Een hoopvolle toekomst
voor dove kinderen in Uganda
Een hoopvolle toekomst voor dove kinderen in Uganda
Many deaf children in Uganda still do not attend school. The existing schools for the deaf often have overcrowded classrooms. That’s why we are building a new school for the deaf, which will grow over the next few years to accommodate 140 deaf students. Since many children will not come from the immediate area, the school will also include boarding facilities for 120 students. They will stay in homes designed for twelve children, each with a caregiver.
We have purchased a four-hectare piece of land—roughly the size of six football fields. Here, we will not only build the necessary buildings but also create play areas for the children and grow our own crops. Over the next six to eight years, we will continue to expand the school, with financial support from our donors.
first milestone is the creation of a water source, which will supply water to both the school population and the people living in the surrounding area. Water is also needed during the construction process. It’s quite an operation, involving the drilling of a hole 80 meters deep. An electric pump, powered by solar energy, will bring the water up to a water tank at a higher elevation.
Next, we will make the land accessible by building a driveway, an entrance gate, and fencing along the long side of the property. The first structure to be built will be a sleeping area and office for the security guard, so that the rest of the construction can proceed safely.
The water pump has been installed, so running water is now available!
The pump runs on solar energy. Water pipes have been laid to a large 10,000-liter water tank. All in all, another wonderful new step forward!
The company that carried out this work is Maintenance Palace Ltd, led by Steven, one of the members of our construction committee.
He had a video made to capture this special day. Watch along with us!
The construction of the school has really started now! The first thing we are building is the guard building. There is an office there for the guards and two bedrooms for them, a storage room and bathroom. Construction is going well; even the roof is in place!
This means that the first guards can also sleep there and they can take care of the safety of the materials that will be needed in the near future.
In the bottom left corner of the map, you can see Entebbe, where Uganda’s international airport is located. It’s 50 km from Entebbe International Airport to the capital, Kampala. East of Kampala is Mukono, where the Signs of Hope deaf school will be located.
The preparation and actual construction of the Signs of Hope deaf school is a large-scale project that requires in-depth expertise and careful oversight. Therefore, the board has decided to collaborate with a professional Construction Committee.
The Construction Committee consists of the following volunteers: Ricardo van Belzen from MBE Afbouw in Middelburg (Netherlands), Steven Mukalazi from Maintenance Palace LTD in Mukono (Uganda), and William Wangi as a representative on behalf of Signs of Hope.
