Growing Together. HUGs Update August 2025

HUGS Update August 2025

GROWING TOGETHER 

This month the HUGS update comes from Andrew Baguma, the Chair of Good Shepherds special needs school.  Andrew has long been a supporter of special needs education, and is now leading a new income generation project, to keep funds coming into this amazing school, the piggery project. Over to you Andrew.

   In a quiet corner of Nteza village, the Good Shepherd Special Needs School is embarking on an inspiring journey that blends education and sustainable development. The new piggery project aims to provide a sustainable source of income and also serve as a unique learning opportunity for its students and staff, fostering a sense of responsibility and teamwork. The project started in June, is already proving to be a real success.

Good Shepherd Special Needs School, has always prioritized inclusive education for children with various disabilities. Director Sr. Theresa, a dedicated advocate for special needs education recognised the importance of having a sustainable project such as Piggery together with a hands-on learning experience for her students. “We wanted to create a project that would sustain the school and also engage our students and staff in a meaningful way.  Pigs are not only a source of income but also provide manure that can improve crop yields. We already teach our students vocational skills, such as carpentry, tailoring, craft making and hair dressing. In the future they will learn about animal husbandry, nutrition, and the importance of hygiene in farming.”

So far, we have eight pigs that were bought when only 2-3 months old. They have grown a lot.  We had excellent advice from Patrick Ssekyanzi, previously a HUGS Student who was sponsored to go to University to study animal farming. Our pigs are immunized, fed special food, they live in pens which are always clean and free of infections. Other pigs are kept in dirty places and they are not as healthy as ours and certainly don’t grow as quickly.        

I am the supervisor of the project, but the day-to-day hard work is done by Denis Akugizibwe the farm caretaker. “I love feeding the pigs and watching them grow,” Denis says with a smile. “It makes me feel happy to help.”  I have seen a positive change in his confidence and social skills since he began participating in the project. He’s more engaged and excited about learning.  One of the other workers, Rodgers, is a caretaker of two dairy cows, which are still producing 100s of litres of milk a week.  He has taken a special interest in all the farm projects and together we are a great team.

As the pigs grow and produce, the school plans to sell them to generate income that will be reinvested to sustain the school’s financial demands. We can expand the piggery project further.  The Good Shepherd Special Needs School is not just nurturing animals; it is cultivating a generation of empowered individuals ready to face the world with confidence and compassion. 

If you would like to help Andrew and the piggery project, please contact us on hugs.chair@gmail.com

HUGS Update July 2025

A life changing difference 

Last week HUGS Trustees travelled to Little Shepherd, Good Shepherd and St Zoe’s schools and attending the formal grand opening of SEVA school.  In total 1350 vulnerable children are enrolled at these schools, receiving a life changing education. It is clear HUGS donors are helping make a huge difference to the lives of so many children. The joy and success of the schools is palpable. We want to share this with you.

Let us invite you to see the beauty of SEVA school. A team of painters and artists have transformed the drab grey concrete, common to so many schools in Uganda, into a blaze of colour. The new library and music room, are colourful and fitting tributes to HUGS Partners Jamie’s legacy and Two Tone who funded them. As you read this the shelves are being loaded with books and the instruments assembled; all donations from generous supporters.  The children who attend come from the Kosovo slum, where the the backdrop of their lives is usually dirt, risk and danger.  SEVA school is the opposite. The opening event was a celebration of joy, and future potential.

Let us invite you to a meal at Little Shepherd school. Over the last year the school has taken a long hard look at their children’s diets to improve health and learning. Out of the 420 kids, 96 board, so any deficits in nutrition are the cook’s responsibility. They have devoted an acre of land to bananas, planted a perimeter of fruit trees, bought a cow for milk and put aside a patch of land for every class to grow food of their choosing to share. Now walking between classes you can see rows of cabbages, egg plant and carrots. Children as young as 5 are learning the skills of how to provide a balanced diet and sharing these skills with their families.

Let us invite you to dance at Good Shepherd school. Despite having to overcome disabilities the children at Good Shepherd school are full of confidence. The school prioritises physical skills, sport, singing, vocational skills such as carpentry, hairdressing, tailoring and traditional dance. Regardless of abilities the kids give their all. It’s a joy, and HUGS visitors are invited to join in… though we will never match their energy.

The final invite is to study at St Zoe’s school, now a centre of excellence in primary and secondary education.  The school is so popular, it has applicants from Kampala (60 miles away). This was the first school HUGS developed. It’s spacious, well organised and maintained. It was a joy to see the water pump, constructed 23 years ago is still working. St Zoe’s plans to open a 6th form is the next few years as the demand for a pathway into University is so great from parents and pupils. As expectations rise, their achievements grow.

Our visits ensure your donations are being used correctly. We offer assurance that the children are thriving in these well lead, schools and every penny of your donations is making a life changing difference.  

HUGS Update May 2025. Heping 4 children who are blind.

Let me introduce you to Pretty, Angela, Najiya and Vayati, four friends at St Francis de Sales School. All have been blind since birth. They are central to a remarkable story which demonstrates the delightful twists and turns of helping Ugandan schools, and the importance of our network of HUGS supporters.  What you do is amazing.

Four years ago, St Francis de Sales wanted to admit students who were visually impaired, but couldn’t recruit anyone with the right specialist skills. Teachers proficient in braille and teaching the blind are rare in Uganda.  At the same time HUGS was asked to sponsor Yayeeri Baseri, a blind student who wanted to complete teacher training, but had run out of money.  HUGS donors came to her aid.  Two years later she was the new teacher at St Francis de Sales, in charge of our four frightened new students, who previously had hardly ever left their homes and certainly never thought they would be privileged enough to be accepted into a school.  Yayeeri became their mentor, teacher and surrogate parent at the same time; rising admirably to all these challenges. 

I had the great pleasure of seeing the four girls walk around the school, hand in hand with confidence, recognising every undulation in the floor, every door and window. When together there were always giggles. In the queue for meals they were able to stand their ground and ensure they were never left to last. The influence of school is more than to learning to read and write.

Special needs teaching needs special equipment and that comes at a cost. The school owns a single braille machine, but it is frequently out for repair. It won’t last much longer as it is used everyday. So when  Sebastian, the school Principle, asked for a new machine, costing $600 we offered to help.  Now, the HUGS network is very well connected and came across a Stockport disability charity, Walthew house, that had a cupboard of outdated braille machines they never use. We showed a picture to Sebastian, he was amazed, they were better than the school could hope for, and importantly durable, effective and with regular maintenance would last decades. Our supporters made a donation to Walthew House, Walthew House have donated 5 machines, and HUGS trustees will take then to Uganda in June.

Pretty, Angela, Najiya, Vayati and teacher Yayeeri will each have their own machines to practice the skills of writing and undoubtedly will expand their ability to self-express in written word.

Help from our network makes magical things happen. If you have skills, time or other resources you could offer HUGS, please let us know.  You can make remarkable things happen too.

A trip to Uganda

Blog Feb 2025

This coming Saturday (1st of March) I am travelling to Uganda. Usually HUGS Trustees visit projects every 18 months to check on progress to give assurance that UK donors money is spent wisely and as intended.  This trip, however, will be different.

I’m traveling solo, for 6 weeks. For three weeks I have a volunteer placement as a doctor working in the Komamboga Health Centre III, in Kampala.  For those of you who don’t know my back ground, I have worked as an NHS General practitioner for 27 years.  Komamboga is a government run facility; people turn up in the morning, register and then wait under a large gazebo until they are called in for assessment.  The Director, Dr Daphine, told me that some days up to 4000 people may attend. Let’s hope I’m not the only doctor on site.

I will be sharing the realities of life for families in Uganda, through this experience.  For those of you who use social media, I’ll be posting on the HUGS Facebook and Instagram accounts.   If you’d like more of a personal insight I’m happy if you would like to follow me on my own Instagram #richardbircher or My Facebook

During the trip I will be travelling to 4 of the HUGS projects.

The most exciting is the SEVA school.  This has been the largest HUGS school developed to date, thanks to the generous support of the Mulchand Foundation.  Ninety Children from a Kampala slum, who usually have extraordinarily tough lives, blighted by illness, malnutrition and violence, are now safe, in a beautiful school in the countryside. None of the children had ever been out of the slum, and now have acres to run and play in.  For the first times in their lives they will have a guaranteed three meals a day. Like all new school recruits, we will see them rapidly grow, in stature and confidence. It’s such a moving story.  The school will eventually care for 300 of the most disadvantaged children.  

I’ll also be calling in at St Francis de Sales school, our latest Special Needs School, caring for 100 children, who mostly have hearing or sight disabilities.  We are hoping to host volunteer teachers there in the future, and as there is nothing like first-hand experience, I’ll be staying there with the staff and helping with the children.  I wonder what they will make of my Manchester accent.

Also on route will be Father John Kyazze, and St Zoe’s school.  This was the first HUGS school we developed. It is so well run by Headmistress Sister Agnes.  The school has a compassionate culture. It has been financially sustainable for over 10 years and spends its profits on a bursary scheme which identifies children, often who have just one subsistence farmer parent, to bringing the most marginalised into quality education.  HUGS uses some of our your donations to support this programme.  Father John and I have an invite to visit the home of Patrick Ssekyanzi (one of our first HUGS sponsored students, who started school aged 12). Thanks to the power of education he runs an animal husbandry business, owns a house, breeds chickens and goats, and has a beautiful family living in security.

I will end my trip at Good Shepherd school. The beautiful, safe, lively and fun special needs school in Fort Portal.  I will share the progress of the vocational student programme.  Not every child is able to achieve academically.  Take Brian, who the school, Director, Sr Theresa found 10 years ago, eating out of bins, because he had been disowned by his family.   He is now a grown man, in his last year at Good Shepherd School, learning the skills of carpentry.

If anyone would like any particular updates, please message me.

Suncream, malaria pills, anti-worming medicine at the ready… oh and of course my travel guitar.  Thanks for all your support.

Richard Bircher. Chair HUGS

Success Stories. Celebrating our students who have completed their studies.

HUGS helps children, who face obstacles which prevent them from entering education, to attend school and benefit from the liberating power of learning. Our sponsorship programme particularly supports children with disabilities (often sight or hearing loss) and those from families which are in inescapable poverty, often as a result of disease or violence. 

January is a joyful time in the HUGS calendar as we celebrate the achievements of the students who have come to the end of their studies. The Ugandan school year ends in December, and over the last three weeks we have received 80 school reports.  Our school heads and Trusted representatives are working hard.  Please join us in wishing all our school leavers the best.   

HUGS started 25 years ago, as a small support programme for 9 disadvantaged children, living in a poor community near to Mubende, who were orphaned because of HIV.  Father John Kyazze, (born himself in the village) teamed up with HUGS founder Peter Mount, to raise funds for their school fees. Roll forward to today and we see the same community has been irreversibly improved by the development of St Zoes Primary and Secondary School (caring for 450 children).  This year 5 HUGS sponsored children have graduated from the school.

 

Rehema Nabrinda, Mary Nawatti and Edison Kasereka have completed their O levels and are nervously awaiting their grades.  When Rehema and Mary were just small girls, the school principals noticed them watching other children attend school, when they stayed at home, and asked HUGS to help out.  They are now both emancipated, bright young woman. Mary has always been a talented singer and dancer and Rehema is fiercely academic.  Edison is a star pupil. When HUGS Trustees met him he was head-prefect and school goal-keeper (taking advantage of starting school late, he had extra height on the sports pitch). He is from a family of 6 children, where he and his siblings run their own home, as their single father works away. 

In St Zoe’s Primary School, Fredrick Ganafa and Winifred Nayiga (both aged 11) have taken their Primary Leaving Exams.  If they do well, we will continue their sponsorship into secondary school.  Fredrick always scored top marks in his class but his family fell into poverty after his father died. Winnifreds home situation is so precarious, that she is almost entirely cared for by the order of Sisters who run the school, as she has no parents of her own.

Some of you may remember Amiru, a blind child who Sebastain from St Francis de Sales School, brought to our attention in 2017. HUGS helped him to remain in school, by buying wooden crutches and a braille typewriter. He has just completed his Primary education and has done well. 

Claire Nakanwagi is awaiting her A Level results. She has her sights on being a doctor, and just as it is in the UK, her future plans depend on her grades. Her school report comments on her strength of character and how she is a very good performer and comedian!  Ever since HUGs has supported her she has maintained grade 1 passes every year.

And finally, we are so proud of Rosemary Nabiyre who has been blind since birth, and was raised by her single mother, working as a subsistence farmer.  Imagine the barriers she has faced to even start school.  She has graduated from Makarere University with a degree in Social Work. 

All these remarkable stories are only possible because of the repeated generosity of our donors.  Thank you for making this happen.  Each child is a miracle and together we are helping them reach their full potential.