End of year two of the John era

The next phase in the development of St. Fausta’s is to seek funding for building a kitchen, new toilets and showers and to finish and paint the school.

Fundraising

In partnership with Woodcarver Joseph there will be some Ugandan carvings up for bid on eBay.  This is the first item http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160445028474

This is one of the most beautiful carvings that I have ever seen, check it out!

And thank you for your support

Peace

US Fundraising tour

I'm visiting the US for a few days to try and raise funds for infrastructure projects at the school. Today (not a fundraiser) I will visit my brother-in-law's school to talk to his students about Uganda and St. Fausta's. Tonight I go to New Orleans for a few days with family (and fund raising). Then back to Uganda through New York City, leaving the 4th of June. There is a phone with a number that I can be reached at for these few days. Area code 917 and the number is 216 9646.
Ya-All have a good day
Peace
John

We Are Wired!

And along the poles they streched a wire. The end of the wire connects to a phone. Soon to a modem as well. Life is good.

Phone / Internets

Today UTL (Uganda Telephone) brought 6 poles to run a hard wire for our Internets connection! This took just under two months.

What is the 'Donate' button for?

People who are interested in helping to support St. Fausta’s Primary school have requested that I break down the costs of what is needed and how they can help.
Sponsor a student for $150 per term or $450 per year (three terms per year).
To finish the kitchen and bathrooms-including composting toilets and grey water treatment: $2560
Kitchen equipment: $2200
Walls and security: $1660
Classrooms and office including paint and rainwater harvesting: $2375
Like any school, books are precious and necessary.
Connection to the phone line for Internet access is $300, monthly Internet access $100.
And the dream, for the regular power outages, is $10,000 for a solar power system.

Friends visited this summer and are providing us with an avenue for support. If you wish to donate to St. Fausta’s through them you can and will receive tax benefits. Checks, with a note that it is for St. Fausta’s, should be made out and mailed to:
Heritage Foundation
15 Gramercy Park,
Ste. 4D,
NY, NY 10003
212-777-9064

http://artegg.com/foundation/

Future plans

Third term is finishing its second week. Most of the student population has returned. The electricity is mostly stable, when it is on and the neighbor welder-man isn't welding. There was some riots in Kampala last week that did not bother us much except for the fact that they occured right at the center for transport into and out of Kampala. And all roads out of Kitinda go to Entebbe, dead end, or Kampala. This prevented me from going to visit Gulu University. I'll go some other time.

In the interest of a sustainable school and bearing in mind that finishing Primary school in Uganda is no guarantee of future education we are starting a new program. Next February begins the new school year and we will have Industrial Arts classes for students in P5-P7 (fifth through seventh graders). The younger classes will still be required to pay tuition. Sale of the products made will go towards paying their tuition and sustaining the school. Along with classes in beading, weaving, sewing, carpentry and small-scale foundry they will have classes in entrepreneurship so they can understand what it means to operate a business. This program is inspired by Berea College in Kentucky (http://www.berea.edu/about/), Teach A Man To Fish (http://www.teachamantofish.org.uk/) and the Fundacion Paraguaya’s Escuela agricola (http://www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py/index.php?c=307). This along with the permaculture garden and green technology incorporated in the rehabilitation of the school will make the school more sustainable in the long term.