The primary school was open in May 2004. The 14 acres of land that have been given to Ezra also gives scope for training in modern farming methods and increase crop yields. This is to improve the quality of life and make the villagers more self sufficient. A drip irrigation system for a smallholding has been donated by Richard Conricus in Israel. It is soon to be set up and can be utilized for crop and vegetable irrigation. Expertize and materials are needed to make use of this to improve the villagers’ standard of living.
EZRA’s aim is to improve the living standards of the children in Bunambutye by
A. Giving them a good education.
B. Ensuring their health and well being.
C. Providing sponsorship for the support and equipping of the school, so that it can be self-sufficient.
A. When Mary first visited the village, the school was a mud hut where the children sat on logs on the floor and used corrugated tin sheeting for a blackboard. When the villagers saw Mary’s desire to help, they contributed 14 acres of land on which to build the school and contruction work began. The first building to be completed was the teachers’ accommodation block, which was finished in 2002.
Work continued on the first classroom block and the school was officially opened in May 2004, with an intake of 60 pupils and three teaching staff. In January 2005, the number of children attending the school rose to 90 and this number will continue to grow as more classroom blocks are added and become operational. At that time, there were 4 teaching staff, two cooks, two watchmen, a caretaker and a grounds man employed in the school.. Furniture and equipment for the school was donated by schools in South Wales and sent over.
B. Providing clean drinking water was essential to the health and well-being of all the villagers. Many people have died of cholera and dysentery from drinking the river water. Work began on a deep bore hole and after two unsuccessful attempts, the lives of the villagers was dramatically changed in Feb. 2004 when fresh water was found at 285 feet below the surface. Malaria was also causing health problems. To help counteract this, the children were given a bowl of porridge every morning which contained the leaves of the maringa tree which has anti-malarial qualities as well as many nutrients. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding this is no longer possible.
C. A sponsorship scheme has been set up. Regular monthly donations help to pay for the teachers’ salaries; school uniforms, books and learning materials.
THE KING’S PRIMARY SCHOOL PROJECT PROPOSAL (original proposal dated 1997)
1. INTRODUCTION
2. LOCATION OF PROJECT
3. PROBLEM STATEMENT
4. PROJECT OBJECTIVES
5. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
6. RESOURCES
7. BUDGET
8. FUNDRAISING
9. MANAGEMENT
10. CONCLUSION 1 INTRODUCTION
The objective of this paper is to give an insight into a modern school project to be built in a rural setting where are no such services for education.
The school shall be called The King’s Primary School. It will offer education to the very poor, disadvantaged village community where the Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education, has been unable to successfully establish schools. This school project is the initiative and effort of Mary Griffiths from Wales in the UK, who happens to be its founder.
Through the efforts of Mary Griffiths, a plot of land measuring 14 acres was donated by the villagers through the area chiefs in conjunction with a lawyer’s office (Dagira and Co. Advocates). The land is in the process of being registered in the name of EZRA.
2 LOCATION
The school project is located in Busyangi village, Bunambutye sub-county, Bulambuli County, Mbale district of Eastern Uganda. The project is 25 miles from Mbale town along the main road from Mbale to Moroto. The area is an agricultural, fertile flatland below the ranges of Mt. Elgon, which borders Uganda and Kenya. Two rivers run along either side of the project, one about 800 metres away and the other 200 metres.
3 PROBLEM STATEMENT
The people of Bushangi and the neighbouring villages have no school for their children to study. The only school in the village is a small temporary structure of three classrooms with no door, shutters, plastered walls, benches, chairs, or tables even for teachers. The community, therefore, desire a modern school with up-to-date facilities. In such a situation, Mary Griffiths was given the vision by God to believe Him for a modern primary school and eventually maybe even a secondary school.
4 PROJECT OBJECTIVES
a. General objective
The overall objective of this project is to put in place and run a modern Christian orientated school, which will offer high standards of education and instill Christian morals in the community.
b. Specific objectives
1. To build a modern school with double stream classes from Primary one to Primary seven.
2. To build an accommodation block for the teachers as part of the school campus.
3. To build other facilities e.g. administration block, toilet block, septic tanks, Art and Craft block, football and netball pitches and other facilities for games.
4. To provide clean water, electricity, telephone and other accessories for communication, information, entertainment and education.
5. To purchase and/or acquire vehicles, cycles and any other means of transport and communication aimed at facilitating the work of the school.
5 IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
PERIOD ACTIVITIES IMPLEMENTERS
July-August Building of accommodation block Danish builder and local Labour.
Sept-Nov Walls, doors, windows and roof Danish builder and local Of first classroom block labour. (8 classrooms in all)
Dec-Jan Completion of interior of first Local labour and volunteers
Classes of classroom block from UK
It is hoped the school will open in January 2001 using the first 4 classrooms.
The activities and plan for the year 2001 will be determined by the success of the on going fundraising by Trustees in the UK.
6 RESOURCES
The resources required to make the school project a success include the following :
* Building Materials
* Labour (casual manpower local to Bunambutye)
* Expertise (provided by Soren Pedersen, the Danish builder)
* Land (already donated)
* Transport (partially provided by the builder)
7 BUDGET
Refer to Soren Pedersen’s estimate for accommodation block for teachers. This does not include the cost of local materials such as bricks, sand and cement. Funds are already available for Phase 1.
8 FUNDRAISING
This project doesn’t have specific founders but God has provided and will continue providing funds through brethren and all well wishers of the school through Mary Griffiths. She has been and is still involved in fundraising drives in UK EZRA has now its own website and can be visited World wide (www.ezra.org.uk).
8.1 INDICATORS FOR SUCCESS
There are numerous indicators for the success and effectiveness of the school project which include the following :
1. The government of Uganda has provided a peaceful and secure environment for the project namely :
(a) The Central Government Representative of Mbale District is behind the facilitation of any recommendation for assistance from the Government, and Ministry of Education in particular.
(b) The local chiefs have pledged to support any cause for the success of the school from Resistance Council 1 to (RC 1) TO Resistance Council 5 (RC V).
(c) The local community in the Country has provided the land and is ready to provide the necessary help it can afford. (Community Contribution).
(d) The School is situated between a Police Post and an Army Detachment for the assurance of Security.
(e) The Trustees of Ezra are people of integrity and commitment to the whole project, so success is expected.
(f) Most Building materials are locally available and are relatively affordable.
(g) Transport will be facilitated as the builder has his own truck, which can be used for transportation of materials to site.
(h) Expertise (Engineers) is available and reliable for such a Job with maximum commitment and efficiency.
(i) Man power is undoubtedly available from the whole Village and beyond and the work can be done at a reasonable speed.
9 MANAGEMENT
The Trustees of Ezra will ensure the daily, monthly and annual Welfare of the school and its staff. It will liaise with and make recommendations and requests to the Ministry of Education, the Donors and other government and local organisations for the good of the project. They will also liaise closely with the local community.
10 CONCLUSION
This project will be build in phases depending on the regularity of the funds inflow from the sources of funding. It is expected and estimated that the school will take 2-3 years to be completed. After the primary school is completed and the school activities run smoothly, plans may be made for a Secondary School, and/or a Vocational Training Centre. The Project Workplan or implementation plan may change as deemed necessary and the budget revised accordingly.
Proposal and Feasibility Study done and compiled by:
Mary Griffiths (Project Leader) and Alwyn Griffiths (Solicitor and Trustee) with help from Pastor Luke Haumba (Trustee).
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