Vision
St. Alexander Junior School was founded by and named after Alex Tumberwaze, a resident of the rural community of Rubombo who saw large numbers of children out of school In the area – orphans of families affected by HIV, or with parents who wanted, but could not afford the cost of education – and in 2011 decided to purchase an area of land to build a new school on. With the belief that every child should have access to an education, and in the total absence of any good quality, affordable alternatives, the project was started to provide an opportunity for learning to those most in need; the school's motto is “others can, I can”.
Problem
Starter infrastructure was initially built at the site with the help of the local community, but due to lack of additional funding, what were supposed to be temporary classrooms constructed from wood have remained in place for seven years. While the teachers have been able to make effective use of the classrooms under the circumstances, they are now in a state of disrepair, and are in urgent need of replacement. Problems such as water leakage when it rains render them unusable; there is a lack of sufficient lighting because of an absence of windows; and the classrooms have bare floors which, due to the accumulation of dust and dirt, harbor lice that can harm the children's feet.
With the deterioration of the classrooms, many of the families who could afford to pay school fees decided to send their children elsewhere to private schools who charged exclusively, and the number of students decreased accordingly from 200 to 64. The remaining 64 pupils now at the school are all orphaned and vulnerable children who do not receive fees, and are subsidized for school lunches, books and stationary. As such, St. Alexander is surviving financially on the little income generated by the surrounding banana plantations, and the belief of the staff in the schools vision - teachers are not receiving their salaries on time, and in some cases are opting to waive their own small income to supplement the fees of students who otherwise would be subsidized.
Clearly this situation is not sustainable, both for the children for whom the school is the only option of an education, and for those people trying to provide them with that education.
Solution
A push is needed: If new classrooms are built, the financial security of the school would be secured by the return of students from families with sufficient money to pay fees (these parents have said they will return their children to the school if the infrastructure is improved), and pressure would be relieved on the teachers as a result.
Due to prior fundraising efforts we have so far managed to construct 2 permanent classrooms, however we are currently still relying heavily on the temporary classrooms, and to meet the schools capacity another 6 permanent classrooms are needed! Every new classroom built is an improvement in the quality of education the school provides for the pupils, and gets us closer to making the motto 'others can, i can' a reality for the children of Rubombo.