For more than 15 years, Hands4Uganda supporters have stood alongside Betty and Abdu Wasswa and Rock of Ages Community School (ROA) in Mbiko, Uganda. Together, this community has helped turn a small school of about 50 children into a place where nearly 300 students receive an education, daily meals, clean water, healthcare support, mentorship, and opportunities that reach far beyond the classroom.
Today we need to share one of the most consequential updates in ROA's history, and to ask for your help at a moment when it matters more than ever.
Uganda is moving forward with its Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), a major infrastructure project connecting Kampala with the Kenyan border at Malaba to improve regional transportation and trade.
The railway corridor runs directly through the land where Rock of Ages stands.
Land acquisition for the SGR has been underway for years. ROA is now among the last affected properties in the Mbiko area still awaiting resolution and compensation. Many families and businesses around Jinja have reported similar delays, valuation disagreements and uncertainty. For ROA, the stakes are especially high, because this property is not a home or a business. It is a school.
Betty and Abdu have been working with attorneys to secure the compensation owed for the school's land, buildings and improvements. The process has been complicated by a dispute over the land title, which has delayed who receives which portions of the compensation. ROA asked the court to release compensation for the school buildings while the title question is resolved. Instead, the court has ordered that the funds remain under its control until further proceedings.
That leaves ROA in an extraordinarily difficult position. The school knows it must move, but the money needed to rebuild is out of reach for now.
The timeline is also tightening. ROA originally understood that it would have substantial time to relocate after compensation. Betty and Abdu have now been advised that the real window could be much shorter, depending on when funds are released and how quickly construction advances.
That raises an urgent question: where will nearly 300 ROA students go if the railway reaches the school before a new campus is ready?
There is good news here. Thanks to a remarkably generous supporter, ROA has already secured a four-acre site about ten minutes from the current school, and an architect has begun planning. ROA will also keep part of its current land, including the fish farm and gardens.
Our immediate goal is not an elaborate new campus. It is basic: build enough classrooms and essential infrastructure that no child's education stops when ROA has to leave its current home. To help us reach this goal, donate here or on our website.
Many longtime supporters have asked why Betty and Abdu haven't returned to the United States in recent years. They have been trying.
Beginning January 21, 2026, Ugandan citizens applying for U.S. visitor visas became subject to a visa bond program, which can require refundable bonds of up to $15,000 per person. Betty and Abdu's applications required a combined $30,000 in bonds, and those funds remain tied up while their travel is resolved.
Then, in May 2026, Uganda confirmed an Ebola outbreak linked to the larger outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and on May 18 the U.S. State Department paused visa services at the U.S. Embassy in Kampala. Thankfully, Uganda contained the outbreak, and the World Health Organization declared it over on August 27, 2026.
These disruptions prevented the gatherings and fundraiser we hoped to hold with Betty and Abdu this year. We now plan to bring our Hands4Uganda community together in early spring for an in-person update and fundraiser, with Betty and Abdu joining in person if possible or from Uganda if not.
Even with so much uncertainty, life at Rock of Ages goes on. Students are learning, competing and achieving, and ROA keeps finding creative ways to become more self-sustaining.
This year, ROA competed in Uganda's 2026 National Primary Schools Football Championship, the Odilo Tournament. After being crowned district champions, the team advanced to the national finals and reached the quarterfinals. It was an outstanding run, and it put ROA students on a national stage.
On August 18, ROA harvested one of its eight fish tanks, about 200 fish. Half fed students at school. The rest sold for about 1,000,000 Ugandan shillings (roughly $270). Instead of spending the proceeds, ROA reinvested them in 4,000 fingerlings to restock all eight tanks. The remaining tanks will be harvested over the next three months.
The system still needs plumbing repairs and improvements. But this harvest shows exactly what we hope for: feed students today while building income that supports ROA tomorrow.
The railway is a long-term challenge. Sponsorship is an immediate one, and right now it is falling short.
Sponsorship is what keeps ROA open. It pays teacher salaries, daily operations, meals, clean water and medical needs. And today:
To fully cover the school's operating costs, we need 137 primary students sponsored at $40 a month, which means 72 new sponsors. We are asking our community to help us reach that goal by June 2027.
Sponsor a student.
If you already sponsor a student, thank you. Please do two things:
Share ROA's story. Forward this update to a friend, your church, a small group, a business or a service club. Most of our sponsors came to ROA because someone they trusted asked them.
The railway may decide where Rock of Ages is located. It does not have to decide whether Rock of Ages survives.
We will keep communicating openly as the compensation case develops and plans for ROA's future campus take shape. We look forward to sharing more at our early-spring gathering.
Nearly 300 children are counting on this school. Our job is to make sure there is still a Rock of Ages waiting for them on the other side of this transition.
With gratitude,
Hands4Uganda Team
