Educational Programs

Providing an education for the children of Ongutoi Village has been a primary goal from the very beginning. This effort began with the Children’s Educational Foundation (The CHEF) Project and focused on funding tuition, books, supplies, travel, and room/board for local children.

The CHEF has become CORE Uganda and the education effort has evolved with the organization now able to directly serve the educational needs of the community after receiving support to build our own school. The Samaritan Nursery and Primary School in Madera, Soroti, is centered on our students and their learning by means of a rich resource center, modern technology and linkages that enable them to develop values, attitudes and behaviors in order to become productive members of their society. We currently have 106 children in the school. Full-time staff include two teachers, a matron, a cook, and a security guard, and all others are volunteers.

School Instruction: The students are taught a multi-disciplinary curriculum at each stage of the nursery and primary school level.

Meals at School: We provide meals for the students. Those in the Day section have break snack and lunch. Those in Boarding section have three meals. As our students are from vulnerable populations, with many being orphans or from a very poor background, these meals are vital for their well-being. Meals for the Day children cost $25.00 per term (3 terms = $75). We ask the families to contribute $46.00 per term or food items. This fee is a challenge for many of the families, and as a result we rely heavily on the funding of our partners and supporters.

Boarding: Similarly to the meals, boarding is a necessity for many of our students. The school therefore also acts as a Children's home, with children from our school, some older children from the neighboring Grade/Primary School. Because of the limited space, the Dormitory turns into siesta/rest room for the children. Boarding fees per term costs US$ 91.00 (3 terms = $273.00). Again, this fee is a challenge for many of the families, and we rely heavily on the funding of our partners and supporters.

Future Planning: We are planning to have the school operate more sustainably in the future with a goal to to being able to provide for its needs on property. Given our 6 acres of land we be growing our own food and investing in raising animals (cows, goats, pigs and poultry). This will provide food and extra income through sales. In addition, we plan to expand our capacity so we can attract other students who can pay the tuition to be able to balance our budget. In order to do this, we plan to construct a classroom block (so we can accommodate at least 300 students in total) and run other holiday programs that will bring support to students and provide income for operating costs.