Matuwa Sponsorship Program Begins
By: Daphne Mabonga, Assistant Outreach Coordinator Growing up in rural Uganda and attaining a good undisturbed education is a big challenge to many, especially those who come from very needy families. Overcoming this challenge has been Arlington’s goal from the start. In 2004, we opened our school and started educating 350 students in the primary…
Uganda Day at Tuckahoe Elementary
By Mitch Pascal, Principal, Tuckahoe Elementary School This is the second year that my school, Tuckahoe Elementary, has partnered with REACH to support one of the outreach schools, Matuwa Primary. Our community has responded tremendously, and it has been so gratifying to know that we have provided assistance that has resulted in the building of Matuwa’s…
Reflections on My Visit to the US
By Sarah Sabano, Head Teacher, Arlington Junior School The twenty-third of March, 2017, will always be a memorable day in my life, because on this day, I boarded a plane to the USA, in the company of Mayi Agiri, the mother to founder John, and Phoebe, the REACH Secondary School Coordinator. Prior to this trip,…
Marymount University’s Teacher Training in Uganda
By Mary Gibson, Director, Professional Development Schools, Marymount University For the fourth spring break in five years, I felt honored to take a group of teacher candidates (five graduate students and one undergraduate this year) from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia, to REACH Junior School in rural Uganda. After several months of preparing as part…
Impactful Dollars: The New “Director Family Lab” at Bupoto Clinic
By Amy White, REACH Board Member When their daughter, Syril Pettit, an REACH Board Member, provided them with a proposal and a specific list of needs for the Bupoto Clinic in Uganda, Elissa and Steven Director decided to take their REACH giving to the next level. The Directors, who live in Seattle but “shuttle back…
Connections Across the World
“As educators, we often ask ourselves big questions about how we can do what’s right for our students: How can we show kids what exists outside the four walls of our classroom? How can we teach them about different cultures? How can we build bridges to teach global citizenship? How can we help kids connect?” Lorraine…
How my Experience at REACH led me to start Bright Books
By: Amy O’Shea, former REACH Volunteer & Bright Books founder Hi, everyone! I am a proud REACH volunteer and now the founder of a social enterprise. I’d like to share my story because I can honestly say my short time in Bumwalukani changed the trajectory of my career. (Yes, really.) I was fortunate enough to…
Bringing Water Home
By: Danielle Fortin, International Coordinator Meet Joshua Wanambwa. He’s 18 years old and lives a 20-minute walk from Arlington Junior School. Last December as he returned home from boarding school, he went to get water for his family at the regular fresh-water well that usually services his village and four other villages nearby. He found…
Celebrating Peninah Kituyi – An REACH Story:
By: Co-founder John Wanda Forgive me for being misty-eyed as I write this story, but after you read the entire post below, you will understand why. Here is the basics of the story – Peninah Kituyi, an REACH student, just scored 19 points in the recently released Senior Six exams. My friends in America will…
Success of the Model School
In 2004, about 1.8 million students enrolled in first grade of a primary school. By 2014, they should have reached their 5th year of Secondary School. In November of 2014, they should have all taken the national exams, UANEB, to mark the end of their “Ordinary” secondary education. Unfortunately, only 304,189 students sat for the…
Secondary UCE Exam Results
All last year, our students in their fourth year of secondary school were preparing for their Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) exams. Students take 10 subject exams and can earn scores of 1-10. A “1” means the student scored a 90% or higher on an exam, with “2” meaning 80 – 89%. Then, their best…
February 2, 2004 – our school opened and a new era began!
Take a step back in time and read co-founder John Wanda’s thoughts on Arlington Junior School’s Opening Day On February 2, 2004, a school bell rang for the first time at the REACH for Uganda in Bumwalukani village. Seventy-eight children, from ages 6 to 13, excitedly filed through the new doors to their new classrooms.…