Two months ago we launched a building appeal, marking the 10th Anniversary of Uganda Humanist Schools Trust, with the aim of completing the infrastructure of the two Humanist High Schools we support, Isaac Newton and Mustard Seed Schools.

The money will be used to build Library & Information Centres, Multi-purpose School Halls, Boarding Hostels and Science Laboratories. These faciities are needed to cope with the growing numbers of students being attracted by the high educational and welfare standards in the Humanist Schools. For many years the schools struggled with fewer than 100 students, but they are now attracting their target intakes of 600 students, which places great pressure on building capacity.

The appeal has got off to a good start, with over £60,000 pledged already. The appeal is not time limited. We aim to continue it until the job is done.

I attach for your information a copy of the leaflet (click link) we have produced to support the appeal. Clearly we should be delighted if you would help us personally with a donation. Equally we would
be grateful for anything you could do to spread word of the appeal through friends or groups with which you are associated. I should be happy to send you copies of the printed leaflet. Just let me know how many you would like, where you would like them sent and I will pop them in the post.

The staff and students in the schools are excited about the appeal. We aim to progress the work as the money comes in so that, over the course of the next year, we hope to see the money raised making a real difference to the schools and communities where the schools operate.

We really do appreciate the support you have given the schools over the years. We are delighted that the long-term commitment shown by our supporters and the enormous efforts made by the schools themselves seems to be transforming the lives of the children, their families and the wider communities. Everyone involved should feel proud of the progress made. It has been a long, and not always smooth process, but we now have grounds for cautious optimism.

Thank you for your help.

Best wishes

Steve Hurd

Chair, UHST

We should like to congratulate Katumba Parents Humanist Primary School on being accepted as the 4th member of Uganda Humanist Schools Association.

The school is on the outskirts of the small town of Bundibugyo, situated on the remote western border of Uganda. It was set up in 2010 by a group of parents living in a mountain village, which had no accessible school for their children. The three founding parents gave up part of their own land to create a small plot on which classrooms could be built using local materials. Juma, one of the founding parents, who had been brought up a Moslem, became disillusioned with organised religion and found that the principles of Humanism struck a chord with him. His views were reinforced in 2014, when a bloody insurrection inspired by a local witchdoctor left 180 children in the school without fathers. Following this tragic incident, Juma persuaded the parents to rewrite the school’s constitution on the basis of the recommendations of Uganda Humanist Schools Association in 2016. The full story is in the attached report following our visit to the school in July this year.

The school provides nursery and primary education to 285 children. Full local day-school fees are the equivalent of £58 per child per year. This is far too low to provide the resources the school needs or indeed to pay the teachers adequately. Many children in the school pay nothing and rely on the generosity of others in the community. However, despite all of these difficulties, we were impressed during our visit by the standard of education being achieved. The children seemed to feel secure and happy in the school. They were making very good progress in reading and speaking English and they had the confidence to speak and to perform music, dance and drama in public.

At out next trustees meetings in September we shall most certainly be considering the ways in which UHST might be able to help the school. I should be delighted if our supporters would read the full report on the school and let us have their views on whether and how we should help the school.