The executive committee has given the direction to fund the Uganda girl's student enrolment another year. This year we are including a different fund raising effort by using Google Ad's in combination with our SquareUp online service. Our efforts to build out this platform will be with a budget of $500.
Brenda Thibault and Jeanine Parker have lead this project as part of the test for fund raising.
This is the landing page setup sherwood-park-rotary-club.square.site
The executive committee has given the direction to fund the Uganda girl's student enrolment another year. This year we are including a different fund raising effort by using Google Ad's in combination with our SquareUp online service. Our efforts to build out this platform will be with a budget of $500.
Brenda Thibault and Jeanine Parker have lead this project as part of the test for fund raising.
This is the landing page setup sherwood-park-rotary-club.square.site
Below is the original business plan.
September 9, 2019
Project Title: Ugandan Girls’ Education Project
Purpose: The purpose of this project is to enable 20 girls in a rural community in Uganda (near Mbarara) to continue their education by providing accommodation, food and schooling at Birere Secondary School. This project emphasizes TRF’s goal of Basic Education and Literacy. Secondary emphasis on Water and Sanitation, Disease Prevention and Treatment, and Peace and Conflict Resolution (
Project background: This project began in 2008, with the RC New Glasgow (Nova Scotia) partnering with the RC of Mbarara, Uganda. RC Mbarara and KAWODE developed a project to meet the needs of families in this rural area who were not able to, or did not find it necessary to, send their girl children to attend school beyond elementary school. (FYI – KAWODE is an acronym for Kasana Women in Development, a small and determined group of women in the community who work endlessly to improve their community.)
tawa South is pursuing this project as their main international focus. (The founder and driver of the project, Rotarian Jeanine Parker, transferred from RC New Glasgow upon moving to Ottawa in fall, 2018.)
Project start and end: As mentioned, the project began in 2008. We will continue the project with annual commitments. Rotarian Jeanine has visited the school 4 times over 5 years, living on the school site for a total of 8 months in this time. On the last visit, she and the local Rotary contact (Nicholas Kasisi) and the chair of KAWODE (Janina Karima) agreed that they (Nicholas and Janina) would be notified in November of each year what support would be available for the next school year. November is when the benefactors are told that they will be able to attend school for the following school year. To clarify, the Uganda school year flows with the calendar: each new school year begins in January and ends in December.
It is our goal to continue to support 20 girls annually.
Finances: The funds are sent directly to Birere Secondary School’s bank account. At the onset of the project, funds were sent to and through the RC of Mbarara, Uganda. Over the years, it has proven more beneficial to all concerned to have an invoice issued by the school and funds sent directly to the school at the start of each term. (end January, mid May, September). The school sends copies of the bank statements showing receipt of funds. To date, this project has raised over $166,000 from dozens of Rotary Clubs, numerous individuals and many businesses.
General Background: This project is truly a Rotary project: the problem was identified and assessed by the Rotary Club of Mbarara, Uganda, working with KAWODE and Birere Secondary School.
The primary issue addressed by this project is the continuation of school for girls by providing accommodation, food and schooling. Over the years, the wider project has resulted in a 40 bed hostal with a solar panel and furnishings, 4 x 30,000 litre tanks, 4 toilet blocks and 4 ecostoves being built at Birere and another local school. RI’s focus of Water and Sanitation is addressed, as well as Disease Prevention and Treatment, specifically related to malaria and use of bed nets.
It is RCOS’s belief at this time that we must concentrate on the needs of the girl child benefactors. Research shows that as girls attend more school, they are bound and determined to have their own children attend. Capacity building in local communities flourishes with the education of girls. Just the fact that more girls attend school has led more families to realize the importance of educating their daughters. Simple means to avoid conflict and establish peace has been demonstrated at the school by benefactors, as viewed in person by Rotarian Jeanine Parker.
Recognition for Rotary: Per Jeanine Parker
“On my last trip to the school, I was heralded with even more happiness and commotion upon arrival than my previous trips. It turns out that Birere Secondary School had been lobbying the Ministry of Education in Uganda for many years to be a high school. The support of Rotary raised the bar at the school, bringing the school more to the attention of said Ministry, who finally accredited the school to teach high school courses. The headmaster, teachers, students, KAWODE and the broader community directly and explicitly credit Rotary for this accreditation.”
Going forward, girls who attend school as benefactors of Rotary (and their families) will continue to be aware of Rotary’s support and its impact on the wider community. Any chance we have to speak to the power of Rotary has, and will be, acted on.
Project contact: Jeanine Parker, chair of RC Ottawa South
International Committee,