Construction of the building was completed in 2022 thanks to your generosity – then we added infrastructure so the school is now fully operational!
We appreciate your support that allows us to continue providing quality education to the current children and many generations to follow.
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, cost 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 needed 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.
We also successfully completed fundraising for these items:
- Fence: we needed to build a fence around the school and playground, to keep the many children safe from attacks by wildlife, especially buffalos and elephants. In 2023, 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 was~ $11,636 (approx. $27 per foot). We raised these funds successfully.
- Play ground structures. We had workers construct structures (swings, slides), and also play structures made with recycled materials (such as old tires). See below for some pics and clips. The school has currently 2 swing sets, and 2 slide sets, but with the many children, can always use more.
Our fundraising priorities are currently:
1). First priority: Monthly Operating expenses: teacher/staff salaries ($532 per month) and lunches for all children ($333 per month) $865 per month, or $10,830 per year
2). Second priority:
- Other regular expenses: educational materials, art supplies, school uniforms ($10 per child), toys
- Additional play structures for the play yard (cost varies from $500 to $1500 depending the structure).
We appreciate any support you can provide towards giving these children a better start with their education.
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.
Summer 2025: (click on individual pics to see enlarged version)
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.
