Last week 18 students from Rock of Ages completed their Primary Leaving Exam (PLE). This two day test will determine what high school they are able to attend in the new year. We honored the graduates on Oct. 31 with a private party at the River View Hotel, a quaint local place that overlooks the Nile River.
Students began the celebration with a pool party. Splashing was definitely their favorite water activity! Swimming is a very special treat for children in Mbiko as it's often a luxury reserved for the wealthy. No one wanted to get out of the pool when dinner was ready to be served!
All teachers and staff including the cooks and the night guard were invited to join in on the fun! We were able to bring the game "Corn Hole" with us, and debuted the boards for the first time at the P7 party. While the students were more interested in dancing, the teachers and staff competed until the end of the night!
Dinner followed the pool party and shortly thereafter teachers and administrators presented speeches to the students, commending them for their hard work and dedication throughout their time at Rock of Ages. Then the dancing began and didn't stop until the party was over! There was some downtime dedicated to cake, but then it was straight back to the dance floor!
It was a wonderful evening celebrating these amazing students and their hard work in preparation for their PLE. Students will receive their PLE results in January. They will then begin their secondary education at the end of February at their respective schools.
High school (more commonly called Secondary School in Uganda) is very costly as nearly all schools require boarding. As we move towards the end of November, quickly approaching "Black Friday" and "Cyber Monday" please consider joining us on "Giving Tuesday" (November 27) in fundraising for the continued education of these students!
If you would like to make an immediate donation towards the secondary education of the ROA P7 graduates click here. If you are interested in sponsoring a student throughout their secondary education please email us at info@hands4uganda.org for more information.
Betty’s dream to have a full school facility began nearly 10 years ago in a small house. Today the foundation of a two story, fourteen classroom, Primary Building has been laid!
This building is the first of seven that will eventually be built at the new Rock of Ages site. The completion of the Primary building will allow the current student body to be moved to the new site once construction is complete. With ten classes the ground floor and part of the first floor will host student classrooms from Nursery section through Primary 7. The remaining four rooms will be used as administrative offices, teacher workrooms, and the library.
While we are still desperately in need of funding for this project we hope to complete the Primary building by the end of 2019. The current school site is rented property and the lease for that site will end in December of 2019. Rather than committing to another two-year stay, we hope to use those monies to further a permanent home for Rock of Ages where (eventually) up to 500 students can look forward to a brighter future!
To donate towards the new Rock of Ages Primary building, or for more information please visit our building page
We received over 70 blessing bags directly from sponsors. Thank you so much to those who were able to send those to us! Students love the personal touch, receiving letters and pictures of your family and knowing you have them in your thoughts.
We were also able to collect so many donations from the Bellingham, WA community and I want to personally thank all of those who participated in our local packing party where we stuffed bags for over 150 students!
While in Uganda we stay in Mbiko with Betty Wasswa, the Director of Rock of Ages, and her family. My team and I enjoy going for a nice stroll each evening when the sun begins to fade and the air cools to a more agreeable temperature. We often see children who attend Rock of Ages. They yell our names from their yards and come running towards us as we pass by their homes. We definitely added to the excitement of Blessing Bag day by sharing with a few students that we had a big surprise for them the following day! Word spreads very quickly through this small village and by the time we rolled up to school with giant duffle bags and boxes bumping along in the bed of the truck, hundreds of little brown eyes peered through windows and doors and a the soft hum of their excited whispers overtook the school.
We began with nursery students. Those in Baby Class (pk-3) and Middle Class (pk-4) were very unsure about what was happening at first. Each of these students received a beanie-baby or a baby doll in their packet and once they realized these large bags also included sweets, stickers and other goodies, the nursery area was full of squeals and giggles as they broke open their bags and explored their gifts.
Within the hour, faces were covered with sticky slobber from lollipops, stickers of all shapes and kinds and smiles that would remain consistent through each class for the rest of the day.
Following lunch, we began passing out packets to the Primary students. The content of each packet was consistent within each class although every student received a toothbrush, toothpaste, washcloth, pencils, erasers, stickers, candies, and some kind of toy! We later learned the 34 mini play dough tubs we passed out to first graders
could have used some explanation as many students were caught trying to eat the brightly colored dough, thinking it was a sweet treat! With giggles and excitement all around the afternoon ended as we finished passing out bags to the Primary 7 students. This small class (only 18 pupils) will be sitting for their Primary Learning Exam (PLE) in just one week and following that their time at Rock of Ages will have come to an end. It was such a blessing for us to deliver special goodies and messages from their sponsors, as a reminder of the love and support they have moving forward!
Anna and I arrived here in Uganda Friday night with all of our bags. This was a BIG DEAL. We were originally allowed only two bags per person on our flight. After contacting Delta directly by phone, and then applying for a baggage waiver, we were then given three bags per person. For those of you who sent blessing bags, you can imagine how many pieces of luggage 320 blessing bags translated to (nearly 16!). So a 6-piece luggage allowance between Anna and I was not going to work. We decided to take 6 each for a total of 12 (Brooke would have to bring the extra 4) and we would have to see what we could do.
I was quivering walking into the airport, unsure of what I would do if they said no to our mounds of bags and if luggage fees were too costly. How could I take blessing bags for some classes and not for others? I prayed and prayed, unnecessarily reminding God that He’s the one who put this whole thing into my head and if He wanted kids to get these blessing bags He needed to figure it out! Luckily, despite my somewhat regular sass, He remains faithful. Pushing our giant carts towards the ticket counter, over 600 lbs of luggage, a Delta manager caught my nervous eyes.
“Can I help you with something?” she asked.
“Hi, yes, we are a mission team headed to Uganda and...”
“Oh we have been waiting for you!” she exclaimed. “Come here to this desk and we will get you all taken care of!”
Unsure, Anna and I looked at each other. I began to explain that we had more bags than we had been allowed, and without asking how many, or if any would be overweight, our luggage angle instructed the Delta employee behind our special ticket counter to take care of us. She instructed them to check us in and put all bags through to Uganda, regardless of weight or how many. No charges required. Our check in person stood there looking at our mounds of bags stunned. He asked her if she was sure. She answered swiftly, telling him to do whatever we needed and then dismissed herself.
I held it together long enough to make it outside to tell my boyfriend, Jackson, goodbye. He had waited incase we could not take our bags and he would need to hold on to them. I let out an uncontrollable sob of complete relief, excitement, and nerves as I explained that we were taking every bag and were checked in. Smiling he reminded me that a little faith can go a long ways...
I tried to find the woman who had helped us before we went through security. Our luggage angle was nowhere in sight but my heart was full to the brim with gratitude and excitement. What a perfect way to start our journey.
In Uganda, however, 33% of all children do not have access to clean, safe drinking water and 60% of all children live a minimum of 30 minutes walking distance from a water source which may or may not be clean. Furthermore, girls are more likely to be responsible for collecting water, keeping them from school more frequently. The lack of safe drinking water across Uganda contributes to the illness and death of countless children each year with diarrhea alone killing 33 children every day. Early childhood diarrhea is not only deadly, it also contributes to Uganda’s high level of stunted growth, which in turn affects children’s cognitive development and performance at school. (Source: UNICEF, Situation Analysis of Children in Uganda, 2015). The children attending Rock of Ages School (ROA) are at the heart of these statistics making the provision of clean, safe drinking water a priority for the students and a challenge for the school.
Though many children bring their own water to school, the source from which the water comes is often already contaminated. The student’s water may have come from rain runoff or from nearby streams or ponds or it may have been shared with animals such as local goats and cows. Regardless of where the students collect their water, it is rarely, if ever, adequately filtered. Furthermore, even if clean water is accessible, it is often brought to school in a tin or bottle that may be contaminated due to poor sanitary conditions in the student’s home.
At the beginning of 2015 Hands4Uganda (H4U) attempted to help ROA tackle the water issue by providing three TivaWater filters.
One TivaWater filter provided enough clean water for 10 people per filter cycle. The filtering cycle took approximately one hour to properly sterilize the water and each filter was filled three times throughout the day resulting in enough clean water for approximately 90 individuals per day.
With over 300 students plus staff in need of water each day, ROA simply could not provide enough clean water to ensure proper hydration of the students and staff with the three TivaWater filters alone. As a result, water continued to be taken directly from the tap or purchased from neighboring shops of which the source was often unknown, therefore leading to continued contamination and illness.
By the end of 2015, through the generous contribution of a Hands4Uganda donor, ROA was able secure a three-level water filtration system that holds 450 liters of water – the Impact Water system! This high-performance, water purification system fills automatically which is a bonus, however, the system fills from collected rainwater. During the raining seasons of April to May and October through December, the students and staff of ROA are able to enjoying clean, filtered water ensuring proper hydration, better school performance, and less illnesses. The dry season, on the other hand continues to provide a challenge.
With the construction of the new school facility beginning in the very near future, H4U has determined that the best option for being able to provide clean, filtered water to the students and staff of the school on a continual basis, without the fear of lack of water during the dry season is to provide the school with its own well! We are extremely happy to announce that Sundance Consulting from Pocatello, ID has provided a very generous donation that will allow us to complete the well by the end of the month. Sundance also provided the funding that allowed H4U to build restrooms for the new school which are already complete. The well will provide clean water for not just the students and staff, but for their families as well! Our students will be able to attend school more regularly rather than needing to fetch water; we can continue to curb their hunger by growing and watering our own fruits and vegetables; and fewer illnesses will occur from water related diseases!
Thank you Sundance Consulting!
First and foremost, thank you! Thank you for all you do for your sponsored child(ren) through Hands4Uganda. Your sponsorship provides your student with a loving, faith-based education at ROA, ensures a meal each day, access to clean water, medical care, and overall hope for a better future.
Second, we are excited to present an opportunity for you to have a special gift delivered direct to your sponsored child(ren). A Hands4Uganda mission team will be heading to Uganda on October 18th and has made airline transportation arrangements enabling luggage allowance to take a “Blessing Bag” to each child.
A blessing bag is a one gallon ziplock bag filled with items that will not only bless your sponsored child with both simple necessities and fun items but with a little extra reminder that your love and support goes beyond their monthly sponsorship!
If you are interested in providing a blessing bag for your child(ren), please ensure your bag is complete and sent to us no later than October 12!
Bags can be sent to the team leader and Program Development Manager, Ariane Drake or Board Chair, Karla Reynolds:
Ariane Drake OR Karla Reynolds
(208)530-0294 (802)881-0064
1133 Grant St. 2900 Summit Dr.
Bellingham, WA 98225 Pocatello, ID 83201
Please consider including:
Please DO NOT send: crayons, easily melted candy (i.e. chocolate), toys that may be viewed as violent such as guns or knives
We would like to purchase all students Rock of Ages School tshirts. Instead of including clothing in your blessing bag please consider donating an additional $15 so that we may provide this for your child! You can make this donation by including a cash or check in your child's blessing bag or by making a donation here.
We encourage all sponsors to include a personal letter and picture of themselves/their family. Students love learning about their sponsors and cherish these things greatly. Please place all items in a 1 gallon ziplock bag with your sponsored childs name AND your name listed on the front. If you cannot make a bag for your child, please donate the amount you would have spent and we will purchase the items and create a blessing bag for them.
Finally, we ask that you consider making one extra blessing bag for a child that is not sponsored so that we may ensure that all students receive a blessing bag!
Again, thank you for blessing your sponsored child(ren). The difference you make in their daily lives is beyond measure and we are extremely thankful for your continued support.
Blessings to you,
Ariane Drake
Program Development Manager, Hands4Uganda
Food is a key component of culture and health and a great way to explore and connect with different societies. Here we discuss the primary foods found in the Ugandan diet and how your monthly contribution enhances the nutritional status of the students at Rock of Ages (ROA).
Ugandan cuisine is primarily made from local and readily available ingredients. Foods are eaten seasonally with fresh produce from local gardens playing a key role in the majority of diets.
Nearly 90% of Ugandans rely on outdoor charcoal or firewood burning stoves for food preparation. Because cooking oils, such as animal fats and vegetable oils, can be costly food is typically boiled or grilled. Pot cooking is most common and a majority of dishes are made up of a protein centered soup or stew served over a filling starch.
Even at Rock of Ages School charcoal stoves are used to prepare student lunches.
Popular meats throughout the country include chicken, goat, and beef. However meat is too expensive for most families so legumes are often served as a main source of protein. It’s estimated that nearly 90% of all calories consumed each day by the population of Uganda come from vegetarian sources, meaning meat does not play a large role in the Ugandan diet.
Abdu Wasswa shows off some freshly picked beans that when harvested will be used for student lunches.
Despite the fact that nearly half of the largest lake in all of Africa, Lake Victoria, lies within the borders of Uganda, fish is not readily available throughout the nation. Often found on a stick and grilled whole, fish is most commonly consumed in the south, along the shores of the lake.
Lake Victoria is the worlds second largest fresh water lake and also the source of the Nile River.
Posho is the most popular starch in Uganda as it is inexpensive and simple to cook. Similar to polenta, posho is made from cornflour and will take on the flavor of whatever dish it accompanies. Posho is also easily made at home as many families grow their own maize, grinding it at a local mill which can be found in nearly every village. Rice is served in the same fashion as posho but is typically reserved for special occasions as it requires more time and work to prepare.
Parents and students volunteer to help harvest maize grown on the ROA property and will be used for school lunches.
Cassava (also known as yucca) is another popular starch and when served with stew is generally cut into chunks and boiled. However, cassava can be prepared in many forms. Dried and pounded cassava can be used as flour. When cut, sliced, and fried, it becomes comparable to french fries. Cassava is a hardy root and a dependable crop for many who grow their own food. Other common tubers that are prepared in the same ways as cassava include irish potatoes and sweet potatoes. Like other carb-filled foods, these starches are digested slowly, lending a feeling of fullness to the individual consuming them.
Betty Wasswa shows off a massive piece of cassava root, grown on the ROA property, and to be used for school lunches.
Lastly, matoke is a type of banana, similar to a plantain. Matoke is often served mashed, after being picked green, peeled, and steamed in its own tree leaves. Instead of being used to accompany a stew, matoke is more of a main dish and is served with a vegetable sauce or a sauce made out of groundnuts (peanuts) which are usually referred to as “g-nuts”.
Banana's harvested from the ROA property which hosts a variety of fruit trees. All fruit is used to supplement school snacks and lunches.
With the equator running through the center of the country, Uganda has a tropical climate which makes it the perfect environment for growing fruits. Over 84 varieties of banana, all of which are local to eastern Africa, grow in Uganda. As one can imagine, banana’s play a large dietary role due to their availability. From matoke (described above) to small sweet bananas that are considered a dessert, these fruits are a staple throughout the country.
An indoor market in Jinja, Uganda.
Other tropical fruits such as mangos and pineapples also thrive throughout most regions. Jackfruit is a large fruit that can grow to up to 80 lbs with a mature jackfruit tree producing up to 100-200 fruits in a single year! The many individual fruit pods within the jackfruit are edible and when ripe are sweet and chewy. The seeds are also edible and when roasted have a similar taste to chestnuts.
ROA students play in a jackfruit tree on the ROA property, showing a small jackfruit.
Jackfruit being cut and sold as a quick snack at the market.
A bag of Nsenene, fried, and ready to be eaten!
(Source: http://www.monitor.co.ug)
Many factors contribute to undernutrition in Uganda including poverty, poor access to food, a diet lacking in diversity, as well as cultural and social traditions. In Uganda, just under 40% of all children are chronically undernourished or stunted. Nearly ⅓ of all child deaths are related to undernutrition and those who continue to survive are at a high risk for infectious diseases, chronic diseases, as well as impaired cognitive development.
Micronutrients play a major role in overall health and when proper levels are not met a variety of health complications may occur. Due to a low intake of animal based foods as well as fruits and vegetables high in beta-carotene, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) affects 28% of children in Uganda. VAD can lead to blindness as well as an impaired immune system. Iron deficiency is even more common in children, with 73% estimated to be iron deficient or anemic which may lead to heart problems, an increased risk of infections, and motor/cognitive developmental delays. Such a high number of children suffering from iron deficiency is most likely caused by both diet and environmental factors. Most iron in the Ugandan diet is consumed through fruits and vegetables which is more difficult for the body to absorb than iron found in meat products. Parasitic infections such as malaria and hookworm, as well as chronic diseases such as HIV/AIDS are very common throughout the country, contributing to the high number of children living with anemia. These two deficiencies and their accompanying complications are only a few in the vast array of nutrition related inadequacies that plague the children of Uganda.
Understanding that most ROA students face food insecurities at home, the provision of food for all students is a priority of the Hands4Uganda program. Through sponsorship dollars all students are served porridge each morning. Students starting the school day with full tummies ensures that they will have the energy to fully participate in class and will be able to focus on their work.
Students in the nursery section enjoying their morning porridge.
A typical lunch at ROA is comprised of beans (prepared with onions, tomatoes, carrots, and garlic) and posho with accompanying greens or fruits whenever they are available. We are doing our best to increase the nutrient intake of our students. The new school property is currently being used as a garden and is producing fruits and vegetables for student consumption.
A student in the primary section enjoys a hot bowl of beans and posho for lunch.
Once the new school is constructed there will be gardens throughout the property where fruits and vegetables will be grown for student consumption. We hope to develop an agricultural aspect to the ROA program so that students will learn to grow and tend to both fruit and vegetables that could improve their health as well as their familie's health.
Abdu Wasswa shows off a freshly picked cucumber from the ROA property that will be added to school lunches.
Through sponsorship every child at ROA is provided with food each day. We understand though that to have a greater impact on their overall nutrition, access to more than one full meal a day is necessary. To further the reach of sponsorship dollars we created a “Premium Sponsorship” option which provides a food package for your sponsored child's family at the beginning of each month. Instead of giving the extra funds directly to parents, administrators at ROA purchase food in bulk and distribute directly to student guardians. For families with as many as seven children, these monthly food packets ensure that students and their families have sufficient access to food at home.
A primary student with his mother and baby sister receiving their monthly food packet thanks to a generous sponsor.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can provide monthly food to your sponsored child and their family please click here. If you would like to experience a ROA lunch of rice and beans check out this recipe for a very similar dish!
