2023 Summary of Accomplishments by KUSP
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Thank you for your past support of KUSP!
I wanted to tell you about the wonderful things we have been able to accomplish in 2023 to advance the education of young women in Uganda. As we progress from year to year, we take "lessons learned" from the previous year to sharpen our focus and increase our impact.
Suzan Akira Teaching
Two Success Stories. I'd like to start by telling you about two of our success stories. Suzan Akira and Patricia Agwelo graduated from Kampala universities this year. Patricia graduated with honors and is teaching. Suzan qualified for a Teach for Uganda fellowship which placed her teaching first grade in a rural, under-resourced area of Uganda. Suzan reports: “The young girls are really suffering with parents who force them to marry very young in exchange for things such as sugar and soap. I managed to start a project called “Keep a Girl at School,” where I help the girls find ways to earn small amounts to pay for fees. Some of the parents are participating as well.”
All of you donors are part of this “pass it on” mentality of the girls we sponsor for higher education. Having them “give back” to their communities after they have received their education is transformational — for themselves, their families and the wider community. Our current sponsored students inspire more girls to apply, and our tutoring camp enables them to be accepted at the appropriate educational institution.
Our Girls’ Scholarship Program. In addition to Suzan and Patricia who just graduated, we have three girls continuing their University educations. We will have two new girls entering University or Diploma level Technical school, bringing us to five girls in post secondary programs. In addition, we have seven girls in Nursing and Midwifery, and one in Technical School. We expect to award nine new scholarships if everyone who has pledged for a new scholarship donates the first year’s payment by December 31. This will bring our total to 24 girls being sponsored to complete the next level of their education. This is SO exciting!
Jerusalem Nursing/midwifery students
Here’s a summary of our other activities:
The Four Schools Project. Last year we gave a grant for infrastructure to each of the three primary schools and one high school through 10th grade in Kaberamaido District, the grant to be matched by the school community. Opiu Primary has completed new teacher housing to improve learning by avoiding long teacher commutes. Katinge completed a Girls Washroom so that girls have toilets as well as wash basins, particularly important when they have their menstrual periods. Kakado has almost completed housing for 4 teachers and their families (see below). KOB-SS has the most ambitious project, building two large rooms to reduce the size of classes and provide space for meetings and large lectures. This building is not yet complete, but they are making progress and have requested the 4th installment of the grant. We will be posting photos on the website.
KUSP Project at Kakado Primary School: Teacher Housing for 4 teachers
Ladies Choice Sanitary Pad Project. We have made our last capital investments into this project except for continued monitoring by Juliet, our local coordinator. With donated funds, we purchased two sewing machines, 3 button machines, 3 overlock machines, and enough materials to make re-usable sanitary pad kits (with 4 pads each) for each menstruating girl and women teachers at all 4 schools. Each school is supported by a mother’s group and they are excited and busy.
Ladies Choice new sewing machines
Tutoring Camp. Girls who have completed the 10th grade at Kobulubulu High School are eligible to apply for our scholarships, but first they must pass their “O” level exams with scores that are high enough for them to be accepted at Halcyon Boarding School (to qualify to apply to University) or for nursing or technical school training. In 2023, all of the 13 girls who passed their O levels in Kaberamaido District attended our Tutoring Camp. Zero girls passed the O level national exam without attending our camp. This has turned out to be an essential and outstanding program facilitated by our Educational Consultant, Susan Kityui Rose. We are waiting to hear how many girls pass their exams this year from our large group of 25 girls who completed Tutoring Camp.
Tutoring Camp
For a complete overview of our programs, please click here.
Sustaining our work in Kobulubulu has been challenging. Transport costs continue to soar. Supplies for science labs are needed. Additionally we need to meet those costs for our sponsored students which are not covered by the sponsoring family. These are significant costs which must be paid each term beginning in January 2024.
Please consider making a donation this year. You can contribute by sending a check made out to krma-USPartners, Ltd. and mailing it to krma-USPartners, 13217 New Hampshire Ave. #4291, Silver Spring, MD 20914 or pay online by clicking on this link, http://www.krma-uspartners.org/donate/ If you are giving through a Charitable Trust, please contact me on how to simplify your process.
Your donation in any amount makes a huge difference in the lives of these young women, their families and the community as a whole. Your donations make our Scholarship Program, with its Tutoring Camp component, possible. Please give!
“Apwoyo sana!” Thank you in Kumam!
Lois
Lois Stovall, President
krma-USPartners, Ltd.
www.krma-uspartners.org