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February 2016 Newsletter

Outreach Uganda Brings the Power of Play to its Agatwa School with its First Playground
Donors' Generosity Funds Northern Uganda Playground

New play structure built for the Agatwa School playground

This month Outreach Uganda finalized the construction of our new playground for the children who attend our Agatwa School in northern Uganda with the help of generous donors. Following construction, the school celebrated with a community dedication ceremony.

"It is a great help to the children, the school, and the community as a whole," said parent Akena Martin. "It will encourage children who did not otherwise want to come to school."

Agatwa children couldn't wait to try out the new swings.

The 500 students that attend the Agatwa primary school had never had a playground before. To bring them a playground, Outreach Uganda, through its donors, raised funds and worked with another NGO that constructed the playground to U.S. and European safety standards. While school doesn't commence until February 22, the children were so excited to have a playground, they were already playing on it the moment it was finished.

"A playground is a new invention in the District, and nearly the whole of northern Uganda," said Aleng Paska, Outreach Uganda child sponsorship coordinator. "It will encourage many children to like school and will even draw the attention of parents to bring their children to school."

Learn More and View More Photos

Make an Impact with Your Donation

Comparing School Systems: Uganda and the U.S.
Schooling in Uganda Differs from the U.S. in Many Ways

Our U.S. sponsors often receive letters from their sponsored children talking about how they are performing in school. Sometimes, it is hard to put their conversations in perspective because schooling in Uganda differs from the United States in so many ways. Britain's school system served as the model for how schools are structured in Uganda and for how students progress through schools. In addition, the resources Ugandan schools have, especially those that are government run, tend to be significantly less than the resources found in U.S. schools.

Deputy Headmaster Okello Okello at his desk in the school office. It is typical in Uganda to have many handmade posters on the office wall with statistics and information about the school's enrollment, teacher names, School Management Committee names, pupil count by grade, and so on.

Click here to view some notable differences between Ugandan and American schools.

Bead Corner

New Arrivals

New! Bracelet Sampler

Charm Bracelets Are Back!

Bracelet Sampler - at over 40% off compared to individual prices.

Click here to view the new bracelet sampler.

Have you ever wanted to try out one of our bracelets beyond our basic single bracelet style? Here's your chance.

Introducing our NEW bracelet sampler! - It includes a double wide bracelet, round bead bracelet, large disc bracelet, and a charm bracelet. At least one of these will be Multi-Color and the others will be a fun assortment of colors. Purchasing the bracelets individually would cost $26; we are offering this sampler for only $15! Be wild and crazy and try something new. They make great Mother's Day gifts, birthday gifts , and end of year teacher gifts!

Charm Bracelets Are Back! - with an even greater selection of charms.

Order now while supplies last!

Shop Now!

Great Expectations
Cultural Infobyte

Emma is a typical American teenager.

Human nature is the same. Cultures are different. But in this case, Ugandan teenagers are very much the same as American teenagers when it comes to needing "pocket money."

If you are a parent of an American teenager, you no doubt know that your teenager's need for cash is never ending. For sports, snacks, clothing, technology, Starbucks ,and the list goes on.

Ugandan teens who are boarding at school during the year also need pocket money while at school. When these teens are boarding at their Secondary School (7^th to 12^th grade), the school designates one Sunday a month to for visits from the children's families.

While the school and parents view this as an opportunity to review the child's progress in his studies, many students look forward to it as an opportunity to get another installment of

Alimo is a typical Ugandan teenager

pocket money from their parents. However, for many of our students who come from very poor families, the parent may not have any extra money to give the child. Sadly, this sometimes means the parent will avoid going to the visitation Sunday so it will not be known that there is no pocket money to give.

The beginning of a new school year is always an exciting time filled with anticipation. Your donations, product purchases, and volunteering have given our school children some exciting new opportunities which will hopefully increase their learning and make school an exciting place to be this year.

As always, we welcome your feedback about our newsletter and hope that you will forward it along to your friends. Thank you so much for your support.

Sincerely,

Carol Davis

Outreach Uganda

carol@outreachuganda.org

P.S. If you are interested in volunteering in Uganda this year or in 2017, please email me and I can send you a handout with more information and trip dates!

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