https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AbU8udFGGSI?si=lX1NE4SvOjyTtuWn

During a recent trip to a small village in Uganda, our group of friends stayed at a lodge adjacent to a small primary school where we ended up connecting with the students and playing with them for an entire afternoon. Afterwards the head teacher Mr. Jerome thanked us for spending time with them as they rarely get the opportunity to interact with outsiders.

He then informed us that out of the 140 students that he teaches, 36 of them are orphans, for which they have graciously decided to house at the school since they don't have anywhere else to go. This small village has limited economic opportunity and most of the villagers rely on catching fish in the two local lakes that are infested with hippos and crocodiles. Many villagers must use fishing nets in these waters (sometimes at night with no flashlights) to feed their families; consequently, most of these children are orphans because their parents were killed trying to retrieve these nets.

The government doesn’t provide funding for any of the facilities or the school supplies; thus, the school relies 100% on community donations. They currently teach classes in tents donated by UNICEF, and the majority of the orphans sleep on mats at night due to the lack of mattresses. They rely almost completely on donations from local farmers or fisherman in the community for their food supply. These donations are sporadic and inconsistent. In fact, we were informed that with 3 weeks left in the semester, they were almost completely out of food.

We asked Mr. Jerome for an itemized list of what his school needs and this is what he humbly requested.

20 mattresses: $1680

560 children's books: $480

140 Mathematical sets: $200

200 Pens: $56

200 Pencils: $28