Gillian's Alinyiikira Junior School Project
Posted at 8:50 AM (PDT) on Monday, September 19, 2005

Gillian's AJS Message Part 2:

Over the next few years I think I will be focusing more on schools in Africa and this will be the first. I would love for any of you who are interested to be a part of it. I am attaching a list of what they need. Obviously, there are things on the list which seem more immediate than others. For instance a computer or two is superfluous without power. Some of you may think that it is more important that they have musical instruments than math books, or teachers' desks than chalk boards. Or that the first thing to focus on is raising money for solar panels which is also one of the attachments. But there are things that are not on the list such as school fees per term per child, or supplementing food with some form of protein to accompany the regular portion of porridge once a day, or contributing to teachers fees which are half as much as they would make in the city, and their sleeping quarters which are basically nonexistent.

It seems endless but the fact is it takes very little to make a huge difference in each of their lives. While Jules was at the school he bought eight children new shoes and he bought the school a duplicating machine which is what was around before copy machines - the power issue again. After I left I sent back 10 cartons of chalk and two footballs and committed to supplying them with 200-400 exercise books for the new school year.

The list is accompanied by what each item would cost per unit in Ugandan shillings and then the total amount of needed items is in both shillings and dollars (my understanding is that 1,000 shillings equals approximately 50 cents). My thought is that one person may say that they would be interested in contributing to two English books while another person might get their family involved and commit to two desks and another person might want to pay for school fees for three children for one term or one child for a whole year (70,000 shillings a term includes supplemented protein and is the equivalent of about $40.00). Or even, someone might say, "I have four extra dollars and I would like for it to go towards a swing set," and eventually, over time, we will be able to contribute a swing set.

Right now the school is not set up as a charity and therefore one could not get a tax right-off for the contribution but the boost your heart will get in return is worth so much more.

But please let me know your thoughts and if any of you would like to contribute even the smallest amount or if you have any better ideas of how to go about this, let me know! I would also encourage anyone who is planning a trip to Uganda or lives near Kampala to go visit the school and maybe plant a tree alongside the ones that J and I did and offer the kids a big smile in support for their efforts to grow and learn and contribute to their community and therefore the world.

Thanks for listening.

Gillian.

To learn lots more about the Alinyiikira Junior School and how to help, click here.