Sewing is a very useful skill for people of all ages!

We have been posting about "Skilling The Children", which are Saturday afternoon classes where students come to Rock of Age Campus in order to explore a variety of skills. Sewing is an area of growing interest amongst male and female students!

Last week we shared what Teacher Betty lovingly calls "Skilling the Children".

Today, on pi day, we are excited to have more pictures from the baking class! While pie is not a very common dish in Uganda, students learned how to make banana muffins, daddies, half cakes, and chapati!

While ROA exists to provide a formal education and support for students, life skills are something that we strive to provide for children of all ages!

Each weekend Betty and a rotation of teachers participate in what they call "Skilling the Children". Students are welcomed to campus on Saturday afternoons to practice a variety of skills including hair styling, sewing, baking, and chicken rearing. Students are able to choose what activity they would like to participate in for each session and all enjoy baked goods at the end of the day!

Stay tuned for more information on each activity Betty has organized for the students at ROA!

We have BIG NEWS! Rock of Ages Community School now runs on SOLAR POWER!

Last year a very generous donor approached us about the possibility of providing a solar power system for ROA. With his professional skills as an engineer, he worked closely with our Ugandan team and a nearby solar business to create a system that can support ROA electrical needs and is scalable as we continue to grow the campus!

We thank and praise God for this awesome donor who put so much time into this system, out of his love for children and learning, and for this sustainable gift that will help offset operational costs for ROA and provide reliable electricity throughout the building! Having electricity readily available brings so many more opportunities for in-classroom tools and we cannot wait to see what God has in store next!

Due to age, humidity/uncontrolled climate within the school building, and for sitting open for so long without students in their seats many classroom desks became cracked and damaged.

Many preparations were made by faculty and staff for students to return to ROA following the COVID-19 closure and it quickly became apparent that desks needed to be a priority. Unfortunately, almost all student desks needed to be replaced. New desks for P4, 5, 6, and 7 were moved into the building as classes resumed and they are so much more sturdy and durable! Plus the students seem to be excited about them too!

We continue to work on funding for new desks for our younger primary students and preschool classes. These students are currently using the best of the older desks and our preschool children continue to use the same tables that have been in use for the past 7 years. If you would like to make a donation towards the purchase of new desks, please click "Donate" in the upper right corner of this page and under "Donor Note" simply type "for desks" and we will ensure your amount is designated.

Thank you for your continued support and please enjoy the photos below!

Our students are back in school!

Thank you for your continued support over these past two years! This article gives a really good perspective of what has happened to many students in Uganda due to the pandemic and gives us reason to give thanks for what our organization has been able to do for the children during these difficult times.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/worlds-longest-education-lockdown-ends-as-ugandas-schools-reopen

To our dear Sponsors, Donors, and Supporters, 

Greetings to you in the name of Christ! We hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the holiday season. 2021 brought many challenges, triumphs, and immense hope to Hands4Uganda (H4U) and Rock of Ages School (ROA)! 

By March of this year, many classes resumed but a sudden spike in COVID caused all schools to close once again and unfortunately they have not yet resumed. To support students during this time, food distributions were organized, and school materials were prepared for individual delivery to the students. Each month, teachers traveled to their pupils’ homes, providing a packet of homework to be completed over the next month. The teachers spent time with each student, explaining material, answering questions, and ensuring basic school supplies were available. This was a massive undertaking by the ROA staff and we are so thankful for their faithful commitment to our students! 

Despite students not being in school, progress continued to be made at the new ROA campus. All finishing touches to the Primary Building were completed and plans for our next project, the Multipurpose Building were drawn. Items like an industrial printer were purchased and an expansion of the school agricultural program which will reduce food costs and increase nutritional intake for student lunches were made. 

We announced our partnership with the Fly Fishing Collaborative who will help set-up an aquaponics farm on the school site in 2022! This project will generate additional income for ROA and will provide educational opportunities for students as they learn about lifecycles and sustainable agriculture. 

We are also thrilled to share that a very generous donor has worked to design a solar power system that will provide ROA with consistent power in 2022 and eventually access to technology in the classroom! This is a major advancement for ROA and we are so appreciative of this donor's dedication and love for the children. 

To date all teachers and staff have been vaccinated and while we have had no losses within the student body, faculty or staff due to COVID, this year's medical bills nearly quadrupled from previous years. Your continued donations during this time ensured that any student, teacher, or staff member needing medical attention was able to receive it free of charge. Thank you for making this possible! 

Lastly, we would like to take a moment to acknowledge former H4U board members. Randy Fowler and Gabe Flicker were part of H4U since the beginning of the organization. As passionate, kind, and educated men of Christ they acted as fearless leaders of the organization for nearly a decade. Finally, it is with great sadness we share that former board chair, Karla Reynolds, passed away this fall. After a long battle with cancer, she now rests peacefully in the loving arms of our Father. Karla was a key player in the development of H4U and worked relentlessly for the betterment of the children. We are forever thankful for Gabe, Randy and Karla and are honored to continue in their good works. 

We look forward to welcoming all students back to ROA in January. We ask for your continued prayers and support as we provide each child with a wholesome education and the means to a better life. 

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year! 

Hands4Uganda BOD and Volunteers

In September the Ugandan President announced that students would not be returning to school until January of 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the US, Google Classroom has provided a platform for virtual communications between teachers and students, allowing for continued learning despite "in-person" limitations. However, in Mbiko Uganda where electricity is unreliable (and often absent in most student homes) online/virtual learning is not an option.

With growing concern for student learning, Rock of Ages Community School faculty and staff devised a plan that would allow for more academic engagement throughout the last trimester of this school year despite limitation on in "in-person" classes.

In September ROA teachers put together progressive learning packets for every single ROA student. These paper packets contained 500 questions and activities and were meant to be completed over a one month timeframe. All ROA teachers then hand delivered these packets to each students home by foot or boda-boda (motorcycle taxi), taking the time needed to explain the homework packets and how the student is expected to pace themselves. Teachers are available to answer questions throughout the month and via phone. Teachers then return to each students home at the end of the month in order to review the packet and provide students with new material.

While these packets could never replace "in-person" learning they have been a success! Students have been brushing up on their academic skills, working towards a smoother transition once schools are able to resume in January!

2020 was a year like no other! For Hands4Uganda (H4U), this meant major leadership changes and a critical review of our functional organization. At the end of 2020 the Board of Directors and volunteers met for three days to evaluate H4U operations and our strategic plan. Our goal was to ensure best practices and the long-term sustainability of Rock of Ages Community School (ROA) despite uncertainties such as the COVID-19 pandemic. I am pleased to share with you the next few stories listed in this blog and featured in our July newsletter - each article a story, a prayer answered, and a testament to how our God always provides. 

Sponsorship is the lifeblood of H4U. It is through this funding - your continued monetary support of these students - that we are able to do what we do. We greatly feared a decline in sponsorship as the pandemic created financial uncertainty for so many. While we continue to strive for 100% sponsorship of the students at ROA, I am pleased to share that we not only maintained but grew our sponsor support over the past year. 

Many have asked where their sponsorship funding has been going throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while the students have not been attending school. Through your continued contributions we have been able to ensure ongoing salaries for all faculty and staff. Medical visits by students and staff to the nearby Health Clinic have increased by about 50% since the beginning of the pandemic, many reporting COVID-like symptoms and seeking a COVID test. Healthcare for all students, faculty, and staff are covered through sponsorship dollars. In addition, food has been periodically delivered to all students and families with the aid of local officials ensuring COVID-19 protocols are followed. Thank you for making these things possible!

Finishing touches at the new school facility were completed so that when students are able to return all areas of the building are fully functional. Additionally, a two-story chicken coop, hosting 300 egg laying hens, was built in order to supplement the student food program. This coop will be tended by the 6th grade class as they explore agriculture and animal studies throughout their education. 

We were able to bring the Primary 7 students on campus in October of 2020, provide them with all the necessary school and living materials needed to create an environment in which they were able to safely continue through their last year of primary education. These students lived at the new ROA site until March when they took their final national exams. We are so pleased to share another Primary 7 class has passed the PLE and all students are eligible to join Secondary School in the coming year. We are incredibly proud of the dedication and bravery it took on the part of both the students and staff to get these graduates where they are today!

With the secondary COVID lockdown beginning in June, due to increased transmissions of COVID-19, students have been forced to once again stay home. We continue to work with our Ugandan team to do what we can for the students and their families during this difficult time and to push forward towards a hopeful reopening in January, accorinding to the most recent government press release.

The last thing I want to share with you is a change in the way we reserve funding for continued support of ROA and overhead costs of H4U. With our sights set on how to provide continuous and stable financial support to ROA, despite the ever-changing times, we have initiated a 20% reserve of each donation. This percentage is then broken down to 10% saved directly into a fund entirely for ROA and the remaining 10% is used for the overhead costs of H4U. While we are a volunteer-based organization, the 10% overhead holdback helps us with day to day operations, such as software, mailings, and wire transfer fees, along with other services necessary to maintain the organization. 

It is my hope and prayer that you can truly see the difference you have made in the lives of the students, teachers, and faculty at ROA - especially throughout this past year. Thank you for your continued dedication to them and allowing us the opportunity to serve in the best way possible. 

Ariane Shaver 
Board Chair

We are so excited to be partnering with the Fly Fishing Collaborative (FFC) to bring an aquaponics farm to ROA!

Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (soil-less agriculture). This project, which we lovingly call the “Fish Farm” will not only provide a major learning opportunity for students, but will lay the groundwork for additional sustainability for ROA.

The fish and vegetables produced from this aquaponics system will be used to support students and families of ROA as well as sold in local markets to generate additional income for ROA. All supplies for this project will be purchased in Uganda. FFC volunteers will be traveling to Mbiko to help ROA oversee the build, which is tentatively planned for spring 2022! This Fish Farm is a major opportunity for ROA and we are thrilled to see this project come to fruition! 

The photo above was taken of the Wasswa family during a tour of a nearby aquaponics operation!

If you would like to donate towards the ROA Fish Farm, you can do so below.

For more information on the FFC and aquaponics check out their website.