Breaking Cycles of Poverty Through the Love of Learning
Established in 1990, Sabina is a nursery and primary school in rural Uganda serving boarding students and day students. We are committed to quality education and breaking cycles of poverty through the love of learning! Our focus and success is built on four pillars: education, infrastructure, sustainability, and community. We are pleased to welcome in the 2024 school year and update our generous supporters of Friends of Sabina with all that we have going on!
2023 closed with an exciting graduation ceremony for our Nursery Top Class. Our young students showcase their debating, singing, dancing, and weaving skills. The parents shared their gratitude for what the teacher had taught their sons and daughters in their early childhood years, and the day ended with cutting a cake and issuing certificates. 100% of 55 of these students enrolled in our Primary 1 class.
After a two-month holiday at home, digging in the gardens and helping their parents, our Sabina Students were eager to return to school. Officially, Term 1 of 2024 began on the 5th of February with a strong turnout in every class. We have 434 students enrolled in our Primary and Nursery schools. There are 325 students in our Primary school and 109 students in our Nursery school. We also had 190 students booked to live on campus so we’re in the process of making more bunk beds to handle the new students in our dorms. Overall, the school has seen an increase in enrollment as news spreads about the fabulous programs it offers. Last year the school was very competitive in Sports, Music, Dance and Drumming, Choir and Academics. We look forward to seeing what talents our students bring in 2024.
2023 Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) Highlights and Field Trip
Sabina Boarding Primary School was among the 11th of around 261 schools in Kyotera District.
“There is no substitute for hard work” - Thomas Edison
This quote accurately represents our 2023 Primary 7 graduating students. We are delighted that this class performed excellently in their Primary Leaving Exams. This success was possible because of the commitment, hard work, and teamwork among all the students and staff. We are proud of the team.
As a reward for their hard work and dedication, the candidate class went on a three-day educational safari to Lake Mburo National Park. They experienced magical moments on a walking safari with guides from the Uganda Wildlife Authorities. Here, they got up close to a family of giraffes. Their faces bloomed with happiness as they watched Zebras, Elands, Impalas, Bushbucks, Warthogs, and Cape Buffalos move gently in the wilderness. The students enjoyed a boat cruise where they saw Hippos, Crocodiles, and many bird species. The students shared that this was the best trip ever as it was the first time our students went on safari.
FOS Students begin Secondary School
Six Friends of Sabina sponsored students were among last year's twenty-five students graduating. They all performed very well, allowing them to secure placement in our partnered Secondary Schools. In particular, our own Allen Nakasozi was among the best-performing students in the school. All six students reported to school on February 12th with requirements provided by FOS and their guardians.
Allen, Jackson & Brian are all attending Blessed Sacrament Kimaanya S.S.
Patricia & Grace are attending Christ the King Kalisizo S.S. & Marvin is attending St. Mathias Mbuye S.S.
Teacher Spotlight: Agnes Nasejje, Section Head of Nursery
Hello friends, my name is Agnes, and I teach top-class children ages 5 and 6. I am a professional teacher with 16 years of experience, of which the last 14 years have been with Sabina. My youngest son, Maurice, recently graduated from Sabina to join Secondary School, and I’m so proud of all he has accomplished here.
Our nursery section has 7 teachers with 109 learners this term. I experienced many changes throughout my years of teaching at Sabina. Before Friends of Sabina’s arrival, we had many challenges in our section, such as attracting a small number of children, a lack of teachers, and a lack of playing/learning materials.
Under FOS management, we received the support needed to build and elevate our program to another level. We have now attracted more children and teachers to access better learning materials. They also improved sanitation and hygiene by building waterborne toilets and hand washing stations.
Last year, our Nursery section had the opportunity to train with specialists on how best to implement the National Early Childhood Education Curriculum. Our lessons moved to “play-based learning” with more hands-on interactive activities. We realized that free learning materials were all around us; items such as colorful bottle caps, different rocks, and painted sticks would add some fun to our lessons. One exciting activity I organized last year was to teach the Top class how to weave traditional mats. The children also learned some traditional dances. They loved both activities.
I want to thank all the people who support Friends of Sabina because we have been blessed to receive many donations of play materials, tables and chairs, and books for our young children. I conclude by thanking FOS for the endless support they always give us to uplift our section. May god bless you.
Our WASH project continues slowly with limited funding. Over the past three months, the school managed to get some support and borrow funds to complete the student and teacher bathrooms at the main school block. The primary work completed was the installation of floors, sinks, flushing squatting toilets, urinals, and stall and exterior doors. The outside washing stations were finally finished, giving access to all students. The school still needs $45,000 to finish this project.
Securing the Campus
Sabina continues extending the fencing of its property outside the main school campus. Over the past few months, we installed wire fencing with concrete poles on our property below the school classroom block. The school dealt with individuals breaking into the campus to access water from our new hand-washing stations.
First Coffee Project
Sabina’s FIRST Coffee Project has BEGUN! FOS is happy to report that our 16-acre coffee project launched in September of 2023 and is progressing as planned.
To date, the following has been completed: installed fencing to mark boundaries and keep the animals out, bush clearing to make the land cultivatable, installed water trenches to control soil erosion, and created a water reservoir for irrigation. Soil tillage is ongoing for breaking up soil crust and increasing porosity.
We divided this project into two 8-acre phases. Planting of coffee plantlets on the first eight acres will occur in mid-March, and the second coffee planting on the other eight acres will occur in May. We are humbled by the generosity of 28 donors and thankful for their commitment to making Sabina Primary School self-reliant.
It's time to harvest our corn!
In Sabina’s permaculture gardens, corn, matooke, and vegetables are grown. The crops we grow are for practical learning, food/nutrition, and direct income for the school during school holidays. Corn is planted and picked twice a year. This year, because of an ample supply of rain, a lot of corn was harvested. Students and parents participate in the planting of seeds, weeding, and harvesting. Both gain practical training which is transferred to their home environments, while the parents receive an extra benefit of financial compensation. The corn is processed into corn flour which is consumed as porridge for breakfast, and once cooked, posho is prepared for lunch and supper.
How wonderful it is for the Sabina students to be able to contribute to this farm-to-table process!
Finding Solutions for Our Neighbor’s Water Crisis
Sabina is located in a rural part of Central Uganda. Statistics indicate the country has a clean water crisis, with approximately 80% of people not having access to clean drinking and bathing water near their homes. Our neighbors face the same challenge which we learned about from our Corn Mill employee right before Christmas break. He scheduled a meeting with FOS’s managers to discuss their problems. Sabina was tightening the security around the campus, and areas where they would typically break through to illegally take water were being closed. He shared that the community around the school does not have any reliable water source, and he pleaded for a solution so they could fill jerry cans of water for cooking and bathing. Sabina was blessed because their WASH program brought abundant water to their campus. Now was the time to help others.
With a donation from a good samaritan, the Headteacher and local trades people worked to repair and move an unused water tank and stand closer to Sabina’s Corn Mill. The tank was then connected to the new well FOS had installed. The staff at the Mill now oversee their neighbors' access to water during working hours. Our team worked to be part of a solution, not the problem.
The placement of this tank is a short-term fix while Community members develop a proposal and funding to have Sabina extend water by locating a tap closer to their homes. This dream involves them designating a tiny piece of land they could use to put in taps and pump water from Sabina.
Thank you to our friends in Ireland!
Sabina and the Sanje community are blessed to see Megan Hehir once again return to Uganda. Megan will spend most of her time working with our Headteacher, accounting team, and teachers while running Sabina’s tutoring program. Megan will give her time, talent, and big heart to the school for this term 1.
Megan fundraised for Sabina over the Christmas holiday back home in Ireland with her mother and her friend Martina. These activities included selling souvenirs from Uganda at a local Christmas market, raffling off a hand-made Christmas Crib, and hosting a Poker Classic in the local pub with 50 players. Megan’s fundraising efforts focused on improving and supporting the 2024 Sports Department and Bursary program. Overall €5,000 was raised. These funds were enough to purchase a new photocopier, replacing the old worn one. The FOS team is most grateful to have you back on campus. We are also blessed for all your fundraising success and for spreading the love of Sabina in Ireland. Your donations will make a massive impact on Sabina.
