GETA- Give Education To All was founded in response to the inspiration of Fr. Paul Bigirwa.
We are raising money...
...to send to Uganda, funding the building, maintenance and running of St Theresa’s Nursery and Primary School.
St Theresa's was formed...
...by Fr. Paul Bigirwa’s organisation, “Sustainable Action For Rural Sector” (SARS). They had previously set up a health centre in an area which had no health facility or access to health care. These buildings are now part of the school complex, used mainly as classrooms.
The initial cost of the school buildings was £5,476. The aim was to open in time for the start of the new academic year commencing 2nd February 2015. The basic structure was completed in time but funds ran out before plastering work could be done. Despite this, and with the uncertainty of when sufficient funds would be available to finish the work, it was decided to open the school anyway. However, this meant that the children were having lessons in classrooms with bare brick walls and not enough desks and equipment for them! School building work is an ongoing project and all building work is carried on using sustainable materials and local labour whenever possible.
The money we raise allows St Theresa's to...
...educate orphaned and underprivileged children in rural Kibaale so that the cycle of poverty might be broken and give hope to the children and their families. It ensures that pupils whose families have limited income have the necessary equipment plus a uniform and daily sustenance. Orphaned children pose a particular problem in a society where large families are the norm and where extended families are already struggling.
Many children have already benefited from our support and a number of children go on to secondary, tertiary and vocational education once they leave St Theresa's. There is well documented evidence that educating girls has only positive social and economic implications for developing countries, so GETA ensures gender equality for opportunities.
St Theresa's achieves consistently high examination results and therefore attracts more pupils. As the pupil numbers increase the number of staff increases, so staff salaries increase accordingly, and there is additional expenditure on the needs of new children.
Going forward, we want to be able to help St Theresa's achieve the following:
- Continue adding additional buildings as the number of pupils increases.
- Provide the essential materials for students whose families are unable to meet the full cost.
- Provide structured outdoor play equipment and its maintenance.
- Provide daily sustenance through breakfast and lunch. This is an incentive for parents to promote their child's /children's attendance.
- Ensure the pupils' health needs are maintained as the school moves out of Covid-19 by providing sanitising equipment and supplies.