Joyce at the White House
By: Joyce Wanda, REACH Co-Founder I had the honor of being invited to The White House on Friday to attending the event celebrating “Champions of Change” for Extracurricular Enrichment for Marginalized Girls and Girls of Color. It was great to meet ordinary American women in addition to Beverly Bond who work or volunteer with these girls…
“I am able to do so many things”
By: Danielle Fortin, International Coordinator Meet Sam Warawa! Our newest member of the Arlington family. Not only is he our new Procurement and Facilities Officer, but he is also an REACH alumni! Sam entered Arlington in its first year (2004) as a P5 student. He didn’t know any English and couldn’t read or write in the…
Empowering Women Through Micro-Finance
By: Laura Barrantes, REACH Executive Director The Maayi Agiri women’s micro-finance group has 70 members and meets weekly on Tuesdays at Arlington Junior School. As part of my visit, I had the opportunity to stop in on their weekly meeting and chat with women in the group. These women are weaving baskets, running restaurants and…
Scrapes and Bruises
By Marissa Swanson, former REACH Coordinator Scrapes and bruises are a normal part of growing up. Kids explore, try new things, and sometimes exceed their limits, leading to unintentional injuries. The difficult task for parents and child caregivers is to allow children the freedom to explore and learn without being at risk of serious injury.…
From Student to Staff
One of REACH’s missions is to encourage our students who have finished school to return back to their community to work and give back. In order to help that initiative, we have taken on a focus of hiring our university graduates whenever possible. We are happy to announce we have recently hired one of our…
First University Students Receive Diplomas
By: Danielle Fortin, International Coordinator July 1st was a joyous day for the entire REACH for Uganda community. After 12 years of working towards getting our children to a higher education, four of our students received their diplomas. Co-founder Joyce Wanda and many members of our Uganda staff were in attendance at the Mukono campus of…
Profoundly Impactful
By Mitch Pascal, Principle of Tuckahoe Elementary School Profoundly Impactful. That is how I describe my experience visiting Uganda with REACH this summer. Having returned from 15 amazing days in Africa, which lived up to the clichéd “trip of a lifetime” description, I’ve reflected back on just what led me there. As a first year…
Returning to Uganda
By: Sophia Melideo, sponsor and Teen Trip 2016 participant My first experience at Arlington Junior School was completely eye opening. I had known what to expect once I arrived to the village, but I had never imagined the amount of kindness and love I would soon receive from each student and teacher. In February of…
School Choir Excels in Competitions
By Edith Nambafu, P6 Teacher, Head of Music Department Besides academics, Arlington Junior School also engages its students in co-curricular activities like Music, Dance, and Drama because of the school’s aim to produce a holistic child. In Music, Dance, and Drama children are helped by the choir heads to build and showcase their talents. Students…
A Wonderful Experience for High School Students
By: Danielle Fortin, International Coordinator In early July our students and our staff were very happy to welcome our annual teen trip! 7 teens arrived on July 1st from various high schools in Arlington, VA. Among the trip participants included our founders’ daughter, 3 individual sponsors, and 3 She’s the First chapter members of HB Woodland.…
STF Summit 2016
Did you see us at the #STFSummit this past weekend in NYC? Co-FounderJoyce Wanda, her daughter Christine Wanda, and board member Carole Burk were in attendance and had an awesome time. Joyce started off the weekend by participating in a panel discussing structural challenges to equality in educating girls! She also participated in a Q&A session with…
The Cultural Learnings of a Ugandan in America
By: John Wanda, co-founder Last week, at a company retreat, we got asked a simple question – what is your favorite ice cream? It was not a serious question. It was meant to let employees make small talk and open up about themselves. My friends around me brightened up as they discussed their favorite flavors and…