Every year around 20 young adults leave the project with a diploma in their pockets. For some this means the start of a carrier with a company, for others it means starting their own business and some are going to the University to become a doctor or an engineer. We are delighted and thankful that they are going to have a favorable future in Uganda.
2022
Opening of the schools after a closure of almost 2 years due to covid-19. The science room was first used by the students.
2021
The path from Samaritan Day Care & Kindergarten (SAM) to the rest of the campus has been completed. A beautiful science room has been built for the students of the NSVS, where the subjects physics, chemistry, biology and agriculture are taught. The site is also walled with a 400 meter long wall and we were allowed to provide the dental clinic with new medical equipment. A second year dominated by corona, in which schools remained closed again.
2020
The electricity network has been improved by a large transformer and the installation of an electricity pole. The sleeping accommodation for the boys from the primary school has been expanded with an extra house. The sanitary facilities in the boys' dormitories at the secondary school have been renovated and the house for the head of the primary school has been completed. The playground has been expanded with additional swings and merry-go-rounds. Paths have also been laid between different buildings and a start has also been made on the path to the kindergarten. A challenging year at the start of the corona pandemic. Schools will close as of March 2020 and have not been open except for a few exam classes.
The dorminstries of the primary school have been renovated with new ceilings and roofs, to provide better insulation. The toilets and showers rooms have also been renovated. Plastered ceilings have been introduced at the secondary school, which provides more cooling. And an outside shaded area has been created.
The obstetrics and maternity ward of the clinic has been renovated. In addition, an extra dormitory has been built for the girls of the primary school and extra dormitories for the boys of the secondary school. There were two shadow huts built by a volunteer building team from the Netherlands.
The old part of the primary school has been renovated. The library has also been renovated and extended with a study room. The vocational school was extended with a classroom for practical Catering lessons.
The secondary school has been extended with a classroom for the subject 'Electrical & Solar'. This means there now is an extra course of choice in the vocational school curriculum. On the other side of the campus, the new Samaritan Day Care and Kindergarten was built.
There has been a lot of construction at the new primary school this year, with great results. The building will be taken into use in the new school year.
The construction of the last girls' dormitories for 120 girls was completed. The vocational school received 500 kilos of tools from the Netherlands. The construction of the new primary school is in preparation.
The new dining room and kitchen have been constructed. Furthermore, the infrastructure on the project has been expanded and there are new roads and parking lots. Also, a two-hundred-metre long wall has been built for security of the campus. The construction of the final phase of the girls' dormitories for 120 girls has started. The director financial control & reporting, Yme Holwerda and his wife Fokla end their task and move back to the Netherlands. In addition, a large investment has been made in educational resources such as textbooks, 30 computers for the computer room, and new investments in the chemistry laboratory and in the library.
The dormitories for the secondary school girls has been expanded with another 120 beds, and we have begun preparing for further expansion of the accommodation for the future. We also started with the construction of a new kitchen and dining room.
The renovation and expansion of the clinic have been completed. A new sleeping accommodation including toilets and a water tower for 120 NSVS girls has been built. Also, three additional classrooms for the vocational school have been constructed. The project managers Ferdinand and Joyce Weijs decide to end their task. Thereafter, current pastor Eric Sempa was appointed operational director and Yme Holwerda was appointed director financial control & reporting. Yme and Fokla moved to Uganda with their family.
Four extra rooms for the vocational school have been built. A start has been made with the renovation of the clinic.
The campus has been extended with three classrooms, teachers' rooms and toilet blocks, and the infrastructure has been renewed. The construction of another four classrooms for the NSVS has begun. The total number of children currently living at the campus is now 567. The project managers Gert and Esther decide to end their job. Their tasks are taken over by the new project managers: Ferdinand and Joyce Weijs.
A new water tower for 20,000 litres is built so that the entire project is provided with clean drinking water. A beginning has been made with the renewal of the electrical installation using, amongst others, solar panels. The NSVS is expanded with three new classrooms, a reception and offices.
New dormitories and toilets for 160 children are built. In total we now have room for 450 children.
The oldest residential circles are being renovated. The ceilings in the ten houses are made higher and they are given new roofs, windows, doors and plumbing. The project leaders Cor and Grace Koelewijn decide to pass on their task to new project managers: Gert and Esther van den Boom.
The vocational school is finished and expanded with a secondary school. From now on, the name of the school will be NSVS (Namugongo Secondary Vocational School).
The construction of the vocational school continues and houses for the teachers are built.
The sports field is being constructed. Also, a two-floor office building is finalised.
In January, the vocational school starts with the first 30 students. Two new circles of small scale dormitories are built, which can house 150 pupils are ready.
The adjacent land of 37 acres is purchased. The first classrooms for the vocational school will be built, so that the children can learn a profession after finishing primary school.
A multifunctional space which is big enough for over 600 children is put into use. The roads, footpaths and the schoolyard are asphalted so that they do not turn into a mud pool when it rains.
In this year we expanded the kitchen, the primary school (from 3 to 7 classes) and the power supply, and the clinic was expanded with a new delivery room. Also, more houses are being built on the campus.
The mission is extended with a first aid post / clinic for the children and residents in the area. The construction of residential circles is started. Here, small houses are placed where the children can stay under the guidance of a 'mother'.
In these years Kinderhulp Afrika is confronted with the consequences of the civil war in Rwanda. Until 1998 the foundation helps around a hundred children, who are being cared for in a children's home in Butare, Rwanda.
Work is being done on the further development of the mission. The grounds are connected to the electricity grid, sewage system and the water network.
The primary school which now has tree classrooms is opened and named 'Samaritan Primary School'. There are now about 50 orphans at the mission.
The first orphans are taken in! A well is being dug and clear drinking water is found at a depth of 40 meters. This water is enough to provide clean drinking water for the project and for the people in the area.
Due to the lack of agricultural machinery, the land has to be prepared for construction by hand. This work is done in teams of 50 to 100 people, after which the first buildings can be built.
Kinderhulp Afrika buys the first 40 acres of land in Namugongo, to build the mission there.
Kinderhulp Afrika continues under the name 'Children's Welfare Mission' as a foundation in Uganda under the direction of Cor and Grace Koelewijn.
With the help of American foundation Ambassadors of Hope, a start is made with setting up the mission in Uganda.
Kinderhulp Afrika is founded by Mathijs Piet, following a visit by an African children's choir that stayed in the Netherlands, seeking protection against the civil war that was going on in Uganda at the time.