Shammah High School, Luwero, Uganda

Project needing funds:

Construction of a girl’s sanitation block

Cost: $55,000

Local Contribution:

Land, Bricks, and Labour

Background:

Shammah High School is a secondary school in Luwero District, in the historic Luwero Triangle region, about 65 kilometres from Kampala. It has both day and boarding students.

Shammah High School is part of Alpha and Omega Education, a family of schools whose goal is to educate disadvantaged children and give them the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty. Alpha and Omega Education runs Shammah High School and Alpha and Omega Primary School, serving children from families that struggle to afford school, many of them sponsored or on subsidised fees.

About 60% of the learners we reach are girls and 40% are boys. We deliberately focus on girls because in rural Uganda they are the most affected by school dropout, often because of poverty, early marriage, pregnancy and a lack of facilities for managing menstruation. Our goal is to be a school that empowers 1,000 girls yearly with a great education to impact their lives, their families and communities. While at school we can guarantee the young women's safety, a good education, nutrition and health support.

The school also runs a growing student health program: weekly nursing support, individual student health records, hygiene education, menstrual health support and medical camps.

Shammah High School does not have adequate sanitation facilities for its girls. Toilets, reliable hand-washing stations and waste disposal are all insufficient, and there is no dedicated, private space where girls can manage menstruation safely and with dignity.

Location:

luwero, Uganda