The Importance of a Dorm

During the pandemic, the village decided to build a dorm for at-risk girls and boys as their next project. The dorm was needed for several reasons, including to ensure the highest level of success and safety for their students.  

The dorm has a maximum capacity of up to 100 boys and up to 100 girls using bunk beds. The matron has separate quarters.

 AIDS has left Uganda with one of the highest percentages of orphans per capita in the world. The dorm creates a semi-permanent home for these children and provides them with both emotional and academic support. 

Until recently, education for girls was not a priority for many families. We are excited that we currently have more girls than boys enrolled at the school. However, many of these girls are not as successful academically as the boys, as they are expected to perform many household tasks upon returning from school and are left with little time to study. This is true to a lesser degree for the boys. In addition, early pregnancy is prevalent in the village, resulting in a significant dropout rate for the girls. Housed students are able to focus on their studies and avoid many of the roadblocks to matriculation. 

Most schools in Uganda are mixed day and boarding schools. Our plan is to give the families the option, dependent upon their needs, desires, and ability to pay. Currently, more than half our day students attend on full scholarships. As of July 2024, for the dorm, 77 of our residential students are on scholarships.  Girls receive 53 of the scholarships.

Building a dormitory didn’t happen overnight. MEF worked with MUCCO to finalize the construction and operations budget.  The construction cost was roughly $21,000 USD.

 

Meet Angida Winnie

Angida Winnie  joined the Bright Future School staff in the fall of 2019 and is both a teacher and the dorm matron. She has one child in the P5 class and a younger child who is with Winnie’s Mom. Winnie is soft-spoken and has a wide smile. I’ve included a short video of her that displays a little of her great personality.

Upon her arrival, she immediately impressed everyone with how she connected with the kids and helped them excel.  It was the little things she did for each child, regardless of whether the child was in her class. The parents brought her little thank-you gifts in appreciation.

Winnie helped Dona Oyer to teach the older girls about safety and feminine needs.

When the pandemic hit Uganda, everything shut down.  Mubaku School closed, and the older girls no longer got sanitary supplies. Unfortunately, two became pregnant.  Winnie and Dona jumped in and started visiting the older girls where they lived.

When the village leaders learned what had happened to the two older girls, they asked if two of the classrooms could be used to house the orphans and at-risk girls.  They decided that the next building constructed should be a dorm.

Winnie was asked to be the Matron for the temporary dorm.  As the school reopened, children who traveled long distances were added to the dorm.

The children flourish under her care. The children and the parents greatly love her.

So that she could sleep at night, a night watchman was hired.

Now that there is a permanent dorm, she is responsible for 72 children.  She now has a room attached to the girls’ wing, which she proudly shows off.

 Angida Winnie Interview

Dorm Construction Reverse Timeline:

June 2023: Dorm Progress

Stucco is finished!  The floor pour, and painting are still to go!

 

May 18, 2023:  Plastering almost finished

June 6, 2023:  Plastering Complete.  Painting is next

June 6, 2023:  Boys have moved into the dorm to free up the classroom they have been staying in.  Once the floor is poured on the other side of the dorm, they will move in there.

Oct and Nov 2021: Supplies are arriving as funds become available

Oct 9, 2021: First delivery of brick

Oct 9, 2021:First Delivery of Sand (School Latrine in the background)

Oct 9, 2021: Supplies showing first school building in the background)

Nov 20, 2021: The cement for the foundation has arrived

Dec 16, 2021:  Foundations of the dorm being dug. We need to raise $700 to get the skilled workers on-site to start the foundation bricklaying.

Dec , 2021: Bunk Beds for Dorm being loaded in Kampala

 

Jan 4, 2022: Foundation bricks laid

Jan 4, 2022: Rosemary Aweko has been taking care of the school while it has been closed and watching over the first phases of the dorm construction.  She is the deputy headteacher at the school. She teaches the nursery section.

Jan 4, 2022: View of the foundations looking toward the latine (on the left ) the original for classroom building (on the right).

Jan 4, 2022: View of the foundation from the other corner, looking toward the open area where the children play football (soccer)

Feb – June 2022: Walls are rising!

We are currently waiting for more contributions to continue construction.

Sept 2022:  Current Construction Status

A video status of the construction of the Dorm. No commentary.  Near the end of the video, the first school building is shown.  Construction will continue once more funds are raised.

 

Jan 2023: Dorm Roof

We have received more funds, and the dorm roofing has started

Jan 18, 2023: Roofing Timbers being loaded for delivery to Mubaku Village

Jan 23, 2023: First Day of Working on the Dorm roof

Jan 27, 2023: Roofing TrussNearing Completion

The next project is to build another classroom building so that each grade will have it’s own classroom and to house the schools’s growing library.

Only action shows our love: Please press here to donate to help build the next building.