"This was a day to tell"

Hawa, the school Secretary, Kenneth, the IT guy and
Suzan, one of the cooks

As a thank you for  a successful school year, Betty and Abdu took the entire ROA Staff , teachers and non teachers as well as pastor Jimmy and his wife Helen, to the Jinja Sailing Club on Lake Victoria for a meal.

Pastor Jimmy posted on Facebook..."It was a great surprise for all us that serve and teach at Rock of Ages Academy as we were requested by our director to attend an end of year dinner at Sailing Club" Thanks big. It was a refreshing moment. Blessings and peace to our director and all supporters of ROA."

The  teachers said it was "a day to tell".

 None had ever dinned in such a nice place and many did not know what to order. But  everyone enjoyed the food  they ordered.

Top Class Teacher Alice , commented that she has taught in 3 schools before coming to ROA but this is were she has felt loved and appreciated. She thanked Betty for helping her with modern teaching and Phonics lessons.

It was a wonderful way to thank the teachers and staff and show appreciation for their dedication and hard work.

Teachers Faith and Brenda

James and John relaxing by the lake

Pastor Jimmy and Helen 

Pastor  Jimmy, Head Teacher Anthony and Olivia

Kenneth digging in

Teacher Mercy, Cook Aisha, Teacher Jackie

Another Year - Rock of Ages Graduation Celebation 2015

Friday, December 4th, Rock of Ages Academy celebrated the end of the school year.  It was a typical Ugandan celebration.  Children from all classes recited poems, sang songs and performed skits.  The Baby class, the youngest children, did a fashion show, and the older ones showed off the crafts they are making to help support the school. Pastor Jimmy prayed with the parents and then talked about parenting and the importance of supporting their children’s education. The celebration culminated in the graduation of the Top Class (roughly equivalent to our kindergarten).  In January, these children will be starting their primary school education.

One part of the celebration not so typical was the dedication of recently purchased land. Parents and staff trekked to the nearby property to see for themselves the future location of Rock of Ages Academy and to participate in the dedication.  It was a joyous, hope-filled event.

Graduation of Top Class

Procession

Cake Cutting ... with confetti flying!

The Baby Class Fashion Show

Looking at the New Land

Making Beads

School Events

Head teacher talking about ROA results

Giving history of ROA

Dancing

Staying Healthy

This is John, who attends baby class at  Rock of Ages class. Last week as he played around by a neighbor's  outside cooking stove he knocked over a saucepan filled with hot water.  The boiling burned the palm of John's  hand, and  he is undergoing  treatment.

Lucky for John, in 2013 Rock of Ages Academy signed a contract with  St. Francis Health Clinic. The clinic is a short 5-minute walk from the school and is supported by various non-profits in the US and around the world. The contract allows sick students to be seen at no cost by the doctors at the clinic and the school picks up the cost of any medications required. The cost of the medicine is paid for by setting aside $1 from each $20 monthly sponsorship payment and placing it in a medical fund.  At the beginning of each month,  St. Francis delivers a bill to the school from the previous month, and the school makes the payment. Costs per month average about $150.  Malaria (this is the #1 reason kids go to the clinic) , typhoid (caused by dirty drinking water), respiratory infections infections, burns, skin infections are the main illnesses kids are treated for. In most instances, the cost of treatment is just a couple of dollars. 

This program has not only saved lives, (malaria is still the number one killer of children in Uganda) but there is a direct impact on school attendance. On a typical day, less than 5% of the kids are absent. This is remarkable. According to Betty, in the past kids would stay home for weeks when they came down with an illness. Today, if a kid is sick, to comes to school sick, Betty calls the parents and has them take the child to the clinic.  Within 24 hours of taking medicine for malaria, the kids feel well enough to come back to school! 

Last week Betty sent me some pictures and stories of kids who had recently received care at St. Francis. John was one of them. Another was Hannah. She fell and fractured her hand. Hannah is in primary one. 

We are thankful that the children at Rock of Ages not only receive an education but that their physical needs are also taken care of. We hope that you, the donors and supporters of ROA are pleased as well! On behalf of the children and their families, a BIG Thank you! 

  

A reason to Celebrate!

Abdu brought the boys to visit the land

It has always been our hope that Rock of Ages school would someday own land. Last week the school, with support from our generous donors and hard work by our board of directors the school purchased our first parcel. It took us almost five years to raise enough money to do this. The school is currently on rented property and we have 5 years left on our current lease there. This gives us lots of time to build and develop the property. In the meantime, some of the land will be used to grow food for the school. 

Our land is perfectly situated...close to the current school and still in the village of Mbiko. With God's help we will purchase the rest on the next few months. The land is titled (a big win in Uganda) and has access to electricity and water. It will help the school both grow and sustain itself for the coming years. What joyous occasion!

Jack Fruit

Jolly Phonics- Let's have some fun!

Today  the teachers started their training in Jolly Phonics.  Pioneered in the UK,  Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centered approach to teaching literacy through synthetic phonics. With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating for both children and teachers, who can see their students learn. This approach to teaching reading and writing will be one more tool for the ROA teachers.

This is far from the standard approach of rote recitation and memorization that is so prevalent in African schools.  It is exciting to watch Betty  introduce and  teach new education techniques to her teachers with the goal of improving student achievements.

Here are some pictures from today's training. It looks like the teachers are having fun!

Rock of Ages Term Starts

Starting a new term

On  August 31 the third  and final term of the year started at Rock of Ages School. In Uganda, the school year starts in January and is broken up into three separate terms.

As this term starts, Betty writes the following:

" At the end of the last school term we held a program for all the parents where we encouraged them to be more active in supporting their children's education. We thank God that some parents have responded positively to the message.

Teachers are working harder with the uniform handwriting in all classes, they have started with painting there chalkboards and designing. I have noticed some improvements in both teachers and children handwriting while doing my supervision.

Teachers painting  black board

And this Friday we are hosting another teacher from Kampala to help with the start of our Jolly phonics program. This training is also going to help both teachers and children.

On the behalf of Rock of Ages, I would like to thank all our dear donors for supporting ,praying, loving these children.  Eight years down the road, I have seen  differences in the lives of children ,parents and the community. Thank you all for that big heart."  Betty Wasswa

Note: Jolly Phonics is a fun and child centered approach to teaching literacy through synthetic phonics. With actions for each of the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating for children and teachers, who can see their students achievements.

 Our board member, Gabe Flicker,  who recently retired as the long time executive director of Grace Pocatello School commented, " The Jolly Phonics is unique and is a good fit for our (ROA) type of school. Lots of recitation (not used in US )but used a ton in Africa).   Lots of activities, songs, fun. Its good to see our teachers having a scope and sequence and something to teach rather than teaching from just  their own lessons.

The kids and parents

Girls Day Out (Trying to Beat the Odds)

 

Look at these beautiful girls dressed in their Sunday best!  They are young, filled with hope,  ready to go on an outing.  They are students at Rock of Ages School.  I always wonder how they manage to come looking so clean and pressed. They come from homes with dirt floors and no running water. In fact many of them probably had to fetch water for the day before coming to school, lugging home two five liter jerry cans.   

These girls are in grades 5-6.  A primary school in Uganda ends at grade 7. Statistically,  less than 40% of these girls will finish primary school.  And only a few will graduate from secondary school (we call it high school).  Betty is trying to change that. 

Yesterday Betty took them on a field trip funded by a few of our donors. In Betty's words:

"These girls are so vulnerable, and I am trying to think of ways to encourage them to stay in school.  We are planning a  fun outing for these girls during the first week of our holiday.  We decided on a day of swimming, having fun, playing games, eating ice cream, interacting with each other and a talk encouraging them to stay in school. We talked about it with the girls, and they are excited because for  most of  them it's going to be their first time to go swimming." 

Along with sending pictures, Betty sent this report about "Girls day Out". 

" Thank you to all our friends who contributed to this event. We left school at 9 am and ended our day at 5 pm.  It has been a long day, but  the girls enjoyed it and liked swimming. For most of them it was the first time to swim and to go to such a place.

Thank you all for making a difference in their lives.  It was a great experience for us (2 female teachers also attended)  talking to the girls outside the school. I have also enjoyed talking to them about staying in school.  After my speech, the girls suggested they start up a club/group as a way of telling other girls to stay in school. We liked their idea,  so they elected leaders.  

Chairperson               Christine                P.6

Vice C/person             Nisha                    P.5

Secretary                     Hawa                   P.6

Treasury                      Claire                   P.5

And the rest,  we are members."  

5 Years and counting!

HANDS 4 UGANDA

Pocatellan’s nonprofit raises funds for new school in Africa

BY CYDNEY MCFARLAND

   For the  Idaho State Journal

   POCATELLO — Hands 4 Uganda, a non-profit started by Pocatello native Ariane Drake, celebrated its fiveyear anniversary Tuesday. Drake started the non-profit in 2010 as a 16-year-old after going on a mission trip to Mbiko, Uganda, a small village on a main road where many people pass through and prostitution is a huge issue on top of poverty and lack of education. There Drake volunteered at a school run and entirely funded by its founder Betty Wasswa, a native of Mbiko who had gotten her teachers certification and then came back to start a school in her small village. The school served roughly 70 to 80 students all crammed into a dilapidated building with few school supplies.

   “I absolutely fell in love with this school and with Betty,” said Drake. “Being there, interacting with those kids took my heart. I couldn’t live with myself knowing they were hurting.”

   Drake began raising funds to pay for muchneeded renovations and school supplies with a goal of fully supporting a K through 7 school. Now, five years later, Rock of Ages School serves about 200 students and provides education, daily meals and a clinic. But the quarter of the acre it currently stands on has become far too small. Hands 4 Uganda is over halfway to its goal of $60,000 to purchase four acres of land to build a new school. The new space will allow for not just a larger school building, but more room for the kids to play.

   “It’ll give them a little more wiggle room in their seats,” said Drake, “and make sure they have that time to just be kids.”   Currently Hands 4 Uganda has a title for the land, but the purchase hasn’t been made yet. Drake, currently a director on the Hands 4 Uganda board, and chair Karla Reynolds, said that purchasing land in Uganda provides some unique challenges. Fake titles and tribal laws involving land make purchasing land a more time-consuming and complicated process than it is in the United States. Drake said they have been relying on Betty and husband Abdu to facilitate the transaction, but they hope to purchase it in the next few months.

   “Sometimes it comes down to paying off the right person,” Reynolds said. “Our Christian and American values say don’t. But I don’t live there so it’s hard to make that judgement.”

   Reynolds, Ariane and Kim Drake, the organization’s secretary and treasurer, all stressed that it is their partnership with their Ugandan counterparts Betty and Abdu that make the organization really work.

   “It’s not our American arrogance saying ‘we can do this better,”’ said Reynolds. “She [Betty] would still be running the school if we weren’t there to help.”

   Hands 4 Uganda provides a way for people to sponsor the children of Mbiko. Twenty dollars per month pays for one child’s school, uniform, food and other expenses and this is mostly how the school is funded. Any extra money is used to pay for currently unsponsored children to attend school. But Reynolds said they can’t help everyone. She said Betty has final say over who gets in to the school, and it’s usually the poorest of the poor.

   “The kids on the outside will always haunt you, but it’s one child at a time, as many as you can help.”

   Ultimately the goal of the organization is to create a self-sustaining school with a mix of sponsored children and children with families who are able to pay tuition, which can help pay for more children who don’t fall into either category. Reynolds said Betty and Abdu are hoping to have a soccer field at the new school.

   Abdu, a former player on the Ugandan national team, hopes to possibly use it as a training facility to attract talented kids and make the school a magnet for the national soccer team.

   “Ultimately our goal is to not always be there,” said Reynolds.

   Currently Reynolds travels to Uganda with a team once a year to see how things are going, and to help out as much as they can while they are there. She encourages sponsors or anyone with a desire to help to join her. Kim Drake said they’re hoping to take a group of teachers over there soon to train the staff at the school.

   “It’s one of those ever growing organizations,” said Kim Drake, “but so rewarding in so many ways.”

   Hands 4 Uganda is run entirely by volunteers, which allows over $18 of every $20 donated to go toward the school. This includes not just the volunteers to go to Uganda, but the board members as well.

   “You just have to rely on the goodness in people’s hearts,” said Kim Drake.

   “It sound cliche but it’s true,” said Reynolds, “and there’s so many things competing for people’s hearts.”

   Currently they have $40,000 of the $60,000 needed to buy the land, and after that, they will start raising money to build the new facility.

   “I wish I could be a bigger part of H4U,” said Ariane Drake. But she said being away from Pocatello and the rest of the board, as well as college, has caused her to step back a bit.

   Ariane Drake will start her senior year at Westminster College in the fall and is currently interning for the Utah Department of Health, working on West Nile Virus research.

   She plans to graduate in 2016 with a bachelor’s in Public Health and a minor in Spanish.

   “In high school I had a dream to be a doctor,” said Drake, “but it just didn’t fit. With public health I can still make a huge impact.”

   Ariane will be going with a team to Uganda again next June.

Betty Wasswa, founder of the Rock of Ages School, stands before her students in Mbiko, Uganda.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

   Hands 4 Uganda founder Ariane Drake sits with one of the students at the Rock of Ages School in Mbiko, Uganda.