The private sector and civil society have been urged to support schools in rural areas to enable millions of learners who have been home for about two years get good education.

Following the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, infrastructure deteriorated and it is feared many will not open in January.

“As private players, we need to do more and ensure that needy schools are given a hand to open. Many rural schools may not be able to reopen as a result of shortage of basic infrastructure and resources,” Rikin Shah from smArt Of Giving (AOG), a charity organisation, said.

This was after handing over a borehole to Buwambo Church of Uganda Primary School in Gombe, Wakiso district recently.

The Government is set to release sh113b to help all government-aided schools to reopen on January 10, 2022.

The funds will vary according to the school’s size and population.

However, many private rural School, Justine Bulyaba, said getting water has been a problem at the school.

“This is a timely boost ahead of schools reopening. We are happy to have a functional borehole. Before schools were closed, students would walk up to 6km to get clean water. Not only was it risky, but it also time-wasting. Now they will use this time for studies,” she said.

The AOG chief finance officer, Rikin Shah, said when he visited the school on November 20, he found it grappling with water scarcity.

He said AOG partnered with Great Child Foundation, an organisation which supports vulnerable mothers and children in central Uganda, to construct a borehole using crypto-currency proceeds.

“We have donated sh10m to help in the construction of a borehole at Buwambo Church of Uganda Primary School. For the first time, we used cryptocurrency to help the less privileged in Uganda,” Shah said.

This is the second time AOG, in partnership with Great Child Foundation, is giving back to the community in Buwambo.

Chinmay Sanjay Vyas, the project boss, said AOG supports non-profit organisations across the world to tackle challenges in communities.

Crypto-currency in Uganda

Uganda does not recognise crypto-currency as legal tender in the country.

According to the finance ministry website, the Government has also not licensed any organisation in Uganda to sell crypto-currencies.

This means that organisations that deal in it are not regulated by the Government or any of its agencies. 

However, Shah explained that AOG does not deal in crypto-currency in Uganda, but provides mobile gaming entertainment on mobile phones.