We started in 2007 with a handful of nursery children. Gift by gift, our supporters have helped us put up classrooms, plant a farm and bring clean water to the compound. Here's what's changed.
Then and now
Some of our classes began in a shelter made of timber poles and plastic sheeting. Today we have a brand new brick classroom block.
What your giving built
Solid brick walls, barred windows, a strong roof and a long covered verandah where children can shelter from sun and rain.
Read the storyRows of maize, banana plants and other crops now grow on the school land. The farm fits with what we teach, since farming is one of the practical skills our pupils learn.
Read the storyA rainwater tank with a tap stands next to the classrooms. It collects rain off the roof so pupils can wash their hands during the school day, which helps keep everyone healthy and in class.
Read the storyOur journey
Mrs. Betty Nsungwa Byabakama opens YAEC on 5 July 2007 with just a few nursery children whose families couldn't afford school fees.
As more children arrive, classes meet wherever there's space, including a shelter made of timber poles.
Brick classrooms go up and the walls fill with hand-painted maps and murals. Pupils start learning practical skills like tailoring, farming and bricklaying.
We now serve 136 children aged 3 to 12, with a new classroom block, a school farm and clean water on site.
Next we want to fill our library with books, build the children a better kitchen, and furnish the new rooms with desks, chalkboards and lighting.
What we need now
Food for hungry children, books for our library and a better kitchen. Watch the clips and you'll see why.
At mealtime the children line up at the serving tables with their cups and wait for their share. For many of them, it's hard to learn on an empty stomach.
Every gift, big or small, and every bit of help puts more food on those tables. More food means fuller cups, and children who can concentrate in class.
Our whole library fits on one set of shelves. Our pupils love to read, but there aren't enough books to go round. We need storybooks and reading books for every age, from nursery to P7, plus reference books.
Got children's books to spare? We'd love them. Get in touch.
Every school meal is cooked over open wood fires in a small, dark room that fills with smoke. We want to build the children a better kitchen: brighter, cleaner, with better stoves and far less smoke for the cooks.
Thank you
Thank you to the donors who gave, a lot or a little, and to the sponsors who kept children in school. Thank you to the volunteers and visiting friends who came to Nsanvu to work and pray alongside us, and to our teachers and parents, who never gave up.
The new block, the farm and the water tank belong to you as much as to us.
Webale nnyo.
Everyone at Yes and Amen Education Centre
