Lumule Foundation

Lumule Foundation exists to support the vulnerable children and families of Lumule that continue to suffer in the aftermath of a horrific civil war.
These are the projects we are currently for using on.

1) School Reconstruction
Reconstruct Lumule Primary School, providing a sheltered space for the children to learn and develop freely and safely.

On average, each of the six classrooms in use at Lumule Primary is housing 123 pupils per class. However, fourteen classrooms are needed to accommodate the children properly.

We plan to provide the children with better learning spaces by salvaging 2 buildings each with 4 classrooms for £26,000, and rebuild a seventh building which is sadly unsalvageable, requiring a further £25,000 in building costs, bringing the total we are raising for this project to £51,000.

Our goal is to begin before the end of 2023 and finish in time for the 2024 school year which begins on 6th February 2024.

2) SCHOOL DINING HALL
Many children at Lumule Primary School were suffering long school days from 8am-5pm without a proper meal. They struggled to focus, left school early or even fell asleep during classes. The problem was that parents couldn’t afford both school fees and meals for their children. So, they often had to choose between education and keeping their kids fed.

We spoke to the school principal to see how the Lumule Foundation could support the students and their nutritional needs. He told us that even if we could afford the food, we’d still face a big challenge: finding a place large enough to cook for over 800 children.

So, in January 2023, we began building a school kitchen, and on July 13th, We handed over the fully functional kitchen to the school. We are absolutely delighted that this project is complete!

Stage two of the project is to build a dedicated dining hall – a communal space where children can enjoy their meals sheltered from the sun and rain, engage in social events and gather for assembly, the estimated construction cost is £31,000.

3) THE HEALTH HUB
The Health Hub was one of the first structural buildings the Lumule Foundation worked to refurbish back in 2021. The building plays an integral role in supporting abused young girls of Lumule who have been left with the responsibility of raising children instead of completing their education.

The Health Hub supplies formula food, so that young mothers can leave their children in the care of their families to go to school, or in some cases help those too young to breastfeed. Sanitary products are typically only available at school or church, however the Health Hub offers free sanitary products to all women within the community who need them, as many young mums are stuck at home without supplies, unable to even leave the house during their cycle.

The Health Hub also offers stationery supplies to the children of Lumule to take to school and support their studies, such as pens, pencils, books and so on.

The Health Hub is up and running, now providing not only necessary supplies, but also advice on sexual health and a place for young mothers to learn essential skills too.

4) THE SAFE SPACE
An important project for the Lumule Foundation is to create a safe space where boys returning from war can find support to forge a brighter future. Many young boys were kidnapped as children and forced to do terrible things. Now, upon returning to the community four years later, they are struggling to adjust to normal life.

Many of them turn to heavy drinking to numb the pain of their past. This makes it tough for them to support themselves or their families, who are also struggle to help their troubled teens adjust back at home.

These young men are in desperate need of support and rehabilitation. They need a space to escape, people to talk to and opportunities to take their mind off everything they’ve been through.
Our goal is to build a community centre where they can receive mental health support and counselling. We also plan to build a football ground, as there isn’t any sports spaces in the community, and offer activities that will help them focus on something positive instead of turning to drink.

5) SECURE PLAYGROUND
Our mission is to build a secure playground so children can play freely without the threat of danger.

After a recent tragic school attack in another Ugandan village that resulted in the loss of 44 children’s lives and 16 abductions, it has become clear that Lumule Primary School urgently needs enhanced security.

Secure grounds will help prevent incidents of child grooming, drunk locals entering classrooms, and animals, such as bulls, wandering onto the premises looking for water, sometimes attacking children on their search.

Moreover, the chain-link fencing will also enclose the teacher’s accommodation, ensuring their safety from late-night intrusions of drunk locals angry from being removed during school hours.

Securing the school is our top priority, but it comes at a cost of £17,000.

6) LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES
Education is our core focus. Our mission is to provide ongoing learning opportunities by training teachers and young mothers, arming them with the tools and skills they need to support themselves, their families and the community.

We’re helping these women get back into education and teaching them practical skills like sewing, hairdressing and beauty.

Upon completing their chosen course, they’ll receive an official qualification and a grant of 1 million UGS (just over £240) to purchase equipment for their new careers and pay towards the rent of a professional space. These new skills will not only enable them to provide for their families but also benefit the community by producing and selling reusable sanitary pads, school uniforms, and more.

With twenty girls have already signed up to learn these invaluable skills, and we plan to expand the space building a sheltered hut to accommodate even more women. The estimated cost of this is just under £8000.

7) SOLAR WATER PUMP
In Lumule, when the one pump they rely on breaks down, the whole community has to go without water for up to two days until it’s fixed. This means they can’t continue the school feeding programme, and they have to trek for miles to the nearest pump just to get water.

Even worse, members of the community often get sick with cholera from drinking dirty water that’s been contaminated by animals.

With your help, we can transform the existing water source into a solar-powered pumping system to ensure a clean and reliable source of water for the school and surrounding community.

The estimated cost for this project is £12,400. This includes two big tanks & solar panels.