Uganda lies high, at an average elevation of about 5,000 feet. The climate is very moderate – not hot – with two rainy seasons each year. The Ruwenzoris, fabled Mountains of the Moon, rise along Uganda’s western border. Many of the world’s most spectacular animals live in Uganda, from elephants to hippos to tree-climbing lions.

Some 350 endangered mountain gorillas live in the southwest corner of Uganda, almost half of the world’s remaining population. About 5,000 chimpanzees remain in Uganda’s shrinking forest land. They too are endangered. Gorillas and chimpanzees share over 98% of their genes with humans. Scientists believe that our ancestors parted ways in this region of Africa some 6 million years ago.

The British colonized Uganda in the late 1800s. Their impact is visible in the many tea and coffee plantations. Uganda leads Africa in coffee exports. Except for the arid north and northeast, Uganda has rich volcanic soils and abundant rainfall. Most Ugandans live as subsistence farmers. Average per capita annual income is around $280, which is enough only to send one child to secondary school for one year.

Uganda gained its freedom in 1962. Since then the country has been torn several times by war and internal oppression. Rebel armies even today control northern portions of the country near Sudan. Government under President Yoweri Museveni has been stable and progressive since the mid 1980s.

Ugandans speak numerous indigenous languages. English is the official language of government and education. Two thirds of Ugandans are Christian; the rest are Muslim or follow traditional African religions.

Population is 26 million people, or 8 times the population of Oregon. Life expectancy is 45 years. Expectancy has declined in recent years due to AIDS. Hundreds of thousands of children – perhaps more than a million – have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

Elizabeth Ross and her husband Richard Wrangham of Massachusetts came to Uganda in the late 1980s. He founded and still directs the Kibale Chimpanzee Research Station in the forests of western Uganda near the town of Fort Portal.

In 1997 Uganda made primary education free for all children. At that time Kasiisi Primary School, located near Fort Portal and Kibale Forest, had suffered from years of civil war, unrest, and under-investment. School buildings were falling down. Teachers were underpaid when paid at all. Teachers and students were demoralized and not succeeding.

Elizabeth Ross and her family and colleagues became determined to help the children of workers on the Field Station where the Chimpanzee Project is located. A series of projects began in 1998 to help nearby primary schools. Generous donations have come from schools, in particular Field School in Weston MA; from churches including First Parish and St. Peters in Weston; from the Friends of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project; and from other organizations and individuals. Kanyawara Primary School, near the Kibale Forest gate, has gone from zero classroom buildings to five. Kasiisi Primary School has gained five new, solid, large buildings. Kasiisi is now ranked first among the 46 primary schools in Ruteete sub-county in Kabarole District. Both Kasiisi and Kanyawara now have latrines for children and staff. Other projects have included scholarship programs for secondary school students, and grants and training for teachers. There has been tremendous progress over the years.

But Kasiisi and Kanyawara schools still have no electricity, no water for drinking or washing, no food programs, and no transportation to or from school. Children walk to school from as far away as 6 or 7 miles. They arrive between 7:30 and 8 AM, clean the grounds and rooms, and assemble. Children attend up to 8 class sessions during the day. Very few can afford to bring lunch with them. Most eat nothing during the day. The smallest children leave at 1 PM. Older children begin their long walks home at 4 or 4:30 after sports and an end-of-day assembly.

Classes have as many as 100 students per teacher. There are nowhere near enough government-supplied textbooks for students. Instruction is almost completely through in-class recitation with little or no homework. Children write their lessons in composition books. Teachers correct the work directly in the books.

Though there has been tremendous progress, still more is needed. Secondary school in Uganda is not free. Very few families can afford to spend the $200 to $400 per year it takes. Only about 12% of Ugandan primary school students go on to secondary school. Literacy in Uganda remains at only about 70%. It is higher among males than females because most girls leave school before completing the primary grades.

Education is fundamental and critical. Education needs infrastructure to be effective. The Kasiisi Project’s current programs include classroom structure improvements, on-site water supply systems, on-site and off-site staff housing, special latrines for girls entering adolescence, and school lunch programs.

We seek your help to continue helping Ugandan children one school at a time.

We are all connected to each other – all of us across the planet – everywhere. Every bad action cascades from person to person and eventually touches everyone at least slightly no matter how distant. But every good thing does too, and even more powerfully, because it brings people together in resonance and harmony instead of pushing people apart. This is the ancient African concept of ubuntu. We are, all of us, in the same boat called Earth. There are no actions in isolation. We are all together.

Please help with your tax-deductible donations. Here is how.

Thank you.