, consisting of concrete poles and strong metal wire is ~ $11,636 (approx. $27 per foot). We raised already $9000, so are still in need of $2,636. Can you help?
3). Play ground structures. We want to build play structures (swings, slides), including structures made with recycled materials (such as old tires). Our current budget estimate is $5,000. We will focus on this once the fence (item #2) has been completed.
If you like to contribute:
- For online donations, click on this donate button below. Note that this incurs some transaction fees.
- To avoid any transaction fees, you can also mail a check, made payable to “Sahaya International”, with note BACHO kindergarten to Sahaya International, 1504 Portola Street, Davis, CA 95616. Please provide your email address so we can e-mail you a tax receipt.
We are grateful for any support you can provide.
Big thank you to several special supporters who raised funds for the school in 2024:
- A donor, who preferred to remain anonymous, matched all first donations for the furniture and toys up to $5,000.
- Peggy Stein (retired kindergarten teacher) had her birthday on May 3, and asked her friends/relatives to make a donation towards this kindergarten school. To donate to her specific fundraising campaign, click on this link below:
https://givebutter.com/peggy-birthday
Peggy (left) who was raising funds on the occasion of her birthday Summer and Fall 2024: The pictures highlight the delivery of the new furniture, the students receiving school uniforms, and the construction of the fence. Click on individual pictures to see a larger version
Click below on individual pictures to see some pictures of the developments of this school.
