Thank you to UIA

Many of our supporters may not have heard pf UIA, a major Insurance company with a strong set of Corporate Social Responsibility principles.
They work closely with Trade Unions and similar bodies and provide a range of insurance products.
Over the years we have had financial help from UIA but this year they really have made a huge contribution to help our new school at Rukira in Rwanda to build a further 3 class rooms.

Your support to this new venture has been amazing and from a first exploratory visit in 2011 the school now has 9 classes, a really excellent sanitary block (see below( and a first class water catchment system.

Over the last few months the local team has been getting the external ground works sorted out with the provision of playgrounds and landscaping of the site.

We have always believed that our schools should be excellent both in academic and personal achievement but also be really attractive places for both staff and children to attend. Parents value these things.

The school now has about 300 children attending.

The other decision we have taken in recent weeks was to invest the money which Trustee Matt Houghton has raised through his Sport Coaching business, HQ Coaching, and we are funding two sport coaches. One will be in Rwanda and the other at Good Shepherd. Hopefully we can do the same at St. Zoes when the new management are ready.

Thank you McLeod Russel

McLeod Russel are a large Ugandan Tea Company and are owned by Williamson Magor, Indian based , and the largest tea company in the world.
Not too long ago they acquired Finlays Tea in Uganda who have been supporting our Good Shepherd School for some years.
It was great news when we heard that McLeod Russel will continue this support and they sent a team to visit Good Shepherd last week.
They were really impressed and Sr. Theresa made them very welcome. Many thanks to Billy Singh!

When we visit the west of Uganda we often spend a couple of nights at their lovely guest house on the Kiko Tea Plantation owned by McLeod Russel. It is one of the real highlights of our visit and it is hard to describe how beautiful the scenery is.

So if you saw some TV recently which was a bit critical of Ugandan growers we can tell you that one big grower has a genuine care for people. They have schools and a small health dispensary and a social club on the site but it is such a large estate (several miles from side to side) that it takes a very long walk to explore the estate. Next time we visit we must take a look at their schools too.

A St Zoe story about a past pupil.( We have changed her name though)

I am Teddy Nattuba. Born in 1993 I was brought up by my single mother. I started my education a year before St. Zoe’s was founded. Our school was a “universal primary education “ school (UPE). In a word, that meant “poor facilities, low teacher morale, and poor pupil performance.” But at that tender age I was not aware of this.
However in 2001 my mother immediately transferred me to the newly founded St.Zoe’s Primary School where I began a really exciting experience. I met new teachers who stressed hard work and discipline. Besides our studies, we also did co-curricular activities which broadened and enriched our lives.

My greatest gratitude to St. Zoe’s is because of the foundation in leadership which I was given by being assigned responsibilities such as time keeper in P III, sanitary prefect in PV, assistant head girl in PVI, and class representative in PVII. Leadership followed me when I joined the reputable St.Kizito’s  High School Bethany where I did my O- and A-level studies. I was chosen by the school administration as the Deputy Head-girl in SIII, and School Head-girl while in SV. I have just joined University for a BA in Education, with history and computer studies as my teaching subjects.  I am yet to find out what leadership opportunities will open up for me at university.
In my pre-university holidays I teamed up with another St. Zoe’s old student to open up a Face Book account for St Zoe’s Alumni. We now have 60 members. We are planning to develop a St Zoe’s Old Students’ Association web site. All this is our attempt to make a contribution to our beloved St. Zoe’s School.