H O L I D A Y B R E A K
It was another busy month at The Center! The academic year in Uganda runs on the calendar year and is divided into three terms. In between each term a is a holiday break which lasts anywhere from 3-6 weeks. During these breaks is when The Center is the busiest. The in between Term Two and Term Three Holiday break came, leading to the continuation of our creative based programs. Some of the programs offered at The Center were dance, drama, art, storytelling, and singing. Four of our secondary students were added to the calendar to help teach some of our programs. The Center’s gates opened at 9am and closed at 6pm with kids showing up at 8am and not leaving until after 6pm. On average we had about 35+ secondary students using the library/classroom and another 80+ young kids attending our programming. All in all, it was a blast and the students in the community enjoyed a much-deserved break.
S E C O N D A R Y S T U D E N T S
Holiday breaks offers us a time to reach out and meet with all of our secondary students. Prior to the meeting the students are expected to volunteer at The Center, turn in their grade reports, make a 2,000-schilling donation back to AIA, and drop off a bank slip for their upcoming school fees. The meeting is a deadline for turning in their requirements. In addition, these personal meetings allow us to check in with each individual student to review their grades while making sure they are upholding their contracts. The students then participated in a community wide trash pick up. Finally, we broke up into two groups, separating the boys from the girls. Two mentors came and advised/counseled the respective groups. The subject(s) included the following topics: hygiene, sex, healthy relationships, working hard in school, college, etc.
A U N T I E M A G G I E
Unfortunately all good things come to an end… Auntie Maggie left us this month to go back to University. We cannot thank her enough for what she has done for AIA these last 8 months. Maggie rebuilt our website, designed all our graphics, led our art programs, started the “Muganda Beadness campaign” (putting two of our kids back in school) and dedicated herself wholly to this small little village in the middle of Uganda. We will forever be grateful for your time with us and we are all counting down the minutes until we see you next.
S U M A Y Y A
A few months ago we met Sumayya. Her dedication to AIA blew us away, showing up every day to utilize the library and assist in tutoring the younger students. We decided to reward her unwavering dedication to AIA by adding her to our secondary scholarship program. Additionally, Sumayya kindly requested if we would consider letting her become AIA’s librarian. We are glad to have Sumayya around The Center on a daily basis as she is without a doubt one of the most deserving, intelligent and helpful students that has ever stepped through The Center’s gates.
S S E M B A T Y A J O H N
This month marked the two-year anniversary of the passing of our dear friend John Ssembatya. Paddy and Sarah headed deep into the village to visit his grave and enjoy Mountain Dews (John’s favorite) together. It was a wonderful day to remember a man that we all loved so dearly.
S N A P C H A T
This month we joined the Snapchat community. If you don't already, follow ACTIONINAFRICA on snapchat for on the ground videos and pictures. Thanks to Mike and Maggie for setting us up and even getting us our very own geotag!
