Mustard Seed Schools sits in a deeply religious community, both Christian and Moslem. It has therefore tried not to alienate the parents and families of its students. There have been periods when religious symbols have been banned in school, but these days the school takes a more tolerant stance towards private adherence to religious faith. It does expect students to show mutual understanding, though proselytising by any group is against the school rules and last year a student actively promoting extreme evangelical views was asked to leave the school.

As the quality of the school infrastructure and educational standards have grown, its standing in the local community has increased and it is becoming the school of choice for local families. As a result, Moses Kamya has made the decision to make more effort to publicise the school’s Humanist ethos to members of the local community. In a recent email he wrote:

“Ever since the conclusion of the UHST/IHEU funded Humanist Ethos Project, Humanist principles have been embedded in the day-to-day management of Mustard Seed School. In common with the other Humanist Schools in Uganda we encourage positive discipline, based upon the principles of empathy and responsibility to the wider community rather than upon physical punishment, which is so common in many other Ugandan schools.

The principles of Humanism are set out in inspiring posters, which are placed prominently around the school, including the Headteacher’s office, reception, bursar’ office, staffroom, library, dormitories, computer lab and clinic. Guidelines for promoting positive discipline, emphasising guidance and not violence, are equally displayed on walls everywhere.

A humanist counsellor, Simon Bogere supports students in the school by promoting Humanist ideas and being patron to the Humanist Student Club and helping it to carry out good works in the local community. The Humanist Counsellor is also a member of the student-staff disciplinary committee. The Humanist Club meets every Friday and Sunday to have discussions and debates on social issues and to carry out voluntary work around the school and in the community. Recent work by the group has included litter picking in the nearby town and local tree planting.

The school’s Humanist Counsellor, Simon Bogere, is currently enrolled on an online course to train him as a humanist celebrant, which is funded by the Humanist Society of Scotland in collaboration with the Chair of Uganda Humanist Association (UHASSO), Kato Mukasa. Once the training is completed, the school will be offering Humanist wedding, funeral and baby naming ceremonies to the local community. A newly designed hall, which is being funded by Uganda Humanist Schools Trust, will be an ideal venue for such events. The school’s Humanist Club also intends to organise humanist outreach programs to teach our communities basic hygiene practices and to highlight the dangers of believing in superstition and witchcraft.”

The 9th Annual Report of Uganda Humanist Schools Trust has just been published.

The Humanist Schools in Uganda have made huge progress in the past two years. They are beginning to turn in very respectable results in national examinations, such that both Isaac Newton and Mustard Seed School are among the top 5 schools in their districts and, as a result of this success, are becoming schools of choice for local families. There is huge pressure to get local children into the schools, which are recognised as having high standards of welfare as well as good educational performance. Children leaving the schools are get good jobs, which boost their family incomes, many go on to vocational courses to gain craft skills, nursing and primary and secondary teaching qualifications and a growing number go on to degree and postgraduate study in good universities.

In 5 years the number of children in each school has increased from about 150 to over 500. This is a welcome development because it shows a growing acceptance of secular humanist education in highly religious communities. The growth, however, puts huge pressure on infrastructure and learning resources. We are very grateful to all our supporters for sticking with us to develop the schools and we are receiving help from Humanists in the United States, in particular from St. Louis Ethical Society members, who have raised large additional sums to help the schools.

In 2017 we awarded grants of over £140,000. This is a record for a single year. This included money for 129 full boarding scholarships of £300, to enable children who gain a grade 1 in their primary leaving certificate and who are orphaned or come from very poor homes to attend a Humanist school. We have increased spending on books, learning materials, science practical equipment and chemicals, and computers. We feel that developing the ability of students to learn independently is the essence of a humanist education, so we are committed to maintaining a book rich environment in the schools. In the period 2016-8 we have made great strides with improving infrastructure. At Isaac Newton School we have funded: a second girls’ hostel, a new teaching block with 3 classrooms and a science lab, and connected the school and neighbouring communities to mains electricity. Mustard Seed School has received funds for: a new teaching block with 4 classrooms and staff rooms, connection of the school to high pressure mains water from a pumping and purification station on the River Nile, and we are about to embark on a new school hall that will be used for meetings, concerts and examinations.

Thanks to your ongoing support the schools are being gradually transformed so that they stand out among rural schools for the quality of their facilities and for offering educational and welfare standards that approach the standards of the best urban schools.

Since our charity began in November 2008, with your help, we have built up these schools from small, struggling entities to organisations we can all feel proud to be associated with. Making them self-sustaining and beacons of secular humanism is still our goal and we are getting closer, but they will need our help for some time yet. Please stay with us on the journey.

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In 2016 Isaac Newton High School set up a Humanist Association to promote humanist values and put them into practice by working in the local community. They decided to offer practical help to some of the poorest members of the nearby village and chose to focus particularly on hygiene and sanitation. The projects they have helped with include repairing old pit latrines, making racks for drying utensils to keep them off the ground and giving soap to these poor families.

To celebrate their efforts the School Director and the teacher who runs the Humanist Association arranged for them to have a day trip to nearby Lake Nabagabo so they could discuss Humanist ideas and relax together.

There is a small beach resort there with a café and some basic accommodation. Unlike most lakes in Uganda, it is considered safe to swim in because the high copper content of the water makes it unsuitable for the small water snail that harbours the human parasite Schistosoma which causes much morbidity in Africa. These are blood flukes which live in the vessels surrounding the bladder or the intestine.

The young humanists enjoyed games of football and volley ball and going for a boat ride. Some of them even braved the water to try swimming. They also enjoyed a meal and a soft drink, a welcome change from school meals. Here are two descriptions of their day, written by Thembo Paul and Bwambale Robert, two students who attended the Kasase Humanist Primary School and have UHST scholarships to enable them to attend Isaac Newton High.