Covid has caused disruptions worldwide for the last 2 years, but this article from the New York Times details the impact it has had on the schools in Uganda. School officially reopened today in the country. Many students haven't stepped foot in a classroom since March of 2020. This article details that thousands of schools have been forced to close and won't reopen while an estimated 1/3 of students won't return to school for a variety of reasons.

Thankfully our friends at Liberty Preparatory are able to open their doors to welcome their students back. The staff is currently expecting 98 students to enroll. As of now only 61 students have reported to school. This is common in Uganda that all of the students don't show up on the first day or even in the first couple of weeks.

This video was taken the first day of school.

There were two projects that Pastor John had been working on to get things ready for students to return.

First was building a new school kitchen. The old kitchen was located on the place where the new dormitory stands. You'll see the new kitchen in the first two pictures.

Second, the schools' pit latrine or outhouse as we'd probably call it in America got old and developed some cracks. This means a new one was needed. They worked day and night to get it dug and to put a roof over it before students returned. The new pit latrine has 12 rooms. The third picture shows the pit latrines after they were dug to a depth of 60ft each. The fourth picture shows them beginning to cover them. A small hole large enough to use the bathroom will be left uncovered when complete.

On the first Sunday that students were at Liberty, every adult in the church that meets at the school prayed with a group of 7-8 students. They dedicated each kid into the merciful hands of the Lord after the long Covid lockdown. This was also the first Sunday church service held after the lockdown was lifted.

All of the poles needed to finish the boys' dorm roof arrived today. Work will begin soon to attach them.

The bottom pictures show the maize harvest from the school garden. It was a bountiful harvest as you can tell by all of the smiles.

It's been an exciting first couple of weeks of this new year in Uganda. Students started back to school almost 2 weeks ago and today workers began putting the roof on the new boys' dormitory. Coincidentally, it was exactly a year ago today that workers began putting the roof on the new girls' dorm.
A new kitchen had to be rebuilt to make room for the new dorm. Below are pictures of the new kitchen with its new roof.

Students and staff are getting used to the school routine once again after being our for so long. So far 70 students have reported to school. The school kitchen is almost finished and ready to serve. Construction on the new pit latrine will begin in March.
For the boy's dorm, the building engineers are finishing the roofing framework this week. That means the iron sheets will be put on this coming week. After the roofing, the next steps will be shutters, doors (15), windows (26), internal plaster and flooring.. The rise in gas prices has affected the cost of living dramatically.

We prayed for the first foundation brick that was put down last August. Today we celebrate the completion of the roof on the boy's dorm!!

Currently the total number of students at Liberty is 76. Due to Covid 19, 10 students had to relocate elsewhere due to family situations.

Students are still in academic term two. It has been a challenging term with rising prices in Uganda. Prices for food like tomatoes and onions, sugar, soap, spices, etc have all doubled and keep changing. The cost of living continues to go up.

During academic term one, many of the kids were sick with flu and cold cases. Thankfully this this term the students health has been much better.

On Saturday, July 2nd Liberty will welcome parents to the school. Parents will visit with their kids to catch up and check on their progress. Kids play games with their parents and share a meal together.The day will end with a cultural dance by the students.

Sunday, May 29th was our evangelism day, I went with 7 kids to one of the remote villages 65 miles away from Masaka. Church service was under a jackfruit tree, see the picture. Kids ministered in songs.

Friday 24th June was our skills training day at Liberty School. It's important that students are growing academically and spiritually, but also that they are gaining practical skills. The time was used today to train students on preparing local food and sauce in a traditional way. Matrons and teachers did the training. You'll see pictures and video showing highlights of the day.

Students have been working hard this trimester. The video shows students during the exams they took this week.

A BIG congratulations to Pastor John's wife, Grace, as she graduated this week from Kampala University with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Grace works tirelessly at Liberty and literally does everything including milking the school's cows every morning.

Saturday, July 2nd was Parent's Day at Liberty School. Parents come to see the academic performance of their kids and bring food to eat with their children. It is a lot of fun for everyone involved. There is music and the students perform a traditional Kiganda dance.

Praise the Lord that funds have been received to finish the new bathrooms for Liberty. The pictures show the bathroom doors being delivered and installed. Pastor John gives a tour in his video.

Pastor John and one of the students share a message.

Today the school held a ceremony of thanksgiving for the new pit latrines and officially opened them to students. In the second video you can see the joy, singing, dancing and thanking God for the new school pit-latrine facility. Another project at Liberty School has now been completed.

An update on the students: Most kids who'd gotten out of school after covid19 have now come back to school, this has put the total number to 97 kids.

There are 10 staff/teachers, 2 administrators, and 3 support staff (2 matrons and 1 cook).

Today the installation of doors and windows on the new boys dorm was completed. They were purchased with money from the GHC VBS. Now the work moves inside to build the door steps from the sleeping rooms to the wash rooms.

Every kid at Liberty Preparatory School has a pretty amazing story. Without Liberty almost all of the 100 students that attend wouldn't have a chance for an education. Here is the story of two students:

1. Evelyn,

She joined Liberty this year, 2022. Pastor John met both Evelyn and her mother in tears. Evelyn’s mother is divorced and has no job. She'd lost all hope in an education for her daughter. Evelyn’s mother sent her to her grandmother and this is where Pastor John met her. By God's grace Liberty has given her a chance for an education. Liberty stops at primary education (grade 7). Evelyn and many other kids at Liberty pray that God paves a way for high school education and beyond.

2. Steven,

He joined Liberty Preparatory School in 2018 in primary two. Steven lives with both parents. His father was the only breadwinner for the family. He's a fisherman and sells charcoal from a forest near their home. One morning the government stopped all local people from fishing and charcoal burning. The family was left struggling for survival. Then one night in 2021, Steven's father was attacked by a group of men who beat him up and left him with a damaged back. He can no longer support his family. Liberty Preparatory School had to pick three of the four kids this family has to attend Liberty. Without Liberty, these kids wouldn't get education. Many times, the school has to support this family with food handouts.

The picture below shows houses in Steven's neighborhood.