Speakers for Africa: What Your Support Made Possible in Uganda in 2026 Uganda School Impact
By Penny Randell, Co-Founder and Secretary, Speakers for Africa
A roof that keeps the rain outside. A bathroom a child can safely use. A school kitchen preparing meals for hundreds of students. This is what What Your Support Made Possible in Uganda in 2026!
These are practical improvements, but their meaning reaches far beyond the buildings themselves. They help children arrive at school, stay in class, and learn with greater comfort and dignity.
As co-founder and secretary of Speakers for Africa, I want to thank everyone who helped make this year’s work possible. From our supporters in Evergreen, Conifer, and Denver, Colorado, to our friends and partners in Uganda and beyond, your generosity continues to remove barriers to education.
For everyone who joined our March 7 An Evening to Empower fundraiser at Bistro Del Lago, donated, volunteered, or shared our work: here is what that continued support is helping accomplish. Speakers for Africa: 2026 Uganda School Impact
Exodus School: A New Roof, Better Sanitation, and Water Collection
At Exodus Nursery and Primary School in Ntinda, Kampala, our work this year addressed several needs that directly affect daily school life.
Together with local partners, Speakers for Africa provided:
A new bathroom and septic tank, improving school sanitation.
A 2,000-liter rainwater collection system, including a tank and gutters.
A new roof for the school and church, which share the building.
School supplies to support classroom learning.
School cleanup activities to improve the shared environment.
Movie nights, arts, and activities that gave younger children opportunities to create, laugh, and enjoy time together.
Each project matters on its own. Together, they help create a more welcoming place for children to learn and a stronger gathering place for the surrounding community.
Next: Electricity for the School and Church
Our next goal at Exodus is to bring electricity into both the school and church.
The current project estimate is approximately US$1,000 to connect to the local electrical supply in Ntinda and equip the shared building with wiring, outlets, and lighting.
It is a practical next step that would make the space more useful for teaching, school activities, and church gatherings.
Rwakobo: Expanding Sanitation as Attendance Grows
At Nshaara Parent’s Primary School in Rwakobo, Kiruhura District, Speakers for Africa returned to repair and expand the pit latrine we built in 2025.
The school reports an approximately 30% increase in attendance since that earlier project. With more children attending, the sanitation facilities needed additional capacity.
That is encouraging news—and a reminder that supporting a school means staying involved as its needs change.
This year’s repairs and expansion helped protect the original investment while responding to a growing school community.
Mbuya: Returning to See What Is Working
Our relationship with Uganda Youth Aid Nursery and Primary School in Mbuya, Kampala, reaches back to 2018.
This year, our team returned to check on earlier projects, speak with school leadership, and document how the improvements are being used. Speakers for Africa: What Your Support Made Possible in Uganda in 2026 Uganda School Impact.
A School Kitchen Now Serving 900 Pupils
In October 2025, Speakers for Africa completed a full kitchen renovation with sponsorship from Amy Franklin and Summit Executive Cleaning.
During our October 2026 follow-up, the school reported that the kitchen was being used every day for food preparation and storage, serving 900 pupils, compared with approximately 600 last year.
That represents a 50% increase in the reported number of pupils served. School leadership identified food provision as a major factor supporting attendance.
Our team also observed that the kitchen was very clean, meals were ready on time, and children appeared happy with their food.
Those observations matter. When donors help renovate a school kitchen, they deserve to know how it performs a year later.
We also documented remaining needs, including more water for cooking and cleaning, additional cooking utensils, and repairs around the cooking area and chimney. Following up helps us recognize progress and identify what still needs attention.
Fifty Desks Still Helping Children Learn
We checked on the 50 school desks provided in 2025.
Each desk accommodates approximately four to five younger pupils. Together, they provide seating for roughly 200–250 children, helping students move from the floor to a proper place to sit and work.
A desk is a simple thing, but it changes a child’s school day.
From Bare Ground to a Growing School Garden
One of the most encouraging changes at Uganda Youth Aid is the school garden.
When we began helping in 2018, there was nothing growing on the grounds. An early green initiative began with a nine-year-old student and her sister, who visited from another school as Speakers for Africa ambassadors.
Today, the school makes use of nearly every available growing space. Tomatoes, kale, corn, bananas, yams, and other crops grow around the grounds, and gardening has become part of the school curriculum.
It is wonderful to see an idea introduced by children become something the school continues to develop for itself.
Next: Four Toilets for Younger Children
School leadership identified a four-stall bathroom for younger pupils as a priority.
The proposed facility could potentially connect to a nearby public sewer line, reported to be less than 10 meters away. That possibility needs an on-site assessment and confirmation from the utility.
For early planning, a basic four-stall toilet block with handwashing facilities and a short sewer connection could require approximately US$6,000–$10,000. This is a preliminary allowance, not a contractor quotation. We will establish a fundraising target after confirming the design, connection requirements, and local construction costs.
Why Speakers for Africa Keeps Coming Back
Completing a project is one part of our responsibility. Returning to see whether it is working is another.
Our follow-up visits ask straightforward questions:
Is the facility being used?
Is it clean and maintained?
What do teachers and school leaders say has changed?
What needs repairs or additional support?
What should we prioritize next?
We listen to the people using these facilities every day. Their experience helps guide our decisions and gives donors a clearer picture of what their support is accomplishing.
That ongoing relationship is central to our work in school sanitation, clean water access, school meals, classroom infrastructure, and educational support in Uganda.
Thank You for Helping Children Stay in School. Speakers for Africa: What Your Support Uganda School Impact
To our donors, volunteers, local school partners, and friends: thank you.
Your support has helped provide bathrooms, water collection, a new roof, school supplies, and opportunities for children to enjoy being children. It has also allowed our team to return, check earlier investments, and share what we learn.
From Evergreen and Conifer to Denver and Kampala, this community continues to show what steady, practical generosity can accomplish.
If you would like to help with electricity at Exodus or the next sanitation project at Uganda Youth Aid, please visit Speakers for Africa to learn more and support our work.
Thank you for being part of it.
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