Patrick Walusimbi standing beside the Nkonya School bore hole (well) that provides clean drinking water for the
entire school, and even other people
from the community. |
Maranatha constructed Nkonya Primary School about four years ago. Nkonya is about 10 miles from Maranatha’s main site at the edge of Mityana, and sits at the edge of a small lake. Many people from the area earn their livelihood as fishermen. Currently, the school has about 160 students which attend school in what is probably the nicest building and classrooms of the Maranatha school complex. The school has just recently completed a building expansion, and has also used other donor money to drill a bore hole to provide both the school and nearby neighbors in the community with clean water.
Nkonya has not been as receptive (compared to Mzigo and Kiggalama) to the concept of educating their children. Many families still prefer that their sons go to the lake to fish and help earn income, and their daughters work in the garden rather than go to school. Patrick hopes this attitude will change over time. He dreams of having a community room at the school where parents could be exposed to television and news from other parts of Uganda and the world. He thinks this would help the community change its attitude toward education, and their children. |
