The Uganda Humanists Schools Trust is doing an amazing job and SELHuG has been following their progress and supporting them for several years.
At the September meeting we had a short presentation to remind ourselves of their work, with a view to inviting trustees Steve and Hilary Hurd to speak to us soon.
This is a summary – please go to their website for a much fuller and fascinating picture.
HISTORY
• Universal Primary Education in Uganda in 2000 led to huge demand for secondary schools
• The government only partially met the need
• Private bodies including religious foundations are filling the gap
• Ugandan Humanists founded three secondary schools to offer liberal secular-humanist education.
The Uganda Humanist Schools Trust was established in 2008 as a charity to develop and raise funds for the three schools:
- Isaac Newton High School, Katera, Masaka founded by Peter Kisirinya in 2004
- Mustard Seed School, Busota, Kamule founded by Moses Kamya in 2005
- Fair View Senior Secondary School, Mpigi founded by Deo Ssekitooleko in 2008 and managed by Isaac Newton High School.
THE TRUST TODAY
The Trust is engaged in many activities including putting up new school buildings and hostels. It is also building a relationship with the first Humanist Primary School, in Kasese, Western Uganda. In 2013 it provided two scholarships to enable students from Kasese to transfer to Isaac Newton High School for their secondary education.
A quick look at the list of Trustees shows that many local humanist groups in the UK are involved in supporting the schools.
