Visit to the School October 22
Mhairi and team were able to visit the school and farm in October 22.
Their visit coincided with donated books arriving for the library
They also had chance to visit the farm.
Scroll down to see what they found
School Library
The Jack Springford school library is now bursting with books. As you can see from the slide show more were delivered whilst we were there. Thanks to all who donated old children's books
Watch this space for a post Christmas call out for more good quality primary school age children's books
Thoughts from a Scottish student visitor
My first impression of the school was how excited and energetic the children are. Before we had even entered the school gate, some of the children were running along the other side of the hedge to greet and welcome us. My second impression was how basic their facilities were. The classrooms accommodated around 30 students and consisted of a blackboard, desks for the students and some shelves with textbooks on it.
We had the opportunity to see the dorms for the younger children. In each room there were about 50 bunk beds in a single room, meaning about 60 or 70 children had to board in the same room. Despite this, the girls seemed very happy and committed to their education.
The best recent developments of the school’s resources has been the construction of their new library. I was lucky enough to visit this library and help unpacked over 700 pre loved books that had been donated to the school through School Lunches for Kamuli. The girls who helped us move the books into the library were incredibly grateful and very excited to read some new texts.
I then had chance to go and visit the farm which is another great support to the school partially funding by SLK. The land is a narrow strip about a mile long and the farm is run entirely by the school staff and parents. The farm grows a huge range of different crops, including potatoes, maize, rice, and lots of different fruit. Additionally they also keep livestock, specifically cattle and are hoping to add goats in the future. This farm is crucial to the meals that the students receive every day and produce such as rice and maize are used directly to feed the students. Also any excess produce can be sold and the profits used to provide the school with additonal resources, either food or educational materials.
This thriving school of happy engaged children is due to the development of this farm, library and provision of a daily school lunch. It has meant that many more of the girls are able to concentrate in school and so are more likely to succeed in their future.
Alex Kirk October 2022
Images From the Farm
