The Mary Wood Trust

January 2021

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The Ugandan election is now over and after violent clashes and allegations of vote rigging Museveni continues in his role as President for another 4 years.

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Covid 19 has caused great disruption in the country. However, according to the latest statistics, there  have only been  316  deaths caused by  the coronavirus.

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Nyakabungo Girls Secondary School reopened on January 18th but only for the 27 candidates studying for their O and A levels They will sit their final exams in April. There is hope that there may be a phased return for further students in the near future.  However there is no doubt that with no online or home schooling for the past year, the whole education system has been disrupted and students countrywide have suffered. Most pupils will have missed a whole year’s schooling as there is very little in the way of online teaching but it is not clear how this will be addressed.

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The MWT continues to support the school and an order has been put in place for an additional 5 reconditioned sewing machines at NGSS,   using the proceeds from the second sale of cotton shopping bags, made by the girls at the school. Photos will follow when they arrive.

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We are also funding some much needed building maintenance work at the school. During the Christmas break this was begun, with  the collapsing verandas on the main hall building being rebuilt. (Note that a veranda is quite a small part of a building in Uganda – not a space for entertaining!) Photos of the work are shown below.

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We are keeping in touch with all our friends in Uganda and continually looking at ways of offering support as they struggle with the pandemic and the poor support available from the central and local government.

3 December 2020

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There has been a nationwide lockdown in Uganda since the end of March which seems to have helped to limit the cases of and deaths from Covid 19.

 

Pupils at NGSS due to sit their O and A levels at the end of 2020 have returned to school and it is hoped that they will sit their exams in April 2021.  It is also hoped that the whole school will return for the 2021 academic year, staring in February.​

The new kitchen block has been completed at NGSS and will be in full operation when the whole school returns.​

During the lockdown the final work on refurbishing the spring at Nyakabungo village has been completed and the girls no longer need to walk out of school to get their water in the dry season.​

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RMNS has not yet re-opened but the Trust has helped support the pupils and teachers by providing some money for food. Similar help has also been given to teachers at NGSS.​

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Students in further education are continuing their studies as far as possible on-line and the various institutions are doing their best to ensure that students take some form of exams and progress or graduate.​

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The Trust is providing over 250 infra-red temperature monitors to use at churches to screen attendees at services.

 

 

September 2020

 

It is many weeks now since schools, churches and other institutions in Uganda were closed because of Covid 19. Some businesses are slowly starting to open again, and in the president’s latest address, there is hope that schools will be able to open in mid-October in a limited way- to allow those studying for their O and A levels to get back to studying.  However, there are strict Covid 19 protection protocols which need to be put in place first. Churches will also be allowed to hold services again but with congregation numbers limited to 70 and also with temperature checks in place. In Kinkiizi diocese alone there are 290 churches that will need temperature guns, which of course is a cost that they can ill afford. (A total for the diocese of approx. £20,000).  Doing these things is hard enough here in the UK, putting all the appropriate precautions in place. To do this in Uganda, where the numbers are much greater and the facilities limited, is going to be very difficult. The church workers rely on the weekly offertory for their salaries and so without this it has been a real struggle during the past 6 months.

 

Our students from Nyakabungo Girls Secondary School (NGSS) and those at University have not been able to study at home. They don’t have laptops or internet connection in their villages. The school year starts in February and so most of them will have lost almost a whole year of teaching. It is not clear yet how those taking O and A level exams will have a chance to catch up or when their exams will take place. 

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We also have great concern for our girls at University, but we understand that those who delayed sitting their final exams in May will soon be able to sit theirs. 

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During this Covid time the teachers employed locally have not been paid and of course the girls themselves have been left to their own devices in their villages.

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It all sounds rather gloomy, but some good things have been going on during the lockdown.

 

In May work was carried out to protect the spring near NGSS and the local village chief at long last agreed to allow a pipe to be taken from the spring to the school. No longer will the girls have to trek the 4 or 5 kilometres outside of school to gather water during the dry season. Last month work was started on building the new kitchen and store at NGSS. We are very grateful for the donations received over the past couple of years which is allowing this to happen. The hope is that it will all be completed by the time the school re-opens, providing a dry place to store goods and a more efficient cooking system. 

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Here in the UK we have managed to sell pretty well all the 80 cotton bags that the girls at NGSS made and the proceeds from this will enable the purchase of 5 new reconditioned sewing machines and also an overlocker and other small items to enhance the sewing room.

 

Despite the lockdown, e-baying has continued apace, helping to boost the charities Further Education account. Maybe you have some unwanted items that you would like to get rid of? China? Jewellery? Vintage tablecloths? Bric-a-brac? Please do get in touch or you can sell through e-bay yourself and allocate the Mary Wood Trust as the charity for support.

 

Thinking positively about returning to school next year, we are trying to raise money for the Fine Arts room at NGSS.  This is a subject that is popular with the girls and taken at both O and A levels. Our visit in March this year highlighted the shortage of art supplies and so we would like to be able to buy the pencils and paper and paints that are needed as well as buying some new work tables and stools.

  

We have a target of £1300. If you would like to know more about this project or help with this in any way, then please do get in touch with Pippa Hutchins who is heading this campaign. (pippa_hutchins@hotmail.com). 

You can also donate directly through the MWT website or Facebook page.

 

We have also been very conscious of the fact that all our regular sponsors and supporters have generously continued with their giving, despite the fact that both NGSS and Ruth Memorial Nursery School (RMNS) have been closed. At our last MWT trustees meeting on September 11th we all agreed that some of this money should be used to give a one-off payment to all the staff at NGSS, both teaching and support staff, to show our care and concern for them during this very difficult time. Without the teachers there would be no school and we certainly want to be sure that they will return once the school is allowed to fully open again. With regard to RMNS, the plan is to distribute food to teachers and students’ families, in the hope that this will help a little as they are all struggling during this pandemic.

Our University students will receive support as and when they particularly need it and when they start returning to full time studies.

 

We are very grateful indeed for this continued support at this very difficult time. If you have any concerns at all about your regular giving, then please do get in touch.      

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Thank you as always and God bless you.

Clare, Pippa, Kath, Ann, Peter.

(The Mary Wood Trust Trustees)