Rotarians donate desks to ease congestion at Arua school
According to Drazuru, the support will help decongest the school and create an impact in the lives of the children. She said the need was raised in 2024 when pupils from Primary One to Primary Five faced inadequate desks.
Arua District officials hand over the desks, tables and chairs to the administration of Ayelembe, as Rotary officials from Manyangwa Nakwero, led by Club President Alice Drazuru (extreme right), witness. (Photos by Robert Ariaka)
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The Rotary Club of Manyangwa-Nakwero has donated 80 desks, six office chairs and six office tables to Ayelembe Primary School in Vurra Town Council, Arua District.
The support came after the school faced an acute desk shortage, forcing a number of pupils to sit on the congested floor during lessons.
Speaking to New Vision on September 12, 2026, during the handover of the desks, tables and chairs, Alice Drazuru, the Rotary Club of Manyangwa-Nakwero president and an old pupil of Ayelembe Primary School, said she received communication and pictures showing children sitting on the floor during lessons.
She raised the concern with Rotary members in Manyangwa-Nakwero, who mobilised sh35m from their own resources to procure the desks, tables and chairs, alongside materials for making reusable sanitary pads for girls at the school.
According to Drazuru, the support will help decongest the school and create an impact in the lives of the children. She said the need was raised in 2024 when pupils from Primary One to Primary Five faced inadequate desks.
The Rotary members of Manyangwa Nakwero with Arua District leaders and Pupils of Ayelembe pose for a photo with sanitary pads after supporting the school 
The local government delivery service guideline provides for three children to occupy one desk. The 80 desks will support 280 pupils to sit comfortably on the desks, which are long-lasting.
The support is expected to improve the children’s handwriting and concentration, and ultimately their performance in class.
“As we did need assessment, we discovered that, on average, 80 girls miss classes during their menstrual cycle, and this affects their learning. This causes poor performance in school,” Drazuru said.
She noted that the reusable pads would help keep the girls in school and enable them to attend classes without challenges.
The head teacher of Ayelembe Primary School, Richard Nyakatre Candia, said the school’s enrolment stands at 1,121 pupils and that it faces inadequate sitting facilities. He said the support would help improve the situation.
The school’s pupil-to-desk ratio is one desk shared by seven pupils. The infants have been sitting on the floor, and the new desks are expected to improve their sitting posture and writing skills.
The school’s teacher-pupil ratio is one teacher handling 80 pupils, against the standard of one teacher to 53 pupils. This makes teaching difficult, with teachers resorting to lecture methods without adequately addressing individual learners’ challenges.
Primary Five alone has 157 pupils congested in one classroom. With the support of the desks, Candia said the school would now split the class between two rooms to decongest the learners.
Candia said the school has 17 teachers against a ceiling of 23, leaving a gap of six teachers. Some teachers operate from homes, while the school rents accommodation for others due to inadequate teacher housing. Currently, 13 teachers are accommodated within the school and its surrounding area.
Godfrey Endra, the chairperson of the School Management Committee (SMC), expressed his joy over the support. He said the school’s old pupils lobbied for the intervention, which had helped address congestion in classrooms.
He identified the urgent need for a printer to support the school in printing examination papers and ease the administration of internal tests for learners.
Chalaire Omagor, the Arua district education officer, appreciated the Rotary Club of Manyangwa-Nakwero for the support.
He cited 10 schools that have benefited from various Rotary Club interventions. They are Oyoo, Tilevu, Endreku, Ayelembe, Ave, Ejirikombeni, Ayaa, Okavu, Okazara and Solid Rock primary schools.
“Today we are here celebrating the contribution of 80 desks, six chairs and six tables for Ayelembe Primary School. We are not going to underrate this; the district had not planned for the gap, but your generosity has fixed the gap,” Omagor said.
Guard Acidri, the district councillor for Vurra Town Council, noted challenges including inadequate desks, latrines, teachers and staff accommodation. He commended the Rotary Club for addressing the desk shortage and tasked the district with ensuring the school’s sanitary facilities are improved.
Acidri appealed to the school management to use the desks properly and maintain them to avoid misuse. He challenged pupils, especially those in Primary Seven, to study hard and benefit from Rotary Club scholarships for the two best-performing learners in PLE.
Dominic Dramadri, an old boy of Ayelembe Primary School, said the support would have a significant impact. He said the sitting arrangement in class matters and contributes to pupils’ comfort and handwriting, making it easier for teachers to connect with learners.
Hope Eyokia, the former female councillor for Vurra subcounty, said the need for an additional classroom block at Ayelembe had been presented to the council and urged current leaders to ensure the school gets one to decongest the learners.