Google Classroom - Closing the digital divide in rural Uganda

Google Classroom - Closing the digital divide in rural Uganda

Around one third of the world’s children do not have access to remote learning. So when COVID-19 hit and schools were forced to close around the globe, 463 million children - most of whom are from rural communities - fell into the chasm of the digital divide. The pandemic shed a brutal spotlight on the digital inequalities children face and the impact this has on accessing a quality education. At School for Life, we are hoping to bridge that gap by implementing Google Classroom while schools remain shut across Uganda.

Keeping our communities safe - COVID-19 Awareness Drive

Keeping our communities safe - COVID-19 Awareness Drive

After all schools across Uganda were mandated to shut down to prevent the escalating second wave of COVID-19 in early June, forcing our students to stay at home and keep within their villages, our Community & Welfare team quickly moved into action to ensure the wider population were educated on preventative measures to keep healthy and safe. In doing so, our team reached and educated a wider audience, helping to reduce the likelihood of our students contracting the virus whilst in contact with their local community members.

Coffee for a cause: Getting to know eviG

Coffee for a cause: Getting to know eviG

Co-Founders Roland and Liam launched eviG in November 2019, a profit-for-purpose business with a core mission of giving back and ensuring disadvantaged children in Australia and around the world get access to quality education. They recently started supporting School for Life and we love what they’re about, so here’s an intro to eviG!

Does sponsoring a child REALLY make a difference?

Does sponsoring a child REALLY make a difference?

It’s sometimes very hard to know if your dollars are truly making a difference and if you’re having the impact you hope to have on another person’s life. This is very much the case with sponsoring a child or getting your business involved on a corporate level! We recently spoke with one of our long-time supporters, Mike Coorey, who shares his incredible first-hand story of witnessing child sponsorship changing lives and how getting your business involved in philanthropy is a good thing.

Building brighter futures: constructing our boys’ boarding school

Building brighter futures: constructing our boys’ boarding school

After the milestone completion and opening of the Senior girls’ boarding facility earlier this year, it wasn’t long until we started breaking the ground to begin building our Senior boys’ boarding school. Read on to follow the next chapter in School for Life’s history books and see how quickly this project is coming together!

Igniting the Sawa World spark at School for Life

Igniting the Sawa World spark at School for Life

At School for Life we are always looking for ways to enhance the learning and education being offered to our students. This year we had a strong focus on partnering with other organisations aligned with our core mission and values, and who would be able to provide training programs that would prepare our students with work ready skills or to develop their own small businesses. Enter Sawa World.

Read on to see how the recent Sawa World program has ignited a spark amongst our Primary 7 students.

IT'S A WRAP! Our 2021 Black Tie Ball a record-breaking night to remember

IT'S A WRAP! Our 2021 Black Tie Ball a record-breaking night to remember

Each year, School for Life hosts a Black Tie Gala Ball to raise funds for the Foundation’s mission to educate poverty out of existence.

After a Covid-cancelled 2020 event, we were excited to be able to host our signature event back at The Star, Sydney. Read on for the highlights of the night, a memorable live auction bidding war and how our 2021 Gala Ball set a new fundraising record.

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.