Considering only 16% of youth in Uganda attend secondary school according to the United Nations, this accomplishment bears even greater weight... 

Factor in that 96% of our students are double orphans who have lost both their mother and father... 

None have electricity, running water, indoor kitchens, or flush toilets when they go to their humble homes... 

For many of our students the two meals they receive at Nyaka are the only ones they enjoy during a day...

And they walk upwards of 2 hours each direction to attend school... 

And that is not the only good news!

We have received national exam results for all 29 students for 2011 with 12 students in first grade (the very best level), 16 in second grade, zero in third and fourth grade, and 1 who did not pass.

Our conclusion is that 100% of our students are ROCKSTARS!!!  They exemplify qualities of success at the tender age of a middle schooler that many of us hope to achieve *sometime* in our life.

We congratulate all our rock stars: Class P7 2011. Preparations are underway to enroll the students into secondary school and search for a vocation for the one student who did not pass to go to Secondary School.

Thank you to all of you who continue to invest in our students' success. 

With your help, the best is yet to come!

P.S. - Want to see more photos?  Please click here.

Innocent Celebrating his Achievement

Nyaka Graduates

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Website
• Picasa Web Album

Please enjoy this very short end-of-year video from the students and grandmothers of Nyaka and Kutamba.

Your donations this year provided in 2012:
 
•Uniforms, textbooks, medical care, and nutritious meals, school supplies to nearly 600 students,
•Secondary school scholarships for primary school graduates,
•Medical care and clean water to the surrounding communities at-large,
•Seeds, gardening implements, and microfinance opportunities for 7,000 grandmothers,  and much more! 
•For more info, please read our latest newsletter.
 
Happy Holidays!

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri, Founder and Executive Director
 
The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Students, Grandmothers, Board of Directors, and Staff in Uganda
 
The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Board of Directors, Staff, and Volunteers in the U.S.

As the Holiday Season begins, we'd like to thank you for investing in the lives of our students and grandmothers in rural Uganda.  

As you reflect on what you are grateful for in your own life, please know how grateful we are for your support, love, and care of our grannies and their orphaned grandchildren.

Please enjoy this Holiday message from Founder and Executive Director Twesigye Jackson Kaguri.

It is only because of you that our students and grandmothers are thriving under circumstances that are unimaginable for most of us - thank you.

Happy Holidays -

The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project family

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Thanks You

As you may recall, the Girl Effect Challenge is in its final week.  While we are so grateful to you for your support to date, we have one final request for your help.

If you enjoy this video as much as we think you will...would you ask 3 of your friends to watch it too?

If every person who has given to The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project through GlobalGiving gets 3 people to invest in our girls, we can win the Girl Effect Challenge!  Just remember! They have to give to our "Girl Effect" project specifically.

The $6,000 you have helped us to raise will multiply 4,5, possibly even 6 times over 2012.

Best part?  After this week, you don't have to do a thing to make that happen.

Just sit back and enjoy a quarterly progress report about our students like you do now.

We can do this in the next few days, but we really do need your help now.

The very best is yet to come!

Kelly

Links:

• Nyaka Girl Power Video!

Greetings from Team Nyaka!

We have a special request today.  The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project has been selected to participate in the Girl Effect Challenge.  We have a separate fundraising page for this initiative.  Please click here.   Same fabulous girls.  Same cause.  Same great organization.

Would you please make a $10 contribution today?

We need a large number of donors to give a small amount to win the challenge.  We need over 100 donations in the next 24 hours to get into the top three finalists.

Partnerships have resulted in many thousands of dollars raised for girls like Olivia:

I am Ahabwe Olivia from Ishaka Secondary School. I recently attended a health education camp that lasted two days and it was led by “Reach a Hand" - a nonprofit from Kampala. It was so colorful and we were with college students named Humphrey, Brendah, Hellen, Kasiime, and others. They told us not to have sex at an early stage for we could get pregnant, contract diseases and/or HIV/AIDS. As a result, I made a decision not to have sex at early stage and instead concentrate on my books. Kasiime told us to have love for one another and respect each other as we listen to our elders. I thank Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project for the camp they organized for us.  I learned so much!

As we reach the 7 billion population mark it seems more urgent to help us help Olivia grow up, attend university, and become a teacher, doctor, or nurse before having children!  Give a small donation today and encourage 5 of your friends to do the same.

Thank you for stretching your investment in our girls further by participating in this special challenge!

Kelly

P.S. - Check out this cool Girl Effect video. Get inspired and give today!

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

Dear Friends,

A quick reminder.  As many of you know, GlobalGiving offers matching funds for projects several times throughout the year.  The final opportunity in 2011 is today.

It is only through your continued generosity that we can provide our students access to an education, daily nutritional meals, medical care and clean water, and most importantly a brighter future!  They are performing academically at the very top of their district.   Please help us continue to offer this holistic approach to alleviating poverty in our students’ lives all the way up to a university level by remembering our Kutamba and Nyaka students today.

In Celebration of Your Generosity,

Kelly

Kelly Voss

Director of
Development, The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

*On October 19, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project!  There is $100,000 available in matching funds starting at 12:01 am EDT. They will match until 11:59pm EDT or until matching funds run out.  In addition to the 30% match, GlobalGiving is offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors!

Links:

• Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project's website

Dear Friends,

Before we update you on our students, we would like to let you know how you can help.  As many of you know, GlobalGiving offers matching funds for projects several times throughout the year.  The final opportunity in 2011 is on October 19th.  Please set an alarm and give generously that day!*  Details follow below.

This report is focusing on our second primary school we built called Kutamba Primary.  In 2006, an eleven-year-old boy walked 50 miles for three days after hearing about the Nyaka Primary School on a radio program. Hilary knew that an education was the key to preventing a future of perpetual poverty for himself and his family.  People in the very remote and rural area of Rukungiri, where Hilary grew up, are even poorer than in the Kanungu District where the Nyaka Primary School is located. As a result of Hilary’s determination, Kutamba Primary School was started in 2007.  Today, Kutamba is educating 207 HIV/AIDS Orphans. The students receive free uniforms, shoes, textbooks, notebooks and other scholastic materials. The children are educated starting in the new preschool, all the way up until P.7 this year.  Thereafter they will attend secondary school.

Kutamba Primary School is supported by 9 teachers, a nurse, accountant, and other support staff coordinating and working on projects that assist in improving the lives of the children. As you can imagine, our ability to hire local staff not only bolsters the local economy but also helps our projects run efficiently.

The Kutamba and Nyaka School Anti-AIDS Clubs, who perform and appear on a monthly radio show, also create awareness about the plight of orphans, children’s rights, family planning, hygiene and sanitation, and other issues affecting the community.  As a result of the Anti-AIDS Club activities, the community is changing. Our staff members are noticing thoughtful, educated decisions by family members of students in regards to proactive HIV/AIDS prevention.  As a part of our holistic approach to education, Kutamba Primary School were provided with HIV/AIDS testing in April 2011. One student from Primary three and 10 guardians were HIV+. In the past, an HIV+ test result was a sign of imminent death. Thanks to your support, we are able to purchase the necessary medications to properly treat those in the community that need it, thus extending their lives.

It is only through your continued generosity that we can provide these students access to an education, daily nutritional meals, medical care and clean water, and most importantly a brighter future!  When one drives up the steep mountain Kutamba sits atop, the children greet you with “flowers” (a shhhh, shhhh, shhh sound and hands raised up, curled like flowers), and experience that leaves nary a dry eye.  Please remember our Kutamba and Nyaka students on the 19th this month and give as generously as you can. 

In Celebration of Your Generosity,

Kelly

*On October 19, GlobalGiving.org is matching at 30% all online donations up to $1,000 per donor per project!  There is $100,000 available in matching funds starting at 12:01 am EDT. They will match until 11:59pm EDT or until matching funds run out.  In addition to the 30% match, GlobalGiving is offering a $1,000 bonus to the project that raises the most funds that day and a $1,000 bonus to the project that receives donations from the most individual donors!

Kutamba Primary Girl

Hilary Studying With Other Kutamba Students

Kutamba Anti-AIDS Choir

Grandmothers Who Care for Kutamba Orphans

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project
• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Latest Newsletter
• Founder Twesigye Jackson Kaguri's Memoir

This month I am sharing with you testimonials from some of our brightest secondary students, an equivalent to middle school students in the United States.  These students recently attended a Health and Sex Education Camp put on by “Reach a Hand” a NGO out of Makerere University in collaboration with The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project.

“I am Nuwagaba, and I would like to thank the people who were involved in the preparation of the student’s camp at Nyaka. I would like to thank our Country Manager and Mrs. Christine who supervised us while the camp was going on. The camp was conducted by ‘Reach a Hand’ and the topics were very interesting and educational.  They taught us how to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS and getting girls pregnant. This was very interesting because I did not know that boys take part in girls becoming pregnant.  They also taught us how to be successful in education. This is important because if we make education a priority we will have good lives. They also taught us how to discover our talents and Christine advised us how to behave in our community when we are on holiday. We were very happy about this and we hope the organization will organize for us more camps.”

"I am Kiconco in senior two at Ishaka Adventist College. I would like to thank Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project for preparing a wonderful camp, which will help everyone who attended. It was short but interesting and most students wished it could have been longer. They taught us how to avoid sex at an early age because we could
get pregnant or contract HIV/AIDS. They taught us how to be proud of ourselves and love one another. We also learned how to use sanitary towels (secret sanitary Pads). They inspired us to study hard, because we could be the
future lawyers and doctors of this country. If we focus on our education we shall be winners. They sang and danced for us, made us laugh, and told us that we can live a happy life."

Thanks to generous supporters like you, The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project continues to guide and support these children who have no one else to learn from and talk to about these sensitive issues.

Truly we say the best is yet to come!

Links:

• Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project's New BLOG
• Hear Jackson Read From His Memoir!
• Purchase a Grandmother Basket and Support Students' Caretakers

We send you warm greetings from the children and grandmothers of Nyaka and Kutamba schools in Uganda.  We are grateful for your investment that has brought 10 years of improved conditions into the body, heart, mind, and soul of hundreds of children and thousands of grandmothers.  This year over 70 secondary school students are excelling in their studies and passing their exams.  Over 300 primary students study intensely so that like the 2010 graduating class they can place in the top 3% of all 220 schools in the district.  Meanwhile, 60 preschoolers walk many miles on very short legs, eager to learn English and their ABCs and 123s each and every day. 

Statistics show that children who attend pre-school enter primary school with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not. To get children started on this positive track to becoming well educated citizens, 60 of some of the youngest orphans are now enrolled in kindergarten classes at both Kutamba and Nyaka Primary Schools. These students, ages 4-5, are studying English (Uganda’s national language) to complement Rukiga, their native tongue. Like the elder students, they have been promised an education all the way up to university as long as they pass their national exams.

For students of Nyaka who are less academically inclined and wish to pursue an income generating trade, vocational training is now being made available. Nyaka realizes the importance of building a strong vocational program for these students. Tailoring and computer skills are now being offered and there are plans to add more workshops and training for construction jobs in the near future.

Hannington attended driving school and is now employed by Nyaka as a driver. This means that despite suffering as an orphan, he has a steady income which he uses to help care for his elderly grandmother nearby. All things tend to come full circle and on a recent visit he drove Director Jackson around!

This year, because of The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project’s generous donors, more students than ever are being supported – over 530! However, as we look into the future, the need to build a secondary school is becoming increasingly clear, as it costs $500/student annually to send the students to outlying boarding schools. As more young students graduate primary school the need for this initiative is becoming more urgent. Please watch for more updates on this project soon.

The best is yet to come!

Links:

• Volunteer!
• Spring 2011 Newsletter
• Read Jackson's Book

Last month The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project happily announced primary student Justine’s pending trip to the United States.  You may recall that a few years ago Justine was badly injured in an accident with a paraffin lamp. The purpose of this trip was to undergo surgery on burns that were inhibiting her ability to smile and move properly. It has now been a few weeks since her first in a series of surgeries, and the doctors are very pleased with her progress.  In addition to the work done around her chin and mouth, her doctor would like to do another surgery around her nose and collarbone, but must wait a few months in order for her to heal properly.

Justine is taking full advantage of her recuperation time in the United States. At first, she was a little wary of the food but has now become more accustomed to the large variety of choices. Eating properly is very important as her body continues to heal.  Even though Justine’s primary job is allowing her body to heal at this time, she is not missing out on her education.  She’s been working with a teacher on decimals, adjectives, verbs, comprehension, and improving her reading skills.  In Uganda, children must pass a national exam annually in order to advance to the next level of education. It is critical for this young girl to remain engaged.  Luckily, Justine (like all The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project students) is fiercely dedicated to her education, as she knows it is her ticket to a successful and prosperous life.  Most recently, an increased interest in reading has caused her to devour every book she could get her hands on.    Including a copy of “A School for My Village,” written by Executive Director Jackson Kaguri. Justine has also begun writing in a journal, easing the pain of the surgeries by keeping hilarious accounts of her new experiences.  

However, Justine isn’t spending all her time studying. She enjoys doing arts and crafts and making jewelry. Her host, Ruth, is always finding little gifts left around the house.   Justine has exhibited courage, strength, and optimism throughout her travels, surgery, and continued recovery. Soon after she heals, Justine will return to Nyakagyezi, with her injuries well on their way to being healed, to be reunited with all of her friends and family at the Nyaka Primary School.

Thank you for your support of The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project in this initiative to provide yet another HIV/AIDS orphan with a healthy future, free of poverty and full of potential for success.  

Links:

• The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Website
• Click here to view the Book Tour dates!

This month we received some tremendous good news!  You may recall that one of our students, Justine, suffered from a heartbreaking accident in 2007 that has left her with many burns and disfiguring wounds that impede the ability for her body to grow as it should.  Justine’s mom had given her a paraffin lamp to light, and unfortunately it caught her dress on fire. The dress was made out of nylon and the fire enveloped her body quickly.

Today, 3 years later, the burns continuously collect water and swell up, and water comes out in a puss-like substance. Justine’s scars have made her skin so tight, that the simple movements like smiling and closing her eyelids have become arduous tasks.   Today, however, we are so pleased to report that Justine has finally received a visa to travel to the United States for surgery on April 26^th! 

Boston Hospital’s Shrine Center has very generously offered to provide these necessary surgeries and follow-up care for little to no charge. She will need several surgeries and will need to stay for a few months to recover.  Generous supporters like The Riverside Church in New York have helped make this possible through a generous grant; however, we are still seeking additional support to cover her travel and accommodations while Justine recovers in the US. 

With this scheduled surgery, Justine will have the opportunity to renew her life, give back to her community, and use her experiences to improve the lives of other people facing incredible odds in Uganda. We will continue to update you on Justine's status as she recovers.  Thank you again for helping us change the life of yet another child.  We could not continue our work without the support of people like you.

Links:

• Join us on Facebook for updates on Justine's progress!

The groundbreaking ceremony for our medical clinic was held in December 2010, just after our fourth graduating class of Nyaka School had accepted their diplomas with pride.  Every week we recieve new photos documenting the process of building a clinic for the people we serve in southwestern Uganda. Today, that piece of land has transformed into a foundation with walls reaching halfway to what will be the ceiling.

As he wrote in The Price of Stones, building a school for orphans of HIV/AIDS was a concept that was foreign and a path that was uncertain for our Founder and Executive Director, Twesigye Jackson Kaguri.  As the organization grew and we started providing fresh clean water and nutritious vegetables from Desire Farm for the community, we began to wonder where this holistic approach would guide us next.  When we opened the Blue Lupin Community Library with the support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation, we knew that the idea of a library in rural Uganda was revolutionary. We also knew that increased literacy and education were powerful weapons against poverty.

We continue to watch for the barriers that stand before the orphans of Nyaka and Kutamba schools so that we can knock them down, stone by stone. 

The need for a clinic is great...

“When I visited Nyaka in October I was going as an Advisory Board Member.  However, when people learned I was a physician, people simply showed up to seek treatment - upwards of 100 patients per day!  I was overwhelmed by the need.  I invited a Ugandan physician to assist me, and he was strongly impressed by the need demonstrated by patients.  In this area of Uganda there is only one physician for every 250,000 people.”                                      ~Dr. Paul Deweese, Advisory Board Member

Please join with us as we celebrate the progress of our new medical clinic by making a donation to the Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project on Global Giving. On March 16th, 30% of your donations made on Global Giving will be matched up to $1000! 

Click here to make your donation now!

This is a wonderful way to make your generosity reach a little bit further.

Clinic Progress

Links:

• Click here for more information about our Health Programs

Dear Nyaka Family,

Thanks to your ongoing support, we have so much to celebrate!  Over the last 10 years, The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project has seen incredible growth and change. This growth and change can also be seen in all of our students, their Grandmothers and our surrounding communities. Please join me as Nyaka kicks-off a year's worth of our 10 Year Anniversary Celebration by sharing with you what I consider to be some of the 10 most important things we, as a family, have accomplished in our 10 short years.

As we celebrate the joyous past of growth and giving, we are also soaring into the future - with many plans to make our programs even better over the next decade.  We are counting on you stay with us and invite others to join us on this journey.

10 Reasons to celebrate being a part of Nyaka: 

1.  We welcomed the first class of 56 students through the doors of The Nyaka AIDS Orphans School in January of 2003. Today we have 547 students in two primary schools and several graduates in two secondary schools.

2.  We launched the Nutrition Program, a new program that set Nyaka on a track of becoming a holistic program, the only one of its kind in Western Uganda.

3.  We established Desire Farm, a full-fledged farm that provides two meals a day for all our children and jobs for the community.

4.  We successfully graduated 76 students.  That's every single student for the last 3 years.

5.  We built Kutamba, our second primary school using the same Nyaka model, to expand our reach in a different village.

6.  We launched a clean water system for the entire community that provides clean water for more than 25,000 people.

7.  We started the Grandmothers Program in support of their economic empowerment. It began with one group and has flourished to 91 groups with over 7,000 Grandmothers.

8.  We opened The Blue Lupin Library, the first community library in Western Uganda.

9.  We published The Price of Stones, the story of Nyaka, which is now being told around the globe.

10.  We broke ground for a new medical clinic which will serve the health and wellness needs of the entire community.

These things would not have been possible without your support.  Please stay tuned for more 10 Year Anniversary news and events throughout 2011, including features on our students and Grandmothers. The best is yet to come!

With my deepest gratitude,

Twesigye Jackson Kaguri,
Founder and Executive Director
 
P.S. – Please go to our brand new website
www.nyakaschool.org to learn more about the programs
we offer our children and their Grandmothers – thanks to you! 
 
 
 

Links:

• Nyaka Grandmother Shop
• Our Website
• Our Facebook Page

Happy New Year!

We have just received wonderful news from Nyaka School in Nyakagyezi, Uganda.  On December 28, 2010 we celebrated the graduation of our fourth class.  We are happy to announce that all 29 of our students passed their final exams. 19 passed with an A+, 9 with an A and 1 with a C.  We are so proud of our students!

We select the children who attend Nyaka and Kutamba schools based on orphan status and poverty level.  The challenges they face on a daily basis would be difficult for most adults.  Since the opening of our first school we have attempted to make an education more attainable for every child in southwestern Uganda.  We currently provide free education for 547 students.  79 of which will be attending secondary school in 2011 but there are thousands nleft behind.

We promise to fund each child we enroll through their secondary education.  At $500 per student we will need $39,500 for this year's class.  Since our time with Global Giving began our donors have contributed nearly $90,000! We know that our goal is possible.  Visit our project page and make a donation today!

Our school is tuition free for all who attend.  We provide healthy meals to our students and opportunities to participate in community gardens at Desire Farms for their grandmothers.  We have given the surrounding community access to clean water, the Blue Lupin Community Library and soon a new clinic will be built to serve the 250,000 members of the community. 

Click here to read our latest project report about the library.

Every initiative developed by the Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project is done with the intention of ensuring that our students are provided with the best education. The library will ensure that our students, staff and the community as a whole will have access to up to date information. We have  already started sending our school nurses out to the homes of our students so that no child has to miss school to care for an elder.

Our plan is working! Our children are thriving!  They are surpassing expectations and meeting every challenge.  We could not have done it without the love and support of every one of our donors! We know that you agree that our children are orphaned but they are not broken. The future is bright for every one of our students and they are working hard to create a future free from poverty for themselves, their family and their communities. Thank you for your continued commitment to our vision.

We cannot wait to celebrate more milestones with you in 2011!

Links:

• Jackson Kaguri; Featured Speaker January Series 2011

For the first time in history, the communities we serve in rural southwestern Uganda have access to a full service library!  We are excited to report to you, our supporters, all of the benefits that they will receive from the Blue Lupin Community Library.  Education is a priority to the Nyaka AIDS Orphans School as a means to combat poverty.  A vital part of a quality education is literacy and access to current information.  Your donations have played an active role in providing this gift to all of those touched by our organization. 

We thank you all!

We are also grateful to the Stephen Lewis Foundation for making this initiative a reality!

Take a moment to read our 2010 Blue Lupin Community Library Report for the full story...

Links:

• Read more about our library on our website!

• 2010 Blue Lupin Community Library Report (PDF)

Dear Friends,

It has been a busy 5 months since I started working full-time for Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project. In addition to raising money for our students, I have been traveling around the country promoting my book “The Price of Stones” which outlines how the Nyaka dream became a reality over 9 years ago. I’ve so enjoyed meeting with you - our donors, friends, and well wishers. I’m excited to report that our children, schools, and hard work in Uganda has been featured in Time Magazine, on NPR, and more than 20 newspapers around the United States. Please visit our new website www.nyakaschool.org for more information.

To read more exciting news about the Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project, click on "Learning to Fly" our Winter 2010 Newsletter!

Links:

• Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project Website

• Nyaka Newsletter (PDF)
  

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Our comprehensive Annual Report and 990 for 2009 are published. There is a wealth of information in this year's report on each of our programs, the progress we have made, and where we plan to go from here. Skip to the program which your heart is most particularly drawn to. Read over our financial information. Jot down questions you may have and send them to us. You will find this report engaging and rewarding!

We would like to thank you for the incredible amount of support which you have given us. Please know that as you read about how we have changed thousands of lives in 2009 that we will change thousands more in 2010 and 2011 and our work is not possible without your support.

Please feel free to email us at info@nyakaschool.org if you have any further inquiries regarding the information in the 2009 Annual Report and 990.

Sincerely, Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

Links:

• 2009 Annual Report
• 2009 990

Dear Friends,

We have recently been published in TIME Magazine, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and National Public Radio (NPR). News about the work we do, the children, grandmothers, and communities we serve, and how successful our holistic community development model is in Uganda is rapidly spreading across the world. We would like to share all of this exciting news with you. Below are links to our major publishings.

Jackson Kaguri has been travelling all across the United States and the UK with Penguin/Viking Publishers promoting The Price of Stones. At each stop in the book tour Jackson will spend the evening speaking to compassionate folks whose paths have all led them to that place. As Jackson tells the story of his childhood and adolescence, anecdotes about his village, and about the inception of the Nyaka School- the first school in South Western Uganda for orphaned children specifically targeted for their inability to afford an education- many people are moved to tears. Two or three individuals may feel compelled to share their own journey which has led them to serving underserved communities in Africa, South America, and Asia. Others have shared their inexplicable joy at finally finding the community development model that works and that calls to their hearts- The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project. This is a testimony given by an individual after reading The Price of Stones:

“I just finished reading your book, "The Price of Stones," and I loved it. I was crying through almost every chapter and parts of it gave me chills. Your story and the stories of the orphans at Nyaka are so inspiring and I hope that many more schools similar to yours will be built. I am traveling to Uganda this year to live … for ten months while working as an intern for Soccer Without Borders. I will be coaching soccer there and working in Hope primary school. Although I was excited prior to reading your book, I am even more elated to be living in Uganda for an extended period of time now. … Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.”

If you haven't gotten your copy of The Price of Stones yet, please know that if you donate $100 or more to any of our projects through Global Giving we will send you a FREE copy of The Price of Stones Signed by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri.

Attached below are the Action Points that appear at the end of The Price of Stones. We encourage you to look through them and ask your local bookstore if they will host Jackson Kaguri for an Author Book Signing and Talk and if they will carry The Price of Stones.

Thank you so much for joining us on this journey!

-The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

Nyaka in Christian Science Monitor

Links:

• Get a Free Signed Copy of The Price of Stones
• Nyaka in TIME Magazine
• Listen to NPR Broadcast about Nyaka

• Action Points- how you can help (PDF)

Dear Friends, Please allow me to share a link to an article in Time Magazine this week of June 14, 2010. Watch the video and see the amazing work you have invested your money in.

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,89822614001_1994042,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1993880,00.html?artId=1993880?contType=article?chn=us

Our book The Price of Stones will be released June 10, 2010. Buy a copy and encourage all your friends and family to do the same. www.thepriceofstones.com

Finally, see attached opening of our library.

Jackson

Dear Nyaka Supporters,

We would like to introduce our long awaited Nyaka Notes Newsletter for Spring 2010. Everything that you love about Nyaka is waiting for you in this newsletter including interviews with our students on their progress in secondary school, a letter from our Board Chair on the progress he is seeing on the ground, and news of our book coming out in June 2010, The Price of Stones, authored by Jackson Kaguri and Sue Linville.

Also, attached below you will find a comprehensive report on our progress throughout 2009 in each of our projects. Included in this report is our ambitious goals for 2010. We are already well on our way to a great year!

Please know that all that we have accomplished to transform so many children's and women's lives who have been devastated by the affects of HIV/AIDS would not have been possible without you. From deep within our hearts, we thank you for your support and love.

Sincerely, Nyaka Team

• Nyaka Notes Spring Newsletter 2010 (PDF)
  
• Nyaka's 2009 Accomplishments 2010 Goals (PDF)
  

Dear Friends,

Our students' results are in for their Primary Level Exams (PLE)!

Students who scored a Grade A+: 8 Students who scored a Grade B+: 17 Students who scored a Grade B-: 1 and Students who scored a Grade C: 0

Not a single student failed the PLE. Our top scoring students in Grade A+ have been accepted into one of the best schools in the region, St. Jerrard's Secondary School in Rukingiri. Our other students have joined our Pioneering Graduates at Ishaka Adventist College in Ishaka. See a picture of our graduates below. You can also see a slide show of pictures from the graduation on the homepage of our website.

Monika Dietrich, a Michigan State University medical student, is at Nyaka right now conducting a nutritional assessment for our students at the Nyaka and Kutamba School. She will evaluate our Nutrition Program (including our school meals, school and community gardens, and the Desire Farm) in conjunction with a study of our communities' food customs in order to make sensitive suggestions on how we can better support our kids and our communities. Follow her blog at the link below.

The date is set! We will be opening the Blue Lupin Community Library on April 26th, 2010 and we need books and salaries. In many of our hearts we are tied to our memories of how our imaginations were invigorated by good books in safe public spaces when we were kids. Some of us as children, adolescents and adults escaped the anxiety of life through good books. The intellectual depth and knowledge we gained brought us into adulthood and maturity. Give the gift of a good book and a safe public space by donating towards the Blue Lupin Library. We are in the process of hiring a qualified librarian and purchasing books in Uganda.

Our Grandmothers speak up. Two our grandmothers with incredible courage and fortitude chose to tell their stories on camera for you, Grandmother Matrida and Grandmother Alice. We asked them to speak freely and talk about issues which were relevant to them. Follow the link below to watch their videos. Lastly, we would like to fulfill our responsibility to you by linking our schools' latest inspection reports. These two reports follow up on the last quarter of 2009 at the Nyaka and Kutamba Schools. They critique their successes and failures with progressive suggestions on how issues can be mended and the schools can perform at their best.

All the best,

The Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project

Links:

• Grandmother Alice and Matrida
• Monika Dietrich's Nutritional Assessment Blog
• Pictures from the Graduation 2009/2010

• Nyaka School Inspection Report 2009 (DOC)
• Kutamba School Inspection Report 2009 (DOC)

Dear Friends,

First of all Nyaka would like to wish you a Happy Holidays. Certainly these holidays are going to be some of the happiest in years for Nyaka. Some of you may have heard that a serious drought has been affecting Eastern Africa and Uganda has not been spared. However, the rains came on schedule in September and from the looks of it the harvest is going to be plentiful by the end of December. For our students, our grannies, and their families the hunger season is now over! We have another class of beautiful graduates receiving their certificates in December. The Nyaka Director and Founder Jackson Kaguri will be at Nyaka for the graduation ceremony. Below you will find our graduates' pictures. These students need scholarships to go to secondary school by January 2010 ($500 for 1 yr of tuition, room, board, food, and clothing). Please look into your heart to see if supporting a student is part of your life's mission. If you want to see how our secondary school students are doing we have posted several video testimonials where Onesmus and Izadolo talk about what life is like and how it has changed at the Ishaka Adventist College. Follow the link below to see those videos. There have been several interesting developments in the Grannies Program. We found that our grandmothers sometimes make handcrafts but have no local market in which to sell them. We bought their handcrafts and several wonderful women volunteers held Mukaaka Parties (Mukaaka= Grandmother in vernacular) to sell these handcrafts, raise money for the Grannies Program, and, most importantly, to raise public awareness about what we are doing and find more committed supporters. See a pic of these activities below. If you are interested in getting involved in these Mukaaka Parties email Megan at mwhaley@nyakaschool.org. Our Nyaka students have been flourishing in their own imaginative think tanks lately. Our teachers are always trying to expand their teaching methods so as to deepen our student's intellect, learning capacity, and imaginations. Below you will find a link to pictures of 4 different projects which our students have been doing: 1. puppet play project 2. cultural greeting card project 3. bed friend project 4. photo journalism project. Our students did the photo journalism project with Elm Middle School students in Chicago, IL. In fact, below you'll find a link to a Chicago Tribune news article about the project and why Elm Middle School students got involved. Lastly, we at the Nyaka Office in the US are trying to "go green." We are doing this so that we can save costs on administration and send more to our kids. If we have your mailing address and/or you would like to receive updates, thank you letters, tax letters or other mailings by email please email our US office staff at mwhaley@nyakaschool.org.

Have safe and Happy Holidays! Nyaka AIDS Foundation

Mukaaka Party

Links:

• Onesmus & Izodolo Talk
• Nyaka Student Projects
• Chicago Tribune Article

As 2009 comes to the end, I would like to thank you once again for your support, care, and love. We graduated one class of 21 students last year, 21 students went on to secondary school, one student joined vocational training. This year we are graduating 26 students, our teachers tell me all 26 will pass their exams to secondary school. You have been there for us and so we come to you once again to support these wonderful 26 young people. $500 will cover all expenses (tuition, books, uniform, transport, and pocket money) for one year. Remember 65% of all our students are girls. Besides students we care for more than 6,000 grandmothers who have lost their own children and taking care of orphaned grandchildren, we have completed the first community library in Western Uganda. None of these accomplishments would be possible without your support. As you think of your holiday gifts, please do not forget Nyaka and Kutamba, do not forget grannies, and do not forget our communities. Thank you.

hoping to come to Nyaka one day.

We care, love, and support many kids but 65% are girls.

Dear Nyaka friends, collaborators, and investors,

We've put together a comprehensive update on all of our programs and what they have accomplished so far this year. If you are somewhat unfamiliar with the history of a program the update makes sure to bring you up to speed on the mission and past accomplishments of the program. The update includes our students' grades for the first term who are in secondary school and in both primary schools. Additionally, the update offers you tons of resources and links to media online so that you can get more involved in the programs that are close to your heart at Nyaka. For instance, you will find an interview with Jolly Babirukamu, our National Grannies Coordinator, on what the Grannies Program has accomplished so far as well as an interview with one of our beneficiary grandmothers. You'll enjoy it!

-The Nyaka AIDS Foundation

Kutamba Students learning in their new classrooms

• Mid-2009 Update (PDF)

Brian Banks is a student who is traveling throughout Africa this summer and visiting a number of GlobalGiving projects. On May 19th he visited "Provide education to AIDS orphans in rural Uganda." When asked what he would tell his friends about this project, Brian said: “Incredible: You need to see this!"

While talking to a couple students about their experiences at Nyaka AIDS Orphans School, we were inspired by their impressive intellect, self confidence, and curiosity which exemplified the importance of this school in their lives. Christine, now in grade 7, lost both parents when she was two months old. Since, Christine has lived with her grandmother. She told us that if it weren’t for Nyaka School, which provides free tuition, uniforms, scholastic materials, and medical treatment (for family members too!), she would not be attending school. Christine is now a leader at her school, as health prefect, she teaches her classmates about proper hygiene. Another student we met, Emmanuel, had a similar story. Today, he is on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a doctor.

Nyaka School serves 214 orphans. Not only does the school offer a superior standard of education (3rd of 143 schools in the area), but it provides students with a happy escape from their usual hardships. We heard, on many occasions, that students would prefer to be at school (learning or playing) than at home. In one of the school’s initiatives, the Anti-AIDS club, students use drama and song to personally evaluate their situation and teach the community about the consequences of AIDS.

Recently, Nyaka School, with the help of GlobalGiving funds, constructed a building which houses the kitchen and dining hall, making it possible to provide two nutritious meals per day to students. The building also contains a clinic, which not only serves the students, but their guardians as well, free of charge. Finally, the building includes a space where students can perform. Here, the Anti-AIDS club performed a play for us early in the day about the struggles of AIDS orphans.

Nyaka School has begun to work with the guardians (usually grandmothers) of their students. The “grannies” program works with 6,000 guardians in the area, providing agriculture, animal husbandry, and income generating tools and training. With the skills they learn, grannies are able to better care for the orphans they are raising. Throughout the day we visited numerous grannies who recently began to keep animals (goats, pigs, etc.), farm, and even make baskets to sell. One granny, Matilda, told us that she was struggling to feed the children and the much needed income has helped her provide for the orphans. Keep an eye out for the Nyaka Foundation’s grannies program which is soon to be posted on GlobalGiving!

While visiting another grandmother, caring for four orphans, we were reminded of Nyaka School’s uniqueness. When we asked the children their names, only one answered right away. He was a student from Nyaka, and he had understood our English. He quickly translated for his same aged siblings who attend the local public school. Hopefully, with continued funding, Nyaka will be able to serve all the orphans in the area.

To learn more, or to support this project, please visit: www.globalgiving.com/898

GlobalGiving is committed to incorporating many viewpoints on our 600+ projects. We feel that more information, especially from eyewitnesses, helps donors like you continue to support organizations doing great work in the community. Postcards are written by visitors, and to make your experience as authentic as possible, GlobalGiving does not alter these updates - they are the real deal.

Greetings from the Nyaka AIDS Foundation. We have lots of new things to show you. Brace yourself! I'll spread this over a couple of updates.

Our secondary school students are doing extremely well. In fact, among his 106 peers, one of our students got first place in his 1st term exam results. Check out an excel sheet attached with their results and rankings for their class. We wanted to see our impact in the lives of girls so we colored coded the students into girls and boys. You can see that the boys seem to be excelling in secondary school over our girls. Although we are extremely proud at how much they have accomplished against all odds, we are working with our teachers and staff at Nyaka and Kutamba to help our girls through extra coaching. We are also working with our guardians to make sure our girl students get the time they need to study. Attached is also a picture of our students in their secondary school uniforms. Very sharp!

In addition, the Nyaka school welcomed Brian and Alexis from Global Giving a week and a half ago. Brian and Alexis are traveling around Eastern Africa visiting the most successful projects that you support in each country. They made a video intimating their experiences and what they learned. The video speaks for itself so check it out at the first link below. You will have to scroll down about half way to reach it.

Construction on the Blue Lupin Community Library is well on its way. It's absolutely beautiful. Our grandmothers have been demanding adult literacy classes (as they absolutely deserve!) so the sooner we finish the better! If you want to see a chronology of the construction so far and read more about Nyaka's aspirations with the Library visit our Facebook Page: Nyaka AIDS Foundation. Indeed, we now have a lot of content on there including videos, picture albums, and discussions on Nyaka topics. If you have Facebook you can follow us there by becoming a fan of the page! A link to the page is below.

Thank you so much for your continuing support. As you can see, it's making a world of a difference in the lives that mean the most to us all. The future is bright!

All the best, Nyaka AIDS Foundation

The Blue Lupin Community Library May 20th, 2009

Links:

• Global Giving Visits Nyaka
• Facebook Homepage: Nyaka AIDS Foundation

• Seconday School exam results (XLS)

Read about our 1st. graduation and view pictures from the event.

• Nyaka Graduation Report (PDF)
  

Please read our latest newsletter.

• December Newsletter 08 (PDF)
  

View this document to see how far Nyaka has come and how many people our work affects in southwestern Uganda.

• nyakaaccomplishments.pdf (PDF)
  

Visit our new blog and online store.

Through CafePress, the Nyaka store is the place to get your Nyaka gear and show your support of Nyaka whereever you live. All proceeds from store sales go toward Nyaka's nutrition program.

Links:

• Nyaka News Blog
• http://www.cafepress.com/nyakaschool

Our 1st graduation is only 152 days away! Please visit our website to see our Graduation Page. More details and updates are available on our website as well.

The best is yet to come...

Links:

• http://www.nyakaschool.org/graduation2008.php

Listen to Tom Rico's PeacePodcast interview with Nyaka's Communication Manager, Chris Singer.

Links:

• Nyaka Interview - Peace Podcast #18

Please view our May-July report from on the ground in Uganda.

• Nyaka May-July 08 Report (PDF)
  

Dear Supporters of Nyaka's project:

We would like to share with you some recent coverage of our project and Jackson's story and how and why he started this project. Read more below.

Thanks for your support!

---------------------------------------------

MSU Extension Spotlight

A Social Entrepreneur Among Us

If you need some inspiration, I’d encourage you to read about Jackson Kaguri in yesterday’s Lansing State Journal (see link below)

Jackson is a development officer in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and one of the most optimistic and positive people I know. We keep him busy raising funds for programs in the college, including MSU Extension, but in his free time he has demonstrated his entrepreneurial acumen by developing a school for children who were orphaned by AIDS in his home country of Uganda. The school is not only helping young people prepare for adulthood, but also serving community needs with a water system and a central point for community organization and communication.

When we talk about developing entrepreneurs as one of our five strategic priorities, we need to keep our minds open to the varieties of entrepreneurship. That includes social entrepreneurs like Jackson who are willing to take risks and pursue visions that generate benefits for others. Thanks to Jackson for being such a powerful model for us.

Links:

• Lansing State Journal: Okemos man's school...

In honor of World AIDS Orphans Day, Nyaka has a new video, "One Child At a Time," posted on YouTube.

Links:

• Newest Nyaka AIDS Orphans School video

Check out our latest newsletter!

You can also access the newsletter online. See the link below.

Links:

• April 2008 Newsletter

• april08newsletter.pdf (PDF)
  

I just returned from a 10 day visit to Uganda. My first trip to Nyaka and Kutamba was truly memorable. The courage and spirit of these children struck me very deeply. Nyaka and Kutamba are truly havens for these children who have been through so much at such a young age.

There are so many needs and so much work to do. However, if we work together we can accomplish so much. All of these children are deserving of our love. Please consider helping in any way you can.

Smiles are everywhere at Nyaka!

Bruno with his great smile!

Links:

• Friends of Nyaka Weblog

Encouraging your friends to get involved will help us serve more children and their grandmothers.

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/Education

Kutamba school - our second school

This video was made by Eric Rudd from Indiana who visted our schools. It shows you a difference between those orphans in our schools and those left behind. With your support we will continue to help more children. They all deserve our care and love.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1463340852

sports uniforms donated by Tampa Bay Rays

Check out a new Nyaka video:

Links:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqHbGPLqIA

Check out our new weblog:

Links:

• Michigan Friends of Nyaka weblog

Here is our January 2008 update from Nyaka AIDS Orphans School.

• Nyaka 2008 January Report (PDF)
  

Photo-- Nyaka dancing students

• December newsletter (PDF)
  

Dear Nyaka friends:

On behalf of the students, volunteers and staff of Nyaka, I would like to thank you for your support, love, and care. Nyaka, as we affectionately call it, was established in April 2001 with a mission to provide quality, free education and extracurricular activities, both formal and informal, to children who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS as a means to counteract pervasive hunger, poverty and systemic deprivation.

Nyaka’s doors were opened on January 2nd, 2003 Instruction began with 56 students who are all double orphans, meaning they do not have a father or mother. To date we are serving 186 students of which 60% are girls. Our new school Kutamba (healer) started with 60 students in levels one and two on February 5, 2007. Your support has not only helped children in our two schools: Nyaka and Kutamba, but the whole community. For example teacher Agaaba one of our a pioneer teachers at Nyaka told me last year that because of his job at Nyaka, he has been able to buy land, take care of his twin sons and daughter, take care of his aging mom and dad, and he has bought land invested some of the money. He bought two bicycles. These two bicycles are rented to two young men who use them to transport agricultural products to the market. Therefore these two young men are able to take care of their families and their children. They earn a living and therefore help us in fulfilling our mission of alleviating poverty and breaking the cycle of poverty and systematic deprivation. This is one example how your investment has changed people’s lives beyond students.

Nyaka remains the only employer in this village, our school van is the only van that has saved more than 200 children lives in one year; so many mothers have delivered in the van and in our compound while seeking out our school nurse. We have provided clean water in the village and improved nutrition, hygiene and sanitation in more than 1,000 households.

As holidays approach, we wish you a Happy thanks for giving, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New year. What you have already done is so much but because you have loved and cared for our children and community, we turn to you once again and ask you to please remember your children during these holidays. Recent statistics in Kanungu District (size of one county with a population of 250,000) show that there are 17,326 registered orphans. Nyaka is the only that provides free education, uniforms, books, and two meals to orphans. However, we are serving only 240. Below is out holiday appeal letter. Please share this amazing experience with your friends and family and remember you are always welcome to visit your/our children.

Happy Holidays!

Jackson Kaguri Founder and Director

Please click below to read this letter from Jackson as well as more details about Nyaka's accomplishments in 2007.

• Holiday Letter and 2007 Update (DOC)

We have changed many children's lives. Few of then took time to express their emotions through Poems. Our visitor Dara helped all the children.

• Nyaka Poems.doc (DOC)

Your donations have changed lives of orphans and touched Allan one of the disabled students at Nyaka. Though he cannot read and write as well as other students in his class due to a neulogical disorder, we have loved and cared for him, provided him a wheel chair, uniform, food, mosquitor net and everything we give to other children. He is a joy to talk to and loves school. Nyaka will continue to serve and see all our students through any level of education. Remember December 2008 is the first graduation. Our Global Giving project and budget is for five years, little by lttle we will get there. Thank you for your continued support.

Nyaka at Nyaka

Click below to see photos of the Nyaka girls and boys in their soccer uniforms!

Nyaka boys

ARIYO DENIS: When I lost my parent on 30th January 2001, my life changed completely. That was my father who loved me very much. I had to miss his parental love. However, I was a bit comforted to remain with my mother who at the moment helped me in one way or another in cooperation with my grandparents. Soon after she also died, death I started to feel sick always until I had to be put on a daily drug. After my father’s death on whom our family depended upon I had no hope of joining a school. I was lucky to be admitted to Nyaka AIDS orphans School which provides everything to school children freely. I am working hard so that after my studies I become a pilot or engineer

KYARIKUNDA AGNES: Death of my parents changed my life by social misery. Lack of clothes, food, etc and drop out of school due to lack of school fees, and when my parents died I cried after the death of my parents. I was at home while I don’t have school fees to go to school. I heard that Nyakagyezi vllage there is a school which helps orphans who study without no money for school fees. And I go there to study with them and I find the teacher from that school which is Nyaka AIDS Orphans School and they gave me some books, pencils, pens and uniforms and everything. Then I study up to now. Now when my God helped me to grow up, I will become a teacher. Thank you, Mr.Twesigye Jackson for helping me. May God bless you very much in your life.

A Rotarian visitor at Nyaka, you can also visit

Just like any child in your life, her dreams are alive at Nyaka

KYOHUSIIMA MOREEN: After my parents death I suffered so much because at home I am the only one who is there with my guardians and they are very old. So I am the one to do every work that should be done at home. When I go back home I am supposed to go in the garden . After the garden, I fetch water and collect firewood. After those things, I prepare supper. But now I don’t suffer so much because I wake up very early and I sweep our house, then I clean the compound. After, I go to Nyaka school and I like Nyaka as I like myself because it helps to study. It is where I get some of my needs and at home if I get a problem I can tell it to my teacher. Our teachers are good and they teach us well. They are kind to us. I thank our director Mr. Twesigye J. who tried to help orphans. Really you did a great full planned year. Really, thanks be to God. I am happy and happy for that plan. My future plan is when I grow up I will become a teacher and teach in Nyaka. But my problem is one that I can’t speak well, but I know English and how to read. So I don’t know whether I will manage to do that work, but according to God’s mercy I will do it. I thank Mr. Twesigye Jackson who liked to help orphans who were suffering and now are free and fair since Jackson built the school in Nyakagyezi. God lord bless your family. Surely your grateful for your presence today.

BAREKYE ONESMUS: After the death of my parents my life changed and I began a life which was full of suffering. I suffered but I could pray to God. I grew up staying with my aunt who was not very kid to me. Every work was done by me but I persevered. I had not much care but I planted my coffee, tomatoes and eggplants which I could sell and get money to buy my needs, e.g. clothes. I was not studying. I could remain at home doing house work and digging while my aunt’s children are at school. Really, I suffered but I knew God is my protector and he loves me. I was ten years old when I was at home and saw my uncle wanting to take me to his home and I started studying. I accepted and went to his home. There was a school which was for orphans. I thanked God. On 2nd feb 2003, it was the day of opening of the school, I started P-1. We had everything e.g. books, pencils, uniforms and many others. This school helped me in very many ways as follows. The school made me like others who have their parents. The school helped me to stay safe because my teachers could give me advice. Much time was spent at school, so that made me free from heavy work which was at home. I studied and I could read my books and become the first in class. Now I am very well because I can get lunch at school. Now I am in primary five. If God wills I will finish my p-7. My plan the future is to become a doctor and if I get money I really will help orphans as our director did. Really I want to try my best and study as I have got this chance.

NAMANYA HELLEN: My parents died in 1995. I was still young and they both died in one year. When they died I started suffering which I didn’t know that I will suffer up to that stage where I reached. When my parents died I had nothing to say but my relatives helped me. I was staying with my uncle who was caring for me up to when they told me to go. I stayed with my grandmother who is still caring for me to where I have reached. She started caring for me when I was 9 years old and now I am 11 years old. After that, my grandmother put me in the school. When she planned to put me in the school she told me and I asked her what to wear. I went there for two weeks and they sent me for school fees. I told my grandmother that they have sent me for school fees. She told me that she doesn’t have money. I stopped studying up to when my aunt took me to this school, Nyaka. I really want to first thank our director who managed and planned to put me in school of orphans. I was there suffering and not in school, but when I heard that there was a school of orphans in Nyakagyezi. I told my uncle to put me in that school. My uncle wanted to refuse. I told my aunt to put me in that school. She took me to this school where I am still studying and told them that they help people who are helpless and whose parents died. And I think I will end my primary seven from here, God willing. I really thank the director together with the donors who are helping in any way they are helping us. In the future I will make sure so that I can help others and be a teacher at this Nyaka school. Our teachers are teaching us very well.

You have supported them, now you can see them and listen to their voices of hope.

Click on the link below and then click "watch Nyaka video"

Links:

• Click here to watch video on the Nyaka website!

Pictures of our new school will be posted soon.

• GG mARCH 2007 REPORT..doc (DOC)

Using Nyaka model, we have opened a new school in a village 48 miles away from Nyaka.

Enjoy the pictures. Barbara and Clare are social workers on a Rotary International travel grant. They are working with Nyaka teachers and other community workers, exchanging ideas on how to deal with orphaned children and their grandmothers.

Photo 2-- Guardians dancing

Photo 3 -- New pupils in uniform

Please read our December 2006 newsletter for the highlights of 2006 at Nyaka.

Read about Nyaka visitor, Marjorie McNamara's visit and our plans for expansion in 2007.

Thanks for your support!

• December 2006 Newsletter (PDF)
  

I just wanted to share with you a story about Nyaka that appeared in Bloomington Indiana newspaper. This is the the fifth story in this newspaper since July 2003.

Thanks for your care, love and support of Nyaka school and the whole community.

The best is yet to come.

Jackson.

• Herald Times Story about Nyaka School (PDF)
  

Click below to read the latest news from Nyaka!

• Nyaka Newsletter September 2006 (PDF)
  

VISIT TO BRUNO'S HOME

Recently a visitor on behalf of one of our donors visited Nyaka School and some of the many pictures she sent me are attached but also a heart touching story about one of the Nyaka students she visited at his home. With her and Bruno's permission we would like to share it with you. Thank you for being part of Nyaka family. Jackson.

I wanted to visit the home of one of the Nyaka pupils in order to gain a better understanding of the contrast between home and school. The nursing assistant suggested that I visit Ankunda Bruno, age 14 in P4/Grade 4. To look at Bruno, you would think he is about nine or ten. His teacher describes him as quiet but attentive in school, and he performs very well.

I suggested walking to Bruno’s home so I could get feel what this is like for him to walk to and from school each day; but this would have entailed climbing up and down two small mountains over rough terrain (3.6 km each way) and the Headmaster wisely suggested we drive.

In former years, Bruno’s father had been quite a well-to-do local farmer. His had a banana plantation (field) and grew several crops. He also owned quite a few cattle and goats, and lived in a fairly large and well-built compound near to a natural spring. But Bruno’s father died six years ago (in 1998) and two years later his mother died and after that, also his grandfather and finally his aunt, who had lived in the compound, as well. That just left Bruno and his two older brothers. Then, if this wasn’t enough tragedy, an uncle grabbed some of the property and took Bruno’s oldest brother to mind his store at night. Bruno’s middle brother was also pulled away in order to look after Bruno great grandmother who is very frail though these two brothers still have frequent contact.

This means that Bruno lives alone. I can’t explain how shocked I was by this. In all the years that I have visited poor homesteads, even child-headed households, I have never seen a child having to live all by himself, day after day. There are not even any neighbors close by. Just a part-time porter who sometimes hangs around and watches over the last of Bruno’s inheritance three goats and one cow (that he shares with his brothers). You have to try to imagine this: the compound sits atop a hill, out of earshot of the neighbors. It contains four buildings, three of which are abandoned. There are some garden plants that Bruno tries to maintain, and a field of sad-looking banana trees off to one side. But otherwise, there is nothing. No people, no pets, no company, no protection. No paraffin lanterns or even a candle for light after dark. No food in the kitchen except for some bananas and a few mangos. And just one small boy, trying to make it on his own, day by day.

The driver and I had bought some oil, sugar, bread, and soap by way of a small donation. After I was invited inside (the house is relatively substantial, but dirty and uncared-for) I sat down with Bruno and told him how brave I thought he was to be living on his own like a grown-up. But it must be very hard, I offered. Personally, I can’t imagine how he copes with the loneliness.

What is most difficult for you? I asked gently. The nights, Bruno answered softly. Do you have bad dreams? I asked. Yes. And what do you do, to make the bad dreams go away? I practice my homework in my head, Bruno said.

(I have to say, it has been a week since I heard Bruno say this, and I simply can’t get it out of my head. I keep thinking about him, and about the impact of Nyaka school on this child his only thread of hope over and over again.)

- LUCY

Read about the 32 new students that have joined the school and Nyaka's growth these past few months.

• February 2006 report (DOC)

Do read our newsletter for the latest news on our project.

• Vol_4_No_3_2.pdf (PDF)
  

Progress

Poor children, especially orphaned children, are looked down upon, denied basic necessities and ostracized for reasons that they have little or no control over. Access to education, healthcare and vocational training is an avenue for these children to have productive futures. Although more than 4,000 children have been orphaned in Nyakagyezi and surrounding villages as a result of HIV/AIDS, Nyaka remains the only tuition free school in the Kanungu district of more than 200,000 people. In a country where tuition-free education is extremely rare, Nyaka is making education a reality for 118 orphans who would otherwise not have excess to education. Furthermore, Nyaka provides nutrition and healthcare interventions, as well as vocational training for these vulnerable children. Below is the progress we have made in just three years.

Some example of activities:

* In 2004 Nyaka Anti-AIDS choir was able to take their message to places only within walking distance. In 2005, they have reached 36 schools, 12 churches, 3 mosques and more than 12 public gatherings ranging from women’s day, Independence Day, Labor Day and other District celebrations due to funds for transportation. During these gatherings, they distribute educational brochures in simple English and Rukiga, a local language spoken in the area.

* Beginning this year, we developed a teachers’ training manual which will be used in an annual workshop with Nyaka teachers. Kanugu District Education office requested me to include other teachers in the area in our annual workshops, the first of which was presented in October 2005. Our teachers also attend training at the District and will soon be joining other organizations dealing with orphans and early childhood development in training sessions.

More activities are detailed in the report below. The best is yet to come.

• ProgressReport12_23_05.doc (DOC)

I just got back from Nyaka so greetings from Nyaka kids, staff, volunteers and all Ugandans I met. The children are as resilient as ever, enthusiastic and full of hope. There are 118 students. Two extra girls joined Nyaka because they could not stay home alone while their siblings come to Nyaka Monday to Friday.There are five teachers, a nurse and two support staff (store keeper and night watchman).

Kids get their lunch at school (see picture with blue cups), their uniforms are new and yes because of Steven Lewis Foundation grant, they wear black shoes and socks as part of their uniform. They are the best-dressed kids in the area and that has boasted their efforts in class work.

Nyaka Ant Aids Club also has a new uniform, new costumes and their message has reached more than 30 schools, 12 churches of all denominations and many public gathering including the independence celebrations where they sang on Oct 9th, 2005 in our presence.

Nurse Gloria continues to serve all kids and while in Uganda I contacted the nearest hospital, which will be sending their community outreach personnel to Nyaka once a week to handle cases Gloria cannot handle.

I held a halfway workshop with teachers (teacher’s manual available) where I addressed issues ranging from accountability, Nyaka vision, mission and Beliefs and School rules and regulations.

Finally we now have clean running water in Nyaka community thanks to you who made that possible. I visited all 8 taps and I have a final report that I will send out soon.

Nyaka School

Nyaka students

• Vol_4_No_2.pdf (PDF)
  

Addressing the problem of AIDS orphans is a daunting task, but the Nyaka School has taken on that challenge and is proving what a difference a small amount of money can make on so many lives. In the Southwestern Ugandan village of Nyakagyezi, the Nyaka School provides free, high-quality primary education, social activities and basic healthcare to orphans whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS. Nyaka brings the community together to provide these children with a family atmosphere that will impart self-confidence and values that will significantly increase their chances of reaching adulthood as healthy, functional members of society.

In government-mandated exams, our students consistently test above the district average. Our health interventions have improved the daily existence of many of the students, allowing many to attend school on a regular basis for the first time in their lives. Our community gardens have provided food for more than 200 families in the area, including student foster families.

We have increased the number of orphans we serve by at least 25% each year, yet hundreds more are turned away due to limited resources. Expanded, recurring financial support will allow Nyaka to serve a greater proportion of the large number of AIDS orphans in Nyaka and surrounding areas.

Words from one of the 116 students "When my dad got so sick, my mom sold all the cows, goats and chicken to get medicine but the situation was not getting better. Then my uncle suggested that we sell all the land, which we did, we live in a hut with my two sisters. When it rains we stand in the corner and wait for the morning to go to our school Nyaka. Without Nyaka I would be working for food everyday."

I came away from my visit to Nyaka with a whole new sense of the strength and warmth of Africa. What you are all doing for these children is wonderful beyond description. You and the teachers have succeeded in such a special way---the children are indeed SO happy. And how they sing and dance! They are so amazing. And so are the teachers. It made me cry just to see those wonderful children.

To that I can also add: It is very heartening to see Africans making all this happen through their own ingenuity and dedication. Nyaka is a great model for how the African diaspora can mobilize support and work with their partner villages in Africa to make a difference in the lives of so many people in need.