Buvuma Island School Project

 Education System in Uganda:

The system of education in Uganda has a structure of 7 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education (divided into 4 years of lower secondary and 2 years of upper secondary school), and 3 to 5 years of post-secondary education. The present system has existed since the early 1960s and are levels are taught in English. As in England, national examinations (in English) determine advancement from one educational level to the next.

The Uganda National Examinations Council (UNEB) assumes the role of an examining board. The first examination, the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE), is administered at the end of primary education. Only students who have relatively high passing scores are admitted into "O" level secondary schools.

 

At the end of their four year "O" or ordinary level education, students take a certification examination. This is known as the Uganda Certificate of Education. Results of this examination are used by schools to admit students to "A" level institutions, government training institutes, technical colleges, and grade three teacher-training colleges. Those with "high pass" are assured places in "A" or advanced level schools. Upon successful completion of two years of "A" level education, students attempt the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education. Those with "high pass" are the lucky few who are admitted to universities and other postsecondary institutions for additional education or training for professions and careers. Thus, selection of students for universities, national teachers colleges, technical colleges, and government employment agencies is determined by the Uganda Advanced Certificate examination.

 

Uganda's educational system is a pyramid with a broad base but very narrow funnel that admits only a few to its top levels. Within each level of this pyramid students take class tests and the results of these internal tests decide who gets promoted to the next class. For the most part, the PLE test administered in English after the 7^th grade determines ones lot in life in Uganda.

 

Background:

Buvuma Island is a chain of more than fifty islands located a few kilometers off the northern shore of Lake Victoria, Uganda in the Napoleon Gulf. Buvuma lies 25km south of the major city of Jinja, and 90km east of the capital Kampala. It is part of the wider Busoga region, and is administered as part of Mukono. The main island is Buvuma, with a land area of around 200 square-miles (517 km²), and a population of around 20,000. It is forested but the forest is slowly being cut and burned to provide three boats a day full of charcoal for the nearby city of Jinja. There are twenty-six Forest Reserves in Buvuma.

 There is a somewhat unreliable ferry to the mainland. There are also unofficial small boat services from Kiyindi, a major fish-landing village on the shores of Lake Victoria. The area is very poor compared to other parts of Uganda, since funds allocated to it are often 'diverted' before they even reach the island. There are two health centers, but no electricity on the island. Sleeping sickness and tsetse flies are problems. The waters around the islands are rich in fish, and the local Ruvuma and Soga peoples are fishermen. Most adults are illiterate, and speak no English (the official language of Uganda). The predominant religion is traditional and animist, though there is a small Christianity minority. There has been no school on the island.

Buvuma Island(s) – circled on the map below

 

 Lasting Impact Ministries Involvement:

Because Buvuma Island is a 1-1/2 hour boat ride from the mainland, children on the island are unable to travel daily to attend mainland schools and also lack the money necessary to attend boarding schools. Since Buvuma Island is a very poor area and almost all adults are illiterate, the situation is compounded by the little appreciation for education. In 2007 Annette Kirabira became aware of the lack of educational available to the children who lived on the Buvuma Islands and felt compelled to do something about it. Her husband Pastor Bernard Kirabira and Annette felt led to start a Christian school on Buvuma Island which could  dramatically effect the lives of the children and families who lived there.

 

The master plan for Buvuma Christian School was to amass funding in order to initially build three class rooms for grades 1-3 plus teachers quarters. Each year one additional class room and grade would be added until all 7 years were available to the children. In addition to the classrooms, a boarding building is also planned so that the children from the other islands in the Buvuma chain can come to the school each semester and have room and board. Lasting Impact Ministries received funding from Daybreak Community Church in Carlsbad California to build the first three class rooms and fund the school for its initial two years. The school now has 140 children and is in its second year of existence.

The Need:

Currently Buvuma Island Christian School has tuition fees of $30 per child per year (3 semesters/yr), with an approximate cost of over $100 per child per year. Rather than looking for a constant source of donations each year, it is the desire of Lasting Impact Ministries, which runs the school to develop a means of sustaining the school on an ongoing basis so that the children on these island can break the circle of poverty and provide a better life for themselves and the generations that follow.



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