When Meaningful Volunteer first started in Buyaya, Uganda, the very first thing we did was to sit down with community elders and just listened. They expressed a disappointment that so many of their children were going through the primary school system and coming out the other end illiterate.
They said that they didn’t need another primary school, but rather a preschool. This would have many benefits to the community, but they were most interested in giving their students a running start to the primary school system. If they could get a strong grounding in their ABCs and 123s then at least they would have a better chance of doing well at primary school and beyond.
So, Meaningful Volunteer built a preschool!
It was always going to be a long term play and we wouldn’t see the benefits for several years.
We are seeing the results now!
Anna Alice Wanyeze went through Meaningful Volunteer’s preschool program where she worked diligently on her ABCs and 123s. She then went on to be a star pupil at her local primary school.
Anna was still stuck though. High School is very expensive in Uganda. She saw many of her friends and siblings marrying early due to a lack of funds for education.
Thanks to a very generous donation by Peter Shrimpton at Mountain Law in Whistler, Canada, Anna is now able to complete her high school studies with a full scholarship!
Anna plans to study social work and nursing and use her skills to help her community.
Congratlations Anna and thank you so much Mountain Law!
