In the 1980’s there was a popular Paul Simon song, “Graceland” and from that song the Ugandan training location, Hopeland was named. At that stage, Uganda was recovering from a war that was devastating to the entire nation, after which came the HIV Aids epidemic, bringing with it even more destruction. It was in this setting that the global community, in the form of a team consisting of Ugandans and internationals, began this preschool with a Montessori emphasis.
The obvious development of the children had an immediate impact on their community and preschools spread throughout the region. Hope begins for a family when their small children have an opportunity to learn.
Sumaya is one such child. A volunteer serving in Hopeland was shocked by the poverty she saw in the local community. She would go out walking and noticed many young children idle at home and unable to attend school. As she shared her experience with her friends and family back home, they started to raise money to help these children go to school, enabling ten children to attend school for a year.
Sumaya was not one of the ten. Sumaya’s family is immersed in economic poverty. Her mother spends all day searching for items on the dump to sell and get money for food. They live in a very tiny mud house, almost a shack but she loves her children. When the family got an opportunity for one child to go to school, the boy, Rahim, was chosen, with the mother reasoning that she was uneducated, and could still get married and have children – so let the boy get the education.
Sypora, an Early Childhood Education Specialist, training teachers in Hopeland, felt that this was not right and decided to fight for Sumaya to be able to attend school. She began to advocate for Sumaya, first with the donor who had met Rahim and his mother at the dump site and also with the mother. Today Sumaya is the top student at Hopeland pre-primary. Sypora reports that Sumaya is doing very well at school. “I am so impressed with her spiritual and academic progress. She is mostly quiet but is smart. I am so glad that she’s in school and growing.”
In Uganda children are in school from the morning until 4.00 p.m. For these children this means not only receiving an education, but also 2 meals a day. The reality is that during the vacation time there is a strong possibility of these children going without food.
Hopeland Preschool has existed since the late 1980’s. Over 30 years has been spent in faithfully creating a space for super-economically vulnerable children to be loved, fed and to receive the foundations of education. It has taken a global community, with the Ugandans taking the leading role for over twenty years.
As Loom we have been involved in training the teachers in Hopeland and were recently able to secure funds to renovate the pre-school. The physical changes in the building create beauty in a learning environment, giving hope to teachers to keep pressing on against all odds.
However, the reality is that the children we serve have no economic resources. The schools struggle to be sustainable in these communities, and yet to break the cycle of poverty, education is essential.
Please pray for all involved that Hope would reign.
