Our First Nonprofit Community School

As spring blooms across the Northern Hemisphere, the first term in Ugandan secondary school is in full force. For 55 students this is not a repeated routine to be taken for granted. Only a few months ago, these students did not have a school, yet thanks to the Tusubira Trust, dozens of youth now have the opportunity to blossom into educated young adults.

How did this happen?

Thanks to the hard work of CEP- Uganda (Child Empowerment Programme), YANA Community High School opened in early February 2017. The school remains a work in progress, but nevertheless teachers are present, classes are full, and we can see that opportunity is abundant. Carol and Joel, two of our Tusubira board members took a visit to the community in December and learned that there was a desire for more community members to gain access to secondary school. In Uganda, secondary school is not provided for free and for the past several years Tusubira has tried to bridge this gap through scholarships to vulnerable and needy youth. But for the same price of a scholarship we are now able to provide ten students a full, community-based education. For some non-profits and donors, this may have been intimidating, and with no doubt it has been for us.  We knew that the best approach was to listen to the community we serve in Uganda. Already, we are enthusiastic about the results:

• 55 students enrolled full-time in secondary school

• 8 teachers running a full slate of secondary courses

• Electrical connections installed for the school

• Student body elections held, electing Jumba Arafat as president and Bazibu Mariam as vice-president

• Teachers have met to discuss performance and assess improvements

None of this would be possible without donations from people like you! This is an opportunity to make a real change for numerous lives. Even a small amount can have a significant impact as it only takes $25 to provide one Ugandan student an education for one term. Each donation is a light cracking through the ceiling of generational poverty and endemic unemployment. Help do your part as we seek to chip away, one student at a time to open doors and grant opportunity to a new generation of Ugandan youth.