Iowa City group aids Ugandan school

Daily Iowan - Metro
Issue: 7/18/05

IC group aids Ugandan school
By Dena Schworn — The Daily Iowan

At the Namirama school in Uganda, just one student is able to eat lunch, because his family is the only one that can provide the money for him to do so - the rest have a hard time just finding the annual $30 fee to send their children to the school.

While many American students might see this cost for schooling insignificant, in underdeveloped countries such as Uganda, having a difficult time sending children to school has become the norm.

Education for Development, an Iowa City-based nonprofit group that helps underdeveloped countries, is making it possible for people who live in these countries to obtain an education. The group is constructing, supplying, and staffing the Namirama school, which is located in the eastern part of Uganda. The school consists of a mud structure without windows, doors, or a floor, and the unsecured and non-waterproof building cannot store school supplies.

"The cost of building and equipping the concrete-block, five-room school house will be close to $40,000," said John Whiston, the treasurer and secretary of Education for Development. "The school will serve 200 students and 13 part-time teachers. In addition to the building itself, two sanitary latrines, an electric generator, desks, book cases, office equipment, text books, paper, and pencils will also be provided."

With two-thirds of the money raised, construction will start as funds become available, said Dorothy Whiston, an Education for Development administrative assistant.

The Namirama Community Secondary School in Uganda was started by local parents in 2003. Universal primary education was established by the Ugandan government in 1996, but high-school level education is still largely privately funded and not available in remote areas, Dorothy Whiston said.

Similar to other developing countries, education is not free in Uganda. Most people who live in the area are subsistence farmers and cannot afford to raise money for a new school or pay tuition. The per-capita income in Uganda is a few hundred dollars a year, but the majority of people have virtually no income, Dorothy Whiston said.

When she traveled to Kikaaya College School in Uganda, where her daughter, Elizabeth Whitson, volunteered for seven months, her two-week trip affected her life greatly.

"My neediness met the world's poverty there," Dorothy Whiston said. "Most [secondary-school kids] have done major chores before they can get to school at 8 a.m. and do more after school."

Education for Development began with a scholarship program for young women who live in Uganda, and it has expanded to students in Mexico and Sri Lanka.

"This organization was started by the initiative of one person [Elizabeth Whiston], who invited her freshman roommate and grade-school pal to join in," Dorothy Whiston said. "They are now working in four countries and making a real difference in a lot of people's lives, including their own."