THE STORY OF THE MARANATHA SCHOOLS
In 1989, newlyweds Rev. Patrick and Eva Walusimbi left Kampala to found the Golgotha Missions Church. Their original vision was to develop and serve a small, rural congregation. However, Uganda was emerging from years of civil war in which over 500,000 had been killed. In addition, the country was beginning to feel the full effects of the devastating HIV/AIDS epidemic. Both tragedies left countless destitute and orphaned children behind. The Walusimbis found children coming to them, seeking food and shelter. First they took one child in to live with their family, then another, then another. As word spread of the care the Walusimbis provided for disadvantaged children, the stage was being set for the start of the Maranatha Schools.
THE FIRST SCHOOL: MIZIGO
The first Maranatha School was started in the village of Mizigo. Growth has been rapid at the Mizigo School; today, over 500 students from preschool through 9th grade attend each day. Students may have 40 classmates or more, but that is far better than the 300 to 1 student:teacher ratio in many Ugandan public schools. Students are at the school from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which makes for a long day, given that some students walk four miles each way. But they receive two meals on most days – both corn-based porridge – and they find time to laugh and dance and play and sing. And, while most students leave the school each day to return home, about 100 of the students are orphans and remain at the school, sleeping in classrooms converted to dormitories.
THE SECOND SCHOOL: NKONYA
The second Maranatha School is 14 kilometers away, in the marginalized fishing village of Nkonya. Before a Marantha school opened in Nkonya, children in the area had no access to formal education; today, over 100 children attend school each day. The school – built jointly in 2005 by local residents and volunteers from America - sits high on a peninsula surrounded by water and lush vegetation. While the six classrooms serve as the primary place of learning, some education still takes place outside, as when young children practice their penmanship in the soft dirt beneath a broad shade tree.
A local fisherman and life-long resident of Nkonya donated the land for the school and even half of his house for resident teachers, in gratitude for the education being provided to local children.
THE THIRD SCHOOL: KIGALAMA
The third school was started in 2005 in the village of Kigalama and is the fastest growing school. With almost 260 students currently enrolled, they need to hold some classes outside as they have outgrown their current structure, a traditional African open-air hut. A new 2,500-square-foot building is currently under construction. Once completed, the building will include two classrooms, an office, and a storage room.
THE VOCATIONAL SCHOOL
The vocational school was started in 2006 and is located adjacent to the Mizigo School. The vocational school is unique in an area where education for many ends after the primary grades. Given that the Mityana area has few traditional jobs available, children have limited options when they become of working age, particularly if they are orphans and have no family to rely upon. The vocational school provides young people with skills – farming, construction, sewing, computers, etc. – that will allow them to create a job or, in some cases, be employed.
