This is the blog for Rhona and Bobby Hogg's VSO experience in Uganda. In August 2008 we applied to do VSO and, following an assessment day in London last October, we were accepted as volunteers . Because of the strong Scottish links, we had set our sights originally on Malawi where we spent a week in June 2008 but joint placements are difficult to find and in February we agreed with VSO to open up the search. At the end of March we were delighted to be offered placements in Kampala, Uganda. We are to work for a HIV and AIDS initiative called Reach Out Mbuya (http://www.reachoutmbuya.org/) where, we hope, Rhona's community nursing experience and Bobby's IT experience will prove useful.

We are due in Kampala on 18th September and have committed to spend a year there. We are very excited about the prospect of living in a very different part of the world and working with Ugandans who, from many reports, are fun to be with. We expect there to be many challenges but our stay in Uganda should be immensely enjoyable.

We are indebted to VSO for giving us this opportunity. Our preparation, including 2 training courses in Birmingham, has been excellent and we are confident about the in-country support that we will get from VSO in Uganda. I understand that it costs VSO around £15,000 to support each volunteer. If you would like to make a donation to support our placements in Uganda please visit the Just Giving site through the link opposite.

Tuesday 17 August 2010

The Royal Pride Academy

Well! In 4 weeks time we expect to be home barring any airport strikes. Our attention is focused on end of placement reports and checklists for our return.
The last of our scheduled visitors departed on Thursday. We had an enjoyable time with my sister, Anne, and her husband, Wofgang who live in Germany. They were with us for 2 weeks on their first visit to Africa and experienced the chaos of Kampala traffic as well as the abundant wildlife and the friendly Ugandans.
Before we left last September a number of our friends gave us money to put to a "good cause". If you have read many of our blogs you will realise that we are aware of too many good causes in Uganda and choosing one has been difficult. However there is a primary school not far from where we stay (on the  other side of Mutungo Hill).  


The Royal Pride Academy has 200 primary school children with seven teachers for the classes P1 to P7. It is a private school (no funds come from the government) and is dependent on the fees paid by parents. Although the government has introduced universal primary education, the reality is that in most places, including Kampala, there are no state-funded schools and many children do not attend school. The school is located in a slum area of Kampala so the concept of a private school in the UK couldn't be further removed. The school has little resources apart from the dedicated head, Godfrey, and his staff who we think receive no pay.
 
You will see from the photos that the buildings are basic. 

The school is at the foot of the hill and until recently the classrooms were regularly flooded. The partner of one of the volunteers recently organised the builiding of the concrete plinths to keep the classrooms above water level and the chute and roundabout were provided by another volunteer. 
It is likely other funds will be given to improve the buildings so we are adding our contribution to this. We hope those who gave us money to use in Uganda will feel that this is a worthwhile project.


On another note, we were delighted to hear yesterday from our younger son, Hamish, that he and Morven are engaged.  With David and Kelli's wedding next spring, 2011 should be an exciting year.
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