All Ugandan girls should be able to go to school!

Many students both young and old in the United States are daydreaming about upcoming spring break vacations filled with trips to Disneyland, endless hours of playing video games with friends, and heading to the beach or slopes for some fun thrills.

Nyaka and Kutamba Primary Students on the other hand are headed back to school to begin yet another year of walking away from systemic poverty into a future filled with hope and promise.

Our students look forward to going to school.

Can you imagine your child getting up before dawn excited to finish morning chores so that they can walk upwards of 7 miles to school barefoot each and every day?

In this mountainous region, truly, the walk is uphill both ways. While it doesn't involve snow, the walk does involve a lot of rain during the rainy seasons from March through May and again in October and November.

Why are they excited? Clean water, two daily meals, friends, and teachers who have become their mentors and surrogate family await them each and every day they make the trek!

On March 14, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project!  There is  $75,000 available in matching funds.  This means your donation will go 30% further.  In addition to the 30% match, GlobalGiving is offering a  $1,000 bonus to the project that raises  the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors! 

Please give a generous gift early on March 14th and in the interim - please tell your friends about The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project!

Remember, The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project doesn't select students based on their academic merit, but rather need.

Our students are the poorest of the poor who have no one else to help them get a leg-up in this world. They live with their elderly grandmothers in leaky homes that lack electricity, food security, and clean water.

Your donations have ensured that our girls who uphold their end of the bargain by attending school, working hard, and passing their year-end exams are guaranteed warm food in their bellies.

You have changed their world and their lives.

Thanks to you, school fees have been paid for our secondary girl students. School uniforms have been procured and other coveted school supplies like pencils, books, and paper have purchased.

Without donors like you, our girls would be among the scads of students in Uganda who are not allowed to attend primary and secondary school because there is no one to pay their school fees.
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Economic Impact: Teachers like Bridget who is in charge of the preschool students at Kutamba Primary School have an opportunity to earn a living in a country plagued by unemployment. She writes,
"I grew up in Kanungu and attended Greatlakes Regional College. I have 30 students this year who are going to learn about counting and new words. I am most excited about teaching them numbers and English lessons. I particularly love teaching the nursery class students, as they enjoy learning at school so much! Thank you for your support."

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

Happy Valentine's Day!

We <3 our donors for their love, care, and support of our students who are girls and attend Nyaka and Kutamba Primary Schools or secondary school.  Visitors to the project often remark how grateful students like Irene (see the letter below) are for the education they're receiving thanks to donors like you.  If you need some warm fuzzies, read on...

Because of you,

*our fourth class of primary school graduates have gone on to attend secondary school - 97 students total - 56% are girls!

*97% have passed with a B or higher grade average.

*55% passed with a A or higher grade average, a feat not experienced by their counterparts who have parents who are alive and amenities of city life, like electricity and food security.

*the two students who wished to learn a trade instead have gone on to receive vocational training and gainful employment.

*both Nyaka and Kutamba Primary Schools are now bustling and full with average classes of 30 students in grades preschool - Primary 7.

*every day 487 students get two meals plus snack - for most this is their only meal of the day.

*25,000 community members enjoy clean water at the Nyaka Primary School.

*students and their caretakers have access to a nurse who can supply simple medicine like aspirin or tablets for tummyaches.

Because of you, nearly 500 children, the majority girls and 6,200 grandmothers' lives are just a little bit brighter and filled with hope.

That's why we <3 YOU.

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project