Kitazigurukwa School

Having a disability in Uganda is a serious disadvantage. Disabled children are often viewed as “useless” as they cannot assist their family with work in the fields or look after younger siblings at home. However,the Diocese in Rukungiri is helping to change this mindset and a new school specifically for disabled children has been planned and approved. Currently in the Rukungiri district there are very limited facilities for disabled children so in 2012, we shall be working with the Diocese to start the construction of a new school facility at Kitazigurukwa – the first of its kind outside Kampala.

There is a mainstream primary school currently at the site at Kitazigurukwa and a single classroom for a deaf class with 5 children. The existing school buildings are in good condition and we aim to integrate facilities for disabled children on this site. The school would cater for a variety of physical and mental disabilities with specialist teachers and facilities to enable these children to have the same opportunity of education as those in the mainstream school. Where possible, the children would not be segregated.

2012 will see the start of the extension of this school. Evas at the Diocese leads a project specifically for disabled children so she and her team will be bringing their expertise to this project. The team complete surveys to locate and assess children with disabilities in the area and a school of this nature is what many families with disabled children have been waiting for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sending your child to a specialist school in Kampala is too costly for most families so having a local specialist facility is a real answer to prayer. Evas has been working for many years to stop the stigma experienced by children with disabilities and their families – her motto is that every child is a blessing from God.

Mission Direct volunteers will be involved in building a new classroom block suitable for disabled students, a girls and boys dormitory for the disabled students with accommodation for their matron or carer and a kitchen for the disabled students. The budget for this is approximately £35,000.

What you will be doing

You will spend your mornings on the building site – no previous experience or special skills are required; just a willingness to take part and to learn from the patient local builders.

Visits

In the afternoons, you will visit a number of our partners around Rukungiri, including education, health and self-sufficiency projects within the local community. By way of encouragement you will see some of the schools that Mission Direct has helped to rebuild in previous years and maybe join in with some of the lessons.

There are a number of vibrant projects across Rukungiri that you will get to visit, including the Mothers Union Vocational Training Centre – that gives young women a valuable skill to make their way in the world. You will also visit the Growers, Orphaned and Disabled Children’s Project, a Church run project which simultaneously helps chilli farmers and deaf children. They work together to raise money and, at the same time offer care and education for the children who would otherwise be destitute.

 

Off Duty for Swim ‘n’ Safari

During the free time you will visit the Queen Elizabeth National Park and wind down with a short safari. So, pack your camera and get ready to spot lions, elephants, hippos and buffalos.