Majeggo Primary School

Magejjo Primary School was established in 1987, with a single teacher and a handful of children under the shelter of a mango tree. Over the years buildings have been built from local materials and continually improved and it now has 500 pupils and nine teachers. However, it is still lacking basic equipment and there are clearly insufficient teachers for the number of pupils.

Children start school in Uganda whenever their parents can afford the time and money for them to go since education is not free and the children are useful around the home and to look after livestock.  As a result, the first class (P1) can have children in it ranging in age from 5 to 7 and has around 50 children in it. Children share chairs and desks as well as text books and writing equipment, so it can be difficult for the children to learn.  As pupils progress through the school the class sizes get smaller so that the top class (P6) is a more manageable size. At the end of P6 children take exams which can qualify them to go on to Secondary School if their family can afford it. Exam results have been improving. 

An 'Agriculture Classroom' has been set up in the school to teach the children the essentials of growing and looking after their own crops and livestock.  It means they can help more in the family home and they have a means of making their own living when they leave.

Because many of the children travel long distances to get to school they don't have time to go home to eat at lunch time.  This means that they are often hungry in the afternoons, making it hard for them to concentrate.  40% of the children in the school are orphaned due to their parents having died from HIV/AIDS. These children were coming to school hungry, and but through the child sponsorship programme these children are now able to receive a simple meal of porridge at school.  (Click here to sponsor a child.)

A borehole was placed by the school in 2006 so that pupils no longer have to make a long journey to collect water during class time. The additional benefit to this is that it also provides a safe water source for families living close to the school. 

There is also a large playing field by the school where the children love to play all sorts of games. Football (a particular favourite) is played often with huge teams and of course barefoot.  The girls tend to play netball  Local people built the football goals and the netball hoops. 

Children learn all sorts of crafts at school such as bead work and basket weaving, as this can become a way of making money later in life.

The children work with the materials to produce local handicrafts for sale and the money earnt from this can then be invested back into the school to be spent on an item agreed by the staff and pupils.

THE MAGEJJO PRIMARY SCHOOL SONG 

(sung with gusto at the school assembly)

 Magejjo, our school,

We shall always receive you up!

Magejjo, our school,

We shall always receive you up!

Wherever we shall be going

We shall be good ambassadors;

Our teachers and parents,

We shall never let you down!