Parents Hope Primary School is for the local children of Ndoragi whose parents are dead or sick of HIV or other sicknesses or for children to poor parents who can not afford to send their children to a school somewhere else.

There is no fee for attending this school. There are ca 350 registered pupils in school at the moment. 17 educated teachers are and 4 other persons are helping at school. To avoid malnutrition the pupils get gruel in the morning and a meal in the afternoon for free.

All (for now 350) not disabled children are now registered at school. A normal schoolday there are more than 300 pupils present.

If this school was not a reality those children would either be involved in working at an early age or be idle.

The NOSPPER* project was founded as means to empower the kept out children who have little or no hope in future and by that the whole community is affected. 

* NOSPPER is a non-profit organisation (NGO) approved by the local authorities of Ibanda. NOSPPER is a short form for Novatus Nyemara, Specioza Twinamasiko, and Per Erik Falk. We together are the founders of the NGO.

NOSPPER Foundation document (this is a link)

Now we are searching for contributions from individuals and organizations for  finishing  the third permanent structure, computers for pupils, etc.  and for the future operation of Parents Hope Primary School. For now there are 17 teachers and 4 other that service the school.

If you decide to contribute you should be aware of that your gift is transfered to the school site with no administration or overhead costs at all.  Generally, all contributed money through the swedish bank system will have no administration costs. Our administration costs is taken care of by the Parents Hope Support Organisation in Sweden (PHSS) and their members fees.

We will give you a personal account of the use of your money if you ask for it.

Please contact Per Erik Falk for further information in this matter; mail adress: per-erik.falk@telia.com or call  +46764422684. You can also call Specioza Twinamasiko in Mbarara, Uganda on +256771675302. Mail to Specioza is speciozatwnmsk@gmail.com

Bankgiro account number for Parents Hope school support association in Sweden is 567-1060. Swish number is 123-5517107. The account is handled by "Parents Hope Stödförening i Sverige" which is the name of  the school support association in Sweden. All collected money will be sent without any deduction - what so ever - to Parents Hope school in Ndoragi, Ibanda, Uganda. A members fee for school support association members pays our administrative costs. The support organisation have two auditors.  More details on the contact page. Thank you for visiting us.

Short history: The building of the permanent school structure started in late November 2012, however guardians and parents of the children wanted the education to begin at the general semester start in january 2013. Therefore a temporary structure was built with local  materials and education began in late January 2013. The school started with 55 pupils and now (2024) they have risen to 350.  The first permanent school structure (to the left) was finished in  July 2015  but still without doors and windows. A new permanent structure  was started in September 2016 and  2018 both permanent buildings are complete. A watertank of 30 cubic meters is built to ensure school water in times of long draught. In 2020 a new building with four classrooms was started to be brought up. The engagement of locals has been crucial to the the growth of the school. The expectations of guardians have been high all the time. However, a lot of work have been done and is till done to motivate the most  disadvantaged children to start school.  Some parents have only slowly understood the benifts of every day schooling. 2017 in November the 7 first  pupils was examinated and passed well for the primary school degree of Uganda. In 2018 10 pupils passed the primary school degree. In 2019 was 14 pupils examinated. In 2020 was 0 pupils examinated due to covid circumstanses. In 2021 was 14 pupils examinated. In 2022 was 20 pupils examinated and in 2023 was 23 pupils examinated. The Ndoragi school is working well.

Below is an article published in Smålandsposten December 16, 2023 by journalist Per Lindbladh. Per visited Ndoragiskolan in February 2023. The visit was financed by the swedish publicists' club.

School in Uganda is a matter of heart for the Kronobergs

Ndoragi is a poor village in southwestern Uganda. No children would have been allowed to go to school there, if it hadn't been for the generous Kronobergs. For many years, these have collected money so that Parent's Hope Primary School can be run. This year the school celebrated its tenth anniversary.

The village of Ndoragi is situated among verdant hills in the Ibanda district. Less than 100 kilometers to the west is the Congo border. 60 kilometers to the south is Mbarara, which with its 200,000 inhabitants is Uganda's second city. That's where we left to get to school.

When we turn off the paved road, we enter one of those so characteristic African gravel roads. Reddish in colour, it meanders through an enchantingly beautiful landscape. Bananas, corn, beans, sweetpotatoes and much more are grown here.

After a few kilometres,on a slope next to the road, some solid, brick buildings rise, framed by well-trimmed low hedges. A little way up the hill there are some simple play equipment for the youngest children.

Two of the buildings are complete and hold four classrooms each. A third building is awaiting completion. However, heavy rains have caused damage that must first be repaired. The old, temporary, wooden building that was erected for the opening of the school ten years ago is still standing, but is now used as storage. It has recently been attacked by wood-eating ants.

It is the married couple Specioza Twinamasiko and Novatus Nyemara who invited me to the school. They are both attached to the University of Mbarara, but the school in the poor village is their special foster child. It occupies a large part of their time, ever since they started the business ten years ago. For Specioza, it was a dream come true.

- I myself grew up in an area where few had the opportunity to go to school, she says. I know how important a school is. Poor children who no one cares about are vulnerable and at risk of ending up in crime and prostitution.

But the school in Ndoragi would never have come into being if it weren't for a third person, namely Per Erik Falk in Lessebo. He is now retired, but in 2010 he worked at Linnaeus University in Växjö. Specioza Twinamasiko came there this year to study development issues. They got to know each other and since PerErik had an interest in Africa from a long time ago, she invited him down to Uganda. There, in the poor countryside, it was not difficult to say yes to the question of whether he wanted to help start a school. And it's been that way ever since.

Per Erik also started a support association which since 2014 has collected money for the school in Uganda. They are today around fifty members.

-This year we expect to send close to SEK 185,000 to Uganda, he says. Right now we are also working on trying to get some organization or some company to help with the long-term financing of the school.

When the school was inaugurated in February 2013, 55 students and a few teachers could be counted. Today there are 345 students and around 15 teachers plus staff for cooking and other service. The students are everything from preschool children to 13-year-olds, and for those who pass the exam there is the opportunity to go on to secondary school or vocational school.

The unique thing about Parent's Hope Primary School is that it is free.The books are free of charge, as are the school uniforms. In addition, and not least important, the students receive two meals aday.

At half past ten, therefore, expectant children line upnext to the simple wooden shed that forms the school's kitchen. A couple of people have been working there since early morning, building a fire and cooking corn gruel, which is now scooped out of huge pots.

In the afternoon, the procedure is repeated when it is time for the main meal of the day, which may for example consist of rice and beans.

Although the development at the school in Ndoragi over the ten years has been astonishing, it has not been without its problems. Not least the covid pandemic hit hard and they were forced to remain closed for a long time.

Nevertheless, optimism characterizes the school in the poor village. And pride in an institution that offers something you could only dream of here in the past. As a visitor, for a day you can follow the work at the school is therefore a fascinating experience and you can't mistake the commitment, both from teachers and students. Teaching English, mathematics and other things are interspersed during the day with song and dance performances for the visitor from Sweden.

The contrast to how life was lived in the village before the school is enormous, to say the least.

- It was a miserable situation then, says Per Erik Falk. An AIDS epidemic had ravaged the area and particularly affected the adult population of childbearing age. Many parents had died and there were grandparents responsible for 10-15 children. It happened that children lived alone in a house without guardians and begged. Today, Ndoragi School is well known in the area.

- A positive problem is that parents from surrounding villages have wanted their students in the school. Some have tried to stretch the village boundaries or placed their children with relatives in order to take part in the free education.

Since the 1990s, compulsory schooling has prevailed in Uganda. The state schools are usually located in larger communities and may have as many as 100 students in each class. The parents must pay for schooluniforms and teaching materials, and send the children with food to school. For many poor people, this is an impossibility and a reason why 20 percent of all children in Uganda do not go to school.

It happens that children are absent from Ndoragi School as well, but then for other reasons. Like after the last holiday when five students did not return to school.

- When I visited those families, it turned out that there were children who were mistreated at home and therefore did not come to school, says Specioza Twinamasiko. It is so sad to learn. My dream for the next few years is therefore to create a home for children who are exposed to violence in the family. It should be a safe place that allows them to complete their teaching without having to worry about being beaten.

Per Lindbladh
plinbladh@hotmail.com

ABOUT THE SUPPORT ASSOCIATION

Parents Hope Stödförening in Sweden was founded in 2014 and collects money for the operation of the Ndoragi School.This takes place, among other things, through participation in flea markets, lotteries and the sale of African handicrafts. The association has also received support from Växjö Montessori school, Söraby parish and Lions in Rottne.

During 2023, they have collected 185,000 SEK, which goes directly to the school in Uganda. The chairman of the association is Per Erik Falk in Lessebo.