Following the handover of the sanitary facilities to Community Trans Nursery and Primary School in Iganga at the beginning of 2019, a vital step in improving the school's facilities, every day school life is now dominated by studious learning.

PUC has been supporting the school for 3 years and the following improvements have been firmly established:
Supplementing teachers' pay means that staff numbers are steady, lessons are held regularly and no classes are missed.
School meals, initially sponsored by PUC, are increasingly funded by the school itself, and offer a varied and healthy diet, greatly enjoyed by the children.

Children love coming to school and the improved sanitary facilities and regular, healthy school meals have led to a higher standard of health overall. Attendance is up, the children enjoy spending time at school and are proud to be part of Community Trans. They are highly motivated to learn which has been reflected in improved results.

In her latest letter headmistress Florence Were tells us more about the impact of our work. With excitement and pride she reports that the exceptionally high exam results have been recognised officially.
Of course, we are very proud and happy to have played a part in helping more and more pupils gain higher qualification and supporting them on their way to a brighter future.

A good education is essential for these young people to take responsibility of their lives and improve their living conditions long-term.

Please continue to help us support the school in the future, we are happy to pass on any assistance to Uganda.

Florence Were's latest letter:

„Dear Christine, dear friends from PUC!

We are so excited as a school for the excellence our Primary Seven candidates exhibited in their National examination results! We owe this excellence to God for using you provide for their feeding , as a result , they settlled in school and concentrated on their studies ! Thank you very very much!

24 children managed to sit for the National primary leaving examinations, they all passed in Divisions one and two! The principal education officer and the Iganga Town clerk give us the certificates of recogination of being the outstanding performing school, recogination of being the most improving school and the outstanding performance within the municipal council.

According to the National Primary leaving examinations we have done for the past four years, during our first year 2016, children passed in the second , third grade and the fourth grade and some failed to pass, in the second year 2017 they passed in the second and third grades, then in 2018, 20% passed in the first grade and 80% in the second grades we never had third nor the fourth grade, then in 2019 50% of our learners passed in the first grade and then the 50% passed in the second grade only. We didn't have any child in the third, fourth grade or any failure.

I have attached the three certificates given to our school by the Municipal council inspector of schools, The principal education officer and the Iganga Town clerk.

We are so grateful to you, today we are shinning like this just because of the efforts you put together to see to it that our children feed at school, so the settlement and the improvement in their performance.
Florence“

New in 2019:

Following a lively email exchange with Headmistress Florence Were, we visited Iganga Community Trans Nursery and Primary School for the first time in person in May 2017.

We spent several days assessing the school's situation, analysing problems and possible solutions, as well as planning the scope for future collaboration.

We were very impressed by the open atmosphere of the teachers' conference which had been called spontaneous where all teachers, together with the school's administrative team and the visitors openly discussed the school's problems and challenges.

Thanks to the cheerful children and the warm and friendly atmosphere we look forward to working closer together in the future.

Problems:
-due to poverty only 30% of parents pay school fees, many fathers do not take on responsibility and mothers often struggle to provide for food, clothing and school fees for their children on their own.

-as a consequence a large percentage of children do not graduate from primary school
-school materials (paper, pens, exercise books, school books) are unaffordable for many
-only 30% pay for breakfast (porridge made of maize meal, water and sugar)
-not even 5% of children can afford lunch ('Posho' a solid porridge made of maize meal and beans)
-due to long walks to school (up to 2 hours) many children are left without food for 12 hours
-teachers earn between €35.00 and 55.00 per month, minus fees for their own children

PUC goals

Our first aim was to provide breakfast for every child as no one can study properly on an empty stomach.

1) For €1.00 per month and child we now provide breakfast for all children
2) A daily portion of Posho and beans costs €5.00 per child per month and depending on our financial situation this will be our next goal
3) Consequently this will free up funds that the school can reinvest, so far the plan is for
     Improving sanitary facilities
     School furniture, new black boards and other teaching materials
     Fencing, to increase security
     Construction of teachers' living quarters
4) From now on we pay a 10% top-up to teachers' salaries. Higher wages help the school to hold on to good teachers which increases the 

    quality of teaching, more children will graduate and gain qualification for Secondary School

Donate here for 'Give education - Give life' Support our educational project in Uganda via our partner betterplace.org

Annet Kakweri, a young woman from Iganga has 6 children,  4 her own and her 2 orphaned nieces (her sister and brother-in-law died of AIDS) tells us about the school and why it needs our help in her letter:

Community Trans Nursery and Primary School Iganga
Florence Were, Headmistress, tells us the school's history:

„These are the most important things why my children go to school: Their wishes: Frossy Wekiya needs to be veterinary doctor. Wilson Wekiya needs to be an engneer. Samba Marvin Ndeku needs to be a lawyer. Leticia Kawuma needs to be a nurse. These all are in community trans nursery and primary school. The two orphans Mary Nabirye is in senior two. Joan Mukoda is in hairdressing course. These are the  challenges they face as well as most Ugandan children who are in the school going age: Lack of tuition fees. Lack of the required scholastic materials such as the learners work books,mathematical sets,school bags. Failure to pay for there lunch at school. Failure to buy school uniforms and sports wear. As a result children do not feel free while at school. The above is as a result of the irresponsible fathers in our communities. Life at school in my country. The majority of children in Uganda foot from home to school including mine. Few parents can afford to pay the required funds for their children to sleep at school. During lunch time, for those who come from near are allowed to go home for lunch. Those who come from far, incase their parents are able to pay for their lunch, they eat at school but the majority go with out food through out the day. However it would be advisable for children to sleep at school to avoid dangers on the way and to concentrate more on their studies. As for now, all my children sleep at home but school authorities have always advised us to have them sleep at school. webake bulungi  nyabo “

Frequently asked questions:
1. Does my donation really arrive where it is needed?
   All our helpers are volunteers, we are present in Uganda and pay for our own flights and accommodation. There are therefore no

   additional administrative costs.
   All money is going directly and 100% towards our projects.

2. How do you guarantee that the money benefits the people who need it the most?
    We visit regularly and all projects are planned and organised together with the local community and monitored by our local supporters    

     between our visits.

3. Will these projects become self-sufficient in the future without relying on German aid?
    All our projects are intended to build the necessary infrastructure so that they can support themselves within three to five years and should 

    thereafter no longer depend on external funding.

4. Isn't it all just a drop in the ocean?
    The ocean is made up of small drops.

5. Is my donation tax-deductible?

The charity is registered as a charitable organisation and charitable donation certificates can be provided.