Soft Power Education Education thru Friendship thru Adventure registered charity number

The moving force of history was, in the past, "hard power" - in the form of military might, political authority, and wealth. What we have seen in recent years, however, is a decrease in the relative importance of this factor, and in its stead a remarkable increase in the importance of "soft power"- factors such as knowledge and information, culture, ideas and systems." Buddhist philosopher Daisaku Ikeda at Harvard University, Boston, USA on September 26, 1991 The Meaning of Soft Power

British registered charity and Ugandan NGO working in rural Uganda where the majority of people live on less than $1 a day. We work in four directly related areas: Refurbishment of Primary Schools – providing clean, safe and inspiring learning environments Education Centres – fun, dynamic learning centres to complement class based learning for our partner schools Through partnerships bringing conservation to the classroom Community Development Programme – extending potential of the education centres to adult learning Who are we and what do we do?

School Refurbishment Programme The Ugandan Government introduced Universal Primary Education (UPE) in This meant that 4 children from every family could attend Primary School for free and this was a good step towards achieving the 2 nd Millennium Development Goal (MDG). However, this also put a huge strain onto an already overcrowded education system. Schools were already Overcrowded Dilapidated with many condemned buildings Lacking resources Lacking qualified teachers So when enrolment in Primary Education rose from 2.3 million to 7.5 million in just over 2 years (UNICEF) schools struggled to cope

School Refurbishment Programme  In 2003 we set ourselves a five year plan to renovate and refurbish the 20 Government Primary Schools in the Budondo Sub-county of Jinja, Uganda  Now, in 2008, we have successfully completed this plan... and a lot more!  We have now worked in 5 different sub counties and renovated and refurbished over 370 classrooms at 34 Primary Schools. What does that mean? Renovating existing classrooms – fixing windows, doors, concreting floors Demolishing condemned classrooms and rebuilding Building new additional classrooms to reduce class sizes Building pit latrines Installing water catchment tanks Painting the entire school inside and out including teaching aids on the classroom walls

 Renovated, refurbished and painted over 135 classrooms  Built and painted 57 brand new classrooms  Painted (without refurb works) 130 classrooms  TOTAL OF 372 classrooms affected by SPE!  Installed 17 x 8,000 litre, 4 x 50,000 litre, 2 x 1,000 litre and 1 x 3,000 water catchment tanks  Build 56 pit latrines  Painted all schools inside and out including teaching aids School Refurbishment Programme – Achievements

Before Buyala St Pauls Primary School, Budondo Sub County, Jinja

After Buyala St Pauls Primary School after Soft Power Education

Teaching Aids Most Government Primary Schools in Uganda cannot afford text books for the pupils. We therefore paint teaching aids on the classroom walls to assist the teachers.

School Refurbishment Programme – Achievements In a 2007 survey of our 22 partner schools, the number of pupils enrolled was 21,816. If you include the other 11 schools we have worked at and estimate the total enrolment... OVER 33,000 PUPILS HAVE BENEFITED FROM SPE !

Before Kivabuka Primary School, Budondo Sub County, Jinja

After

The Amagezi Education Centre Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will understand”

The Amagezi Education Centre -School Programme To enthuse children about education and reduce Primary School drop out rates Complementary learning environment to assist UPE partner schools Opportunity for P6 students to attend sessions in Agriculture, Science, Art, Drama and ICT A unique environment offering practical and interactive learning

School Programme 60 x P6 students from each of our 22 partner schools attend 4 day long sessions at the centre Over 1300 children visit the centre each year Classes restricted to 12 pupils Interactive lessons in ICT, Drama, Science, Agriculture and Art Opportunities to use equipment not available in Government Primary Schools Out reach programme to ensure all pupils get a ‘taster’ of the centre

The Amagezi Education Centre – School Programme

The Amagezi Education Centre – School Programme

To extend the use of the centre to the adults in the local community Offering access to knowledge and information Programmes include: – Community Agriculture – Sewing Circle – Carpentry – Drama workshops – Health and Sanitation – Fuel Efficient Stove Building – ICT – Teaching English – Professional Development for teachers The Amagezi Education Centre – Community Programmes

T Amagezi Education Centre – Community Programmes Tailoring course (left) English classes (right)

T Amagezi Education Centre – Community Programmes Community Agriculture (left) Carpentry Workshop (right)

Soft Power Education Pre Schools

Soft Power Education Pre Schools 120 under 5’s attend each of two pre schools Pupils are AIDS orphans or from extremely impoverished families 4 staff at each pre school SPE completely covers all costs of both pre schools Important stepping stone to encourage children to attend Primary School

Soft Power Education Pre Schools

The Murchison Project Extending our school refurbishments to areas of specific environmental threat A view to improve conservation education by forming partnership with the Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) Improving relationships between The National Park and surrounding communities Providing opportunities to benefit from tourism Encouraging tourists to look beyond the traditional activities and take an active interest in the environment and conserving it Providing volunteering opportunities

The Murchison Project

What are the costs? £2.50 will buy 100 bricks £5 will buy a shovel or four litres of paint £10 will pay the wage of a tradesman for one week £20 will provide us with six tonnes of building sand £40 will buy a load (8 tonnes) of lake sand or building aggregate. £50 will buy a 1,000 litre water catchment tank £100 will pay three teachers' wages at one of our preschools for one month £1,000 (well let's not be shy) will refurbish a two classroom primary school block.

How has this all been possible? Over 10,000 ‘One day’ volunteers spending time working at the schools and donating money Long term volunteers fundraising prior to arriving in Uganda On going fundraising by ex volunteers and people they have enthused Overwhelming support from travelers, student groups and individuals to help us continue these amazing projects

How can you help? Organise a fundraising event Volunteer in Uganda Pick a cost and pay that for a year (e.g. Our transport costs!) Tell people about Soft Power

Contact Us Soft Power Education PO Box 1493 Jinja UGANDA registered charity number

THANK YOU!