School Construction
Classroom construction and infrastructure
improvements continue to be a constant need in order to fulfill
the vision the school community and Into Your Hands has for St.
Denis and other rural schools. An expanding student population
and enhanced educational programs create a demand for vocational
training workshops, higher education classrooms, dormitories,
administrative offices, and other capital improvements.
After the founding of Into Your Hands in 2007, our first project
was to finish the construction of the school library which had
been stalled for over two years without a roof and subject to
torrential downpours. Now the library block houses the
computer lab and a book storage in addition to the library.
The library is slowly being furnished with chairs, desks, and
bookshelves.
Thanks to various Evergreen-area Rotary clubs, schools, and community churches, Into Your Hands will ship over 20,000 books and 10 computers to equip St. Denis and other rural schools in the Makondo area in early 2010.
Improving
the well-being of girls and
creating a healthy environment that is conducive to their
continued education is an important part of the work of Into
Your Hands. After finding out that the girls did not have bunk
beds in the dormitory, IYH provided the girls with bunk beds and
mosquito nets so they would not have to sleep on the floor and
be subject to damp and muddy bedding. Mosquito nets are
essential in mitigating the risk for contracting malaria.
The bunk beds enabled better use of the
dormitory space and the capacity to house girl boarders
increased from 20 beds to 48. Currently St. Denis has 45
girls in the boarding section. Of those, IYH provides
boarding tuition for 22 girls who would otherwise face a long
commute to school or be similarly hindered in their quest for
education.
Current Project: Boys' Dormitory
In
2008, Uganda was rocked by a series of dormitory fires at
various secondary schools throughout the country. The
Ministry of Education and Sports began a campaign to ensure that
boarding facilities were safe and provided emergency exits to
students. At the time, the boys at St. Denis were boarding in
inadequate and crowded facilities, actually using the staff
housing as dormitories. St. Denis made the construction of
a boys' dormitory a priority. Thanks to the generosity
of Into Your Hands donors, the new dormitory is nearly complete
and should be ready to welcome the boys by February 2010. The
new dormitory will provide a safe environment for 75 boys.
School Infrastructure
St.
Denis students continue to rely on well water for their daily
use. The students must walk daily to fetch water from the
nearby well which is located about one mile away, a nearly
45 minute round trip walk. With the help of the
Colorado School of Mines and
Rotary
International, a new rain catchment and storage system is
planned for St. Denis.
Until this system is in place, Into Your Hands has provided St. Denis with two 10,000 L water storage tanks and a gutter system to collect water from the library roof.
Electricity is also a major problem for the continued growth and academic performance of St. Denis. The Rotary Club of Evergreen has generously contributed to the purchase of a diesel generator in order to mitigate the effects of unpredictable blackouts.
Into Your Hands has brought electricity to both the girls and the boys dormitories.
