Sponsorship
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To be able to read,
write and add up is the most precious gift any one person can give
to another - ask anyone who's never been to school. They probably
won't know what you're talking about!
Ronnie Barker - The
Oldie Magazine
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Education for children in Uganda is not
free and must be paid for. With the high incidence of AIDS
in Uganda, more and more families are unable to afford the school
fees and increasingly children are having to work to support their
families. About 60% of Ugandans are therefore illiterate.
In the West
we understand that education is one of the basic necessities to
develop a better life for our children. But in Uganda children as
young as four years old are put to work, often on the streets or
on their parents land.
Education is a step up in life. It's not a handout,
but an opportunity for those young people to build a better life
for themselves.
Without an education in
Uganda many young men will become subsistence farmers or end up working
in poor jobs, often in the financial sector with no security, no rights
and minimal pay. With a high school certificate and even a college
diploma they can get a professional job, working in an office, giving
them the promise of a more secure future. Some have been trained in
motor cycle maintenance and welding. We are training girls in tailoring,
hospitality, secretaries, nurses and birthing assistants.
The effect is not only on that young person, but on the family that
he/she will bring up and often on many of their brothers and sisters
too. In a sense it breaks the cycle of poverty and hopelessness and a
new cycle of promise begins which multiplies and increases.
One of the key aims of the Mityana
Charity is to provide an education for the children of Mityana and
encourages individuals to either sponsor a child or even a teacher.
The costs
of schools and colleges in Uganda are relatively cheap, particularly
in comparison to the costs in the West. What we might spend on our
children's school clothes for one term can often clothe, feed and
send a child to school for an entire year.
For a child at primary school it costs only £80 per year for their
school fees, books and uniform. It costs £155 per year for a
secondary school child. The annual salary of a teacher
costs £400 a year
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The children are taught to read
and write English at school in addition to their native
Lugandan. This means that you will be able to write to
them and follow their progress through school as you continue to
sponsor them. |
The charity supports children at a number of schools
in Mityana including:-
- Mityana Junior School
- Glenburnie-Butega Primary
- Trio Primary
- Mityana Secondary School
- Fareway Primary School
- Butega Primary School
- Lulagala Primary School
- Bukomero Secondary School
- Kikumbi College, Mityana
- St. Lawrence Secondary School
- Mityana Town School
- Montessori Primary School
- Victoria Business School, Mityana
- Tropical College, Mityana
- Trinity College, Mityana
For more information about sponsoring a
child or a teacher, please visit our Contacts
page. Also read the reports in our Newsletters.
How it Works!
Download
and print a sponsorship form
Our sponsors normally agree to sponsor a child for the full period
that they are in school, or even their whole education right through
from primary school to college.
Of course it's up to you how much you commit to, and there are
no contracts or agreements to be signed. We just thank you for each
gift you can give.
The money goes into the charity account and is then transferred
into our account in Uganda.
No commission is paid to those responsible for seeing the money
reaches the school.
The tuition fees are paid into the school account and any living
costs or personal gifts that are given are paid to the guardians
of the child or the student in small, usable amounts.
Apart from tuition fees, other costs normally include accommodation
(for those away at college), clothing, shoes, school equipment and
food.
Sponsors are also welcome to make their own
gifts of clothes, toys or learning materials to their children
and youths. You can send them direct to:
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Name of child |
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c/o Mityana Charity - Sponsorship |
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Po Box 289 |
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Mityana |
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Uganda |
Staying in Touch
How much you communicate with your child or youth is up to you,
but we encourage our sponsors to build a relationship with them
right from the start.
Many people don't have the time to communicate, but for those who
do it is a rewarding experience.
Our children and students keep in contact regularly with their
sponsors, writing letters about themselves and how they are getting
on at school, while the younger children often like to draw pictures
for their sponsors to show their gratitude.
In return we hope you will want to write, and
send pictures of yourself and your family. If you sponsor a child
the same age as your children you might like them to become pen
pals, in doing so learning more about a different culture. They
will appreciate that as much as they appreciate being able to
go to school. To know that someone cares for them is often the
greatest gift of all.
We have had sponsors now visiting their
sponsored children which is a wonderful
experience for both parties.
