First Lady to open returnee sisters’ primary school
May 20, 2008
THERE are not many people keen on investing in the village. Many clamour for the urban centres, where they will be assured of huge profits but not so for the Rwamunahe sisters - Monica, Beatrice (Tess) and Connie, together with their mother Edisa who spent over 20 years in the US, (Las Vegas and New
By Jude Katende
THERE are not many people keen on investing in the village. Many clamour for the urban centres, where they will be assured of huge profits but not so for the Rwamunahe sisters - Monica, Beatrice (Tess) and Connie, together with their mother Edisa who spent over 20 years in the US, (Las Vegas and New York) and thought of investing back home.
With their savings, they put up Miranda Memorial Primary School in Nyakagyeme sub-county, Rukungiri district. The school was named after their great grandparent, Miranda.
Miranda Memorial Primary School started in 2006 with 80 pupils from Primary One up to Primary Five. Last year, the number rose to 160 for the day and boarding school, where the sisters are all co-founders and directors. Currently, there are 250 pupils. This year they will have their first Primary Seven candidates.
Although it was licensed by the Ministry of Education, Miranda Memorial Primary School has never been officially opened since 2006. Monica Rwamunahe attributes this to bureaucracy.
“It takes time to register. We were actually registered in June last year. Now we feel the time has come to open it officially,†she says.
The school also has a nursery section. Monica says they want to put up a 300-bed girls’ dormitory. “After this, we intend to put up a boys’ dormitory. We hope our first P.7s will excel and attract more numbers of pupils and allow us build one,†Monica adds.
The girls’ dormitory fundraising drive will be held on Saturday, May 31 at 4:00pm at Nanjing Restaurant in Kololo. Jim Muhwezi, the area MP, will be the chief guest. The school will later be officially opened on July 12 by the First Lady, Janet Museveni.
Although in possession of vast land, the school still lacks a library, dining room, sports ground and modern kitchen. Monica asserts that they brought many books from the US but do not have proper storage and reference facilities.
“We appeal to well-wishers to join us. We could have come to Kampala but we wanted to serve the village. We wanted to give the poor people a chance for education. We are happier giving service than making profit,†Monica explains.
She adds that theirs is the only school in Rukungiri with a bus (coaster) operating as a school shuttle by picking up pupils (day scholars) in the morning and returning them in the evening. The school is one and half kilometres from Rukungiri town. The sisters are looking forward to putting up a secondary school and university, since their family owns a big land.
THERE are not many people keen on investing in the village. Many clamour for the urban centres, where they will be assured of huge profits but not so for the Rwamunahe sisters - Monica, Beatrice (Tess) and Connie, together with their mother Edisa who spent over 20 years in the US, (Las Vegas and New York) and thought of investing back home.
With their savings, they put up Miranda Memorial Primary School in Nyakagyeme sub-county, Rukungiri district. The school was named after their great grandparent, Miranda.
Miranda Memorial Primary School started in 2006 with 80 pupils from Primary One up to Primary Five. Last year, the number rose to 160 for the day and boarding school, where the sisters are all co-founders and directors. Currently, there are 250 pupils. This year they will have their first Primary Seven candidates.
Although it was licensed by the Ministry of Education, Miranda Memorial Primary School has never been officially opened since 2006. Monica Rwamunahe attributes this to bureaucracy.
“It takes time to register. We were actually registered in June last year. Now we feel the time has come to open it officially,†she says.
The school also has a nursery section. Monica says they want to put up a 300-bed girls’ dormitory. “After this, we intend to put up a boys’ dormitory. We hope our first P.7s will excel and attract more numbers of pupils and allow us build one,†Monica adds.
The girls’ dormitory fundraising drive will be held on Saturday, May 31 at 4:00pm at Nanjing Restaurant in Kololo. Jim Muhwezi, the area MP, will be the chief guest. The school will later be officially opened on July 12 by the First Lady, Janet Museveni.
Although in possession of vast land, the school still lacks a library, dining room, sports ground and modern kitchen. Monica asserts that they brought many books from the US but do not have proper storage and reference facilities.
“We appeal to well-wishers to join us. We could have come to Kampala but we wanted to serve the village. We wanted to give the poor people a chance for education. We are happier giving service than making profit,†Monica explains.
She adds that theirs is the only school in Rukungiri with a bus (coaster) operating as a school shuttle by picking up pupils (day scholars) in the morning and returning them in the evening. The school is one and half kilometres from Rukungiri town. The sisters are looking forward to putting up a secondary school and university, since their family owns a big land.