The long journey back to the classroom
From the 2021 Annual Report
Schools in Uganda were closed for almost two years after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. For schoolchildren, that meant no lessons for 83 weeks. The pupils at PATRIZIA School Buyamba were completely denied any form of education when their school was forced to close. Over several stages, the PATRIZIA Foundation helped the school prepare to reopen after the lockdown.
The foundation already started helping the school with emergency measures during the first year of the pandemic,
primarily thanks to money from the Covid-19 relief fund. Additional measures were introduced in 2021 in order to adhere to preventative measures stipulated by the government for all schools in the country.
Facts and figures:
Project duration: October 2020 – June 2022
Target group: More than 850 schoolchildren in years 1 to 7, plus 150 preschoolers
Goals: Prepare the school for reopening after closing for two years (Covid-19 preventative measures, renovations and extension)
Local partners: Schulwerk, Diocese of Masaka in collaboration with ADEPT e.V. (Germany)
Funding: Financed through the foundation’s Covid-19 relief fund and events organised by volunteers at PATRIZIA (Lakes Challenge, Sweet Greets)
Water tanks, hand wash basins and salaries
To improve water supplies, four tanks were purchased, each large enough to hold up to 10,000 litres of water. In addition, 15 basins were fitted for hand-washing, complete with liquid soap and thermometers. Signs were also positioned around the school with instructions on preventing the spread of Covid-19. Another important part of the emergency aid was the funding of school fees for three months, including four months of salaries for the teachers and administrative staff. Without this important support, it would not have been possible to uphold the systems required to run the school and pay for the upkeep of staff. The emergency aid benefited no less than 745 children and young people, plus around 13 adults.
To ensure the school could keep offering lessons in the long term, additional support was needed. The number of children attending the school has risen sharply in recent years, posing significant practical challenges, especially when it comes to running the school. For example, the classrooms were too small, especially given the need to make provisions for Covid-19.
As a result, in 2021 the PATRIZIA Foundation joined forces with Schulwerk, the education association run by the Diocese of Masaka, and ADEPT. Together, the three organisations helped the school renovate nine existing classrooms, dormitories and adjacent sanitary facilities. A fence was also erected around the school grounds to protect facilities. In addition, work has now started on the construction of two further classrooms. There are also plans to renovate toilet facilities and repair or restore the school kitchen. It will also be important to install two water filtration systems for drinking water. All of these measures are scheduled for completion by mid-2022.
To help fund the new measures, staff at PATRIZIA UK organised an event for volunteers, the 2021 Lake District Charity Challenge, resulting in more then €100,000 of donations being raised for the school in Buyamba. This was supplemented by donations to the project from the Sweet Greets campaign, a fundraising event organised by PATRIZIA staff every year in the run-up to Christmas.
This support has made it possible to upgrade facilities at the school and ensure it can keep offering lessons in the years to come. After almost two years of absence from the classroom, more than 850 children are now able to attend lessons again at PATRIZIA School Buyamba.
Achievements in 2021:
Improvement of water supplies at the school by installing new water tanks to go with the rainwater collection system
Introduction of hygiene measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19
Maintenance of existing facilities
Renovation of existing classrooms
Renovation of dormitories and repairs to adjacent sanitary facilities for 120 boarders
Construction started on two new classrooms