Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world

Kasenda primary school currently has 1000 students enrolled, with 106 that board.  The school has 11 teachers paid for by the government, 3 primary teachers and 3 nursery teachers paid for by the parents. It supplies education from kindergarten through primary 7 at one location. The school consists of 5 buildings plus a staff house building and separate kitchen building. Due to space constraints,  two of the class rooms also serve as sleeping quarters for the boarding students. Kasenda would love to build  a dedicated boarding house and expand teachers quarters to house more teachers if resources ever became available. 

In 2020 head mistress Doreen reached out to our partner, a philanthropist,  and his Ugandan team, that is known in the region for supporting education and health clinics by providing solar. Kasenda primary school was struggling to retain teachers and provide new opportunities for their students to have a well rounded education. A donation of 15 solar panels, 10 computers, a modem enabling internet access, security lights and lights in all the buildings including teachers housing were installed to address these issues. The students have thrived, with national test scores improving by 200 % after one year and 300% after two years of having solar. Enrollment continues to grow and teachers are happy so retention is no longer an issue. Kasenda is a model for what solar can do to for a school, the educators, and their students.  

  Kasenda offers tutoring for students that have gaps in their education. Tutoring scholarships would be provided to help impoverished struggling students to have the money to attend coaching / tutoring sessions offered by Kasenda during the school breaks to advance their education and become high achieving.

Since the addition of solar in 2020, enabled by generous donors, Kasenda school can offer boarding to students.  The ability to board students has opened many opportunities for students by providing a safe place to stay overnight where they also have light to study. Test scores, literacy, attendance, and quality of life have improved because of boarding options. Before boarding many students spent hours walking to and from school increasing their security risk and some live too far to attend at all.  The number of students boarding is growing every year and has created congestion in the dormitories. Kasenda is desperately seeking donations to purchase bunk beds to get students off the floor away from snakes and alleviated the over-crowded space. 

Kasenda primary school is a standout in the area now with a computer lab equipped with 10 computers for students to learn important skills on and access the internet. Kasenda would like to continue to grow their computer lab with the addition of printers and additional computers so the children can have more access to do research and further their education and their interests. 

Kasenda strives to provide a quality primary school education and has many bright and high achieving students that perform very well on national tests. Unfortunately, 50% of attending students will lack the resources needed to continue school into secondary school. Our goal is to provide a scholarship program to help families cover secondary school fees allowing more high achieving students continue their education past primary school.