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Uganda, Africa

UGA07a - Marumba Christian School, Rukungiri

• View report dated: January 31, 2015

• View report dated: August 23, 2015

• View report dated: January 16, 2016

• View report dated: July 13, 2016

• View report dated: May 5, 2017

• View report dated: September 9, 2017

• View report dated: February 21, 2018

• View report dated: September 9, 2018

• View report dated: July 7, 2019

• View report dated: September 20, 2019

• View report dated: May 28, 2021

• View report dated: March 29, 2022

• View report dated: February 21, 2023

• View report dated: December 20, 2023

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Report Date: November 11, 2022

Report from BHW Uganda Partnership Facilitator Following Visit October 2022

This is a report from our meetings on the 20th and 21st October with Justus and Reuben during the short conference that we held in Jinja. We needed to meet with them there because we were unable to visit Rukungiri during this trip.

Recent Events

Activities

The school is actually still doing well, although experiencing significant difficulties. There are 195 pupils in the school at present, 40 of whom are supported by Compassion International (TEAR Fund). Unfortunately, after an increase in the school fees earlier this year the roll has reduced by 100 students from about 300.

The school is also now subject to much higher compliance requirements and there are now eight new taxes on the school which were not there prior to the COVID-19 lockdown.  

COVID-19

The school was hugely affected by the Covid lockdown. The whole country ground to a halt for two years and no education was carried out. The school was able to reopen though and there was some support funding from Bright Hope World and other donors to enable teachers to receive part salaries. It is a real credit to the management of this school that it has been able to reopen. At least 1,500 schools in this country have closed through the pandemic, many of them having been foreclosed on by the banks.  

BHW Financial Support

Bright Hope World’s official support of Marumba School officially came to an end in 2016 but was extended for a couple of years after that. Since then, there have been many further requests, most of which have been met by BHW, for specific support at various times. This has been OK and it has been great to be able to support the school. The school is extremely well presented and is doing a wonderful job in a very poor community. This has been the reason why we have continued with the support for the school. 

There are however a few reasons why BHW will not be looking at any further support requests in the immediate future, and long-term school support does not really feature in the ongoing strategy for BHW. There are potentially other sources of income (funded via the EM fund - UGA07b) which are likely to ensure that this school will continue.

Comments

We continue to uphold this school and the people who run it in prayer and there is a lot to give thanks for here. We can see that it has a good future, however there are no plans to continue our ongoing financial support.