Breaking the ground for construction
There are 7 primary schools in Aminit but the nearest secondary school is 12km away making it impractical for any of the children of Aminit to get a secondary education. Some children have walked that distance every day, each way, but it means long tiring days and in bad weather it becomes impossible and they are absent. Also, the long walk places girls in danger, particularly as they can still be walking home as it gets dark.
The community in Aminit exists off subsistence farming. The resulting high levels of poverty and the pressure on the land mean parents are desperate to find other ways of life for their children. To achieve this they need reliable and affordable secondary education. In 2017 the community decided as an act of faith and not really knowing where it would lead to start a school working with the Church of Uganda in Kumi, with the church offering 10 acres of land for the school to be built on.
To make a start the School Management Committee and Parent Teacher Association committee have leased some old classrooms from a primary school just across the road from the empty site and succeeded in providing classes for for S1 to S4. They borrowed books from other schools, repaired broken desks, and built a latrine and by 2018 there were 122 students, rising to 212 in 2019. Aminit High School charges only 50,000 UGX per term (around £10) with the intention that the school remains affordable for local people. There are currently 15 part-time and full-time teachers essentially volunteering their time for a token salary of 10p per month.
The Board of Governors and the PTA have been able to raise funds locally to buy some bricks which has allowed them to start building a classroom block of their own however progress is slow as resources are low. They have no laboratories, no computers and little by way of books. The lease on their existing classrooms is very vulnerable and could expire at any time.
However the Chairman of Governors, Mr. Okia Raymond Idoloi, is determined to move forward with their plan in whatever way is possible, keeping fees at a reasonable level to allow local children to get an education beyond primary level.
TDT sent £5000 to assist with construction back in 2020 and now the walls are completed on the classrooms the next stage is to complete the roof, in part supported by a veranda structure, which will cost around £14,000. It is important to complete this in 2023 as Aminit has lost access to the primary school buildings it was using due to the increase in primary school pupil numbers post Covid and will struggle meaning Aminit won’t have enough space to accomodate their numbers next year. There is also a need to provide adequate latrines.
Work beginning on classroom construction
School In February 2020
Construction December 2020
January 2021
