Education
Accomplish provides financial support to a primary and secondary school and a vocational training centre in Uganda, as well as a school for deaf children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
RAPCD's Primary School
One of our very first projects involved working with the Rwenzori Association of Parents of Children with Disabilities (RAPCD) to establish a primary school for disabled children in Kasese, back in 2010. RAPCD had found that many disabled children were not attending school: sometimes because their parents could not afford school fees and/or prioritised paying for siblings' education; or because local schools made no provision for disabilities (such as teaching sign language); or because children were unable to travel to school. Therefore, RAPCD decided to build a new specialist school, using grants from Accomplish to construct some of the classrooms.
The school caters for pupils who are deaf, blind, or have other disabilities such as cerebral palsy and Down's Syndrome. It offers boarding accommodation to minimise the inconvenience of travel. School fees are heavily subsidised. Accomplish provides ongoing grants to pay teachers' salaries and cover the cost of school meals. We have also enabled RAPCD to irrigate nearby farm land so the school can grow its own food.
For the students, one of the best aspects to this school is its sense of fellowship. Many of them led isolated, lonely lives in their home villages where sadly, prejudices persist. Now, at school, they belong to a thriving community of friends and are accepted and encouraged. The emphasis is on allowing the children to flourish, for instance learning a variety of musical instruments and playing sports.
St Agnes Secondary School
Fast forward several years and the primary school's first year-group intake graduated with flying colours. Several of the students enrolled with local secondary schools but encountered difficulties there. For instance, the local schools were unable to mark exams in Braille, so all of the blind students' exam papers had to be sent over to RAPCD to be marked. This caused delays, which were very dispiriting to the blind children, who in some cases began to fall behind with their work.
RAPCD stepped in and began to build its own secondary school, which opened in 2017. Whereas the primary school caters exclusively to disabled children, the secondary school - called St Agnes - also welcomes children who do not have disabilities, in line with the Ugandan government's guidelines on integration.
Proreso School for the Deaf
Accomplish is also proud to support Proreso School for the Deaf near Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We cover the school's food costs and have also provided a grant to purchase furniture.
Every deaf child brings along a hearing sibling to Proreso who also learns sign language. The sibling can then translate conversations with family and friends when they go back home.
Vocational Training
The Rwenzori Special Needs Foundation in Fort Portal, Uganda, runs a thriving vocational training centre, with courses in carpentry, tailoring and hairdressing. It also teaches business and finance skills so that its students are fully equipped to become self-employed or open their own businesses. Indeed, 80% of its recent graduates are in work.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors at Christmas, Accomplish has been able to provide all 29 of the 2021 graduates in tailoring and hairdressing with sewing machines or hairdressing equipment so that they can start work.
