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Give priority to girls dormitory
Dear friends!
Thank you everyone who believes in the education of disadvantaged children. We continue to get your support and donations, we have just received 431 USD for the month of May 2023.
Our monthly donation get consumed on the following school items as follows, with shortages:-
1. Black board white chalk 5 boxes a week, each box cost about 1 dollar. We spend about 100 dollars, for 8 classrooms, anually.
2. Blackboard Dusters a set cost 140 dollars, purchased once anually.
3. A box of crayons, colors, pencils, pens, note, and prep books for teachers use for lesson preparations, cost us 100 dollars eact school term.
4. Exercise books for 100 needy students each school term will cost 120 dollar's
5. Firewood for students meals and staff cost eact term over 100 dollars.
6. Instructional materials, text books and other's, end of term week test and examination for each class, we spend about 150 a term, paperwork, and printing cost, transportation expenses inclusive since we do not have such services in our community and school, computer and printer, to help teacher type set own exam for the children.
7. School Meal's. Feeding Program, this is very expensive project, child needs to eat, each morning you start the day, without food, it's problem, young ones will cry and disturb lessons, no concentration, and we have to make sure some effort is put.
Staff, especially teacher who walk to school and back their villages need to be fed at school, and this gives them effort to teach afternoon lessons well. This costs us over 400 dollars a single school term, food is very expensive due to climate change affect. Because of this, most family hardly have a meal a day. Hunger is seen in most poorest households.
8. Staff salaries, for the 15 workers we employ at the school, 10 teachers, 1 office assistant, 2 cook's, 1 cleaner, 1 watchman, day and night guard.
a) Teacher is paid 100,000 Uganda shillings a month, about 28 dollars , x 3 month he or she is teaching that term, total 84 dollars, a year, he or she will get paid 252 dollars, therefore 10 teachers will need 2,520 dollars salaries altogether, anually.
b) Support Staff, each is paid 50,000 Uganda shillings a month, about 14 dollars, by 3 month he or she is working costs us 42 dollars a term, and 126 dollars a year. To pay all the 5 support staff anually you need 630 dollars.
9. School lighting and clean water needs. No piped water, we rely on rain which is not always there in certain month of the year, so without which we have to send children to the nearby swamps for water, which is not healthy for them to drink.
No electricity. Solar system available, cost includes battery replacement, bulbs and wires, each term we spend about 200 dollars. We need electricity, we have a stand lone electric pole in the school compound. We need power in the classrooms.
10. School land expansion, the school is seated on one acre of land, this is very small to the ever growing number of children joining the school each year. Help us expand, this will open up space for the construction of new classrooms, students dormitories, library, toilet and dining. In addition staff housing, house to begin with.
CLASSROOMS CONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE
This is our biggest challenge and need. We have the children who need education, but our community does not have school that can Provide education opportunities for such children, orphaned, street and homeless.
The school began in 2012, we began with grass classrooms, until we got a donor family in America, Hammerslags, mother Loretta, her family, friends and children. Mostly her daughter Jenna. The 2 classroom blocks you see, and chidren in school uniform is because of their own financial sacrifices.
The school needs more funds to help build new classrooms, funds to help pay 100 needy children's tuition each term, feeding Program for 300 children , health care for 300 students, and payment's of 15 teaching and support staff salaries. School uniform for needy children for 400 students.
To construct a good classroom to the required government standards is over 10,000 dollars, for foundation works, walling, shutting, and finishes. The existing classrooms we used a minimum of about 3000 dollars to build each, block.
The Hammerslags. They helped construction of school 2 classroom blocks, toilets, and fencing of the school, including purchase of desks, and other instructional materials, sold at school. The money had to fit everything, including feeding, school uniforms for the 35 boarding children, paying staff salaries, and other critical needs.
STAFFING AND SALARIES
Since the start of the school in 2012 after COVID-19, effects to the economy, we have never been able to pay well our Staff, both teaching and non teaching. Government currently pays a primary teacher over 500,000 Uganda shillings a month and for 12 month. This good pay by government to it's teachers has disadvantaged our school for the disadvantaged children.
This makes it very difficult find well qualified a teacher to teach for 100,000 Uganda shillings a month at our school.
HAMMERSLAG School Uganda
At our school providing education for underprivileged rural children, a teacher is paid only 100,000 Uganda shillings for a month, and a non teaching Staff is paid only 50,000 Uganda shillings a month for the 3 month the school is running, on holidays they are not paid. That means our staff get paid only 9 month a year, or 3 month in a sing term. That is the reality.
We can all appreciate , that amount (100,000 UGX amonth, about 28 USD) to a teacher for underprivileged children, who makes a useful contribution to the learning of such children is very low and they too have families with pressing personal needs. We are stressed out and we need your help.
SHORTAGE OF CLASSROOMS
The number of children joining us is increasing each year and we are overwhelmed by this and in addition the size of the compound is very small and we do not have school play ground and as you know children learn better when opportunities to play is provided. "Healthy mind, healthy body" philosophy.
Classrooms don't have enough desks, only two buildings were constructed, which we had to partition to create room to accommodate more children.
PRIMARY SCHOOL SYSTEM IN UGANDA,
Any child, rich or poor has to go through 8 class system, nursery, primary One to seven, before he's she joins secondary education.
Our school facility supporting child without homes, and we have to give them to sleep in the classrooms after lessons. This resulted in the death of 3 students aged 6 , 8 and 11 in 2018, those dead children are in the photos I have provided below, jumping and excited with the rest. Today they are no more. Gone, and gone forever. This had a very bad impact on the rest of the children.
SCHOOL FURNITURES!
For both staff and students is never enough and we entirety rely upon you for the disadvantaged children to be able to find where to sit in the classrooms, this helps in better development of writing skills, a child who sits on classrooms floor ends up with very poor handwriting, and reading skills.
CLASSROOMS ENVIRONMENT!
The 2 classroom blocks are not comfortable, they are not fully furnished, with wall plaster inside, outside, no classroom painting in all classrooms walls.
The District education, and health inspection, inspectors have many times visited the school and raised this concerns about the student health and what this walls can be a danger in being hatching places for bags to lay their eggs and later cause drastic health risk to the children.
In 2019 the district local government threatened to close down the school, they advised us to get a bank loan to help fix the emergency case's, buy some desks, start wall plaster and formalize school license processing, which we had to do and start. We got the loan, the documents are attached of 5 million Uganda shillings, the Bank gave actual loan paid to us of 4.5 million, and we had to pay back 6.8 million Uganda shillings.
DIFFICULT MOMENT WITH THE BANK LOAN 2020!
The time to pay back the loan was due and the school didn't have the money to pay back the loan. The bank came to arrest me, and I for rescued by mother Loretta who helped pay the loan fully, to zero balance, and advised us never to get any loan. We have since taken her advice gratefully.
DEATH OF OF 3 STUDENTS IN NOVEMBER 2018
It gave a big blow to all our efforts to help keep homeless children with no where to shelter or have no responsible parenthood, or live onnthe street's to get where to stay, as a home and learning. Center. One child was a student of primary One, a boy aged 6, total orphan, and the other child was in primary 3 class a boy aged 8, and next was a student of primary 4, a girl aged 11. It was very painful to lose these very nice and friendly children at that day who had hope, the one in primary One was exceptionally very bright child always the first in his class, and whenever I am at school he would come and sit and talk to me.
The images of these 3 have never left our memories.
CHILD MEDICAL SUPPORT!
Upto this point we don't have any children first aid facility in the school, no emergency room, or clinic in the village where the school is located, we operate in a very remote village, no hospital, electricity, reliable transportation vehicle.
SCHOOL LIBRARY!
Globally, Schools have advanced in technology, with good library, computers, internet connectivity, we hope to get a school Library to improve on our school grades onnthe national exam's. Library with computers, and internet connectivity to support teacher reaserch and content enrichment for thier student's.
SCHOOL DROPOUT YOUTH!
COVID-19 presented a defining moments, factors that increased these number out of school, most especially girls got pregnant, others already in teenage marriage's. What can they doz they have no skills and money to help their babies and young families. We have asked for such help, noth, no interest is available, yet this is a reality, and most rural and poor households, youth end up in bad groups
We had desired to help students whom COVID-19 affected to get skills but again we didn't get much interest or friends willing to support skills for self reliance. Many youth, girls are just home suffering, have babies and can not afford basic needs to give their babies, child with a child is very painful experience.
Urgent appeal!
The solar system in place is very weak and small. No enough light during students prep's. Evening meals are taken in the dark. We have tried battery replacement, this has proved to be costly, since the students over use it for night studies for some good many hours and sometime teachers give night lesson's as remedial for lost lessons during the day, week. Or just revise mathematical concept's the students didn't comprehend well. Mostly for the candidate classes. Ready for NATIONAL Primary Leaving Examinations, called PLE.
CONCLUSION!
DEATH OF 2 members of Dawood foundation, also part of GlobalGiving organization donor family.
VERY Sad INTERNATIONAL News.
Our sincerest condolences to family and friends who lost Friend, Dad, Husband, Son on the Titanic submersible disappearance June 2023! Specifically Mother Christine Dawood and Daughter Alina,
We are so sorry to learn about your Husband and Son's passing. Their passing was tragic. We have been following this story on BBC in a small school radio.
We are non profit organization, and school of 2 classroom blocks, constructed with the help of the Hammerslag family in America for the disadvantaged childrens education opportunities.
The school doesn't have a television, electricity to be able to watch, TV News. But With a small radio, we have been able to follow with the children and staff This story of the
"Titanic submersible disappearance." Five people who were on the Titan submersible thought to have died instantly when vessel imploded."
We kept the children update on news upto the last minute, we were always praying and hoping they would turn up alive. It's very painful and affected all of us emotionally.
On Tuesday evening we listened to mother Christine sharing on BBC radio how she got the news,
"we have lost com" she was told, she had hope until the 96 hour mark! Her daughter, she said remaied hopeful.
We remained speechless. it was tears in every staff members eyes at school, emotions run hing among us, especially staff who can understand English, we remember the presenter asked mother Christine about your son, you declined to say much. Sorry mother.
To us as a school. The Pain is unbearable to nay parent, a wife, mother as such. We will be praying for your family. We are truly sorry for your loss, 2 people in family in one moment? Just remember all the good times you with them both and thank God for them as a blessing to the world.
Our sister Alina! Your dad's amazing personality lives on through you now. Be strong, good thing Mom is around to help your thrive. They have already laid the foundation, the absence of Dad and Brother, should give you more strength to keep the family dreams alive. Take comfort in knowing that his memory and legacy will be with us for generations. He'll be missed by us all. There is no one in this world like your Dad and brother. May you and Mom find peace in your pain and comfort in your grief.
Isaiah 41:10, "Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
Jeremiah 28:11 “'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '”
Please accept our deepest sympathies during this heartbreaking period.
Sending you love during this difficult time.
1. Director, and Board Members, SHARE NGO.
2. The Children, Staff and Benefiting Community and Hammerslag School Uganda.
![School loan 2020 document]()
School loan 2020 document
![Loan paid by Mother Loretta]()
Loan paid by Mother Loretta
![Kitchen]()
Kitchen
![Children food get to school stores]()
Children food get to school stores
![Student population stared growing up in 2018]()
Student population stared growing up in 2018
![First group of boarding children 2015]()
First group of boarding children 2015
![After construction, classrooms didn't have desks]()
After construction, classrooms didn't have desks
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