Sacred Heart was founded in 1934 as the only all-girls boarding school in northern Uganda and became one of the most respected schools in all of Uganda. With 122 students abducted in two separate instances, it has been heavily affected by the war. In addition to the abductions, two students were killed during the second incident, which took place in 1991. Although the school is Catholic-based, it is now owned and run by the government and welcomes students of all denominations.

All of the 937 students live in the on-campus dormitories. There is a severe shortage of faculty at Sacred Heart considering the large student body. There is also inadequate classroom space, so teachers must shift spaces through the day, losing the personal classroom environment. The classrooms do not have enough desks to accommodate the students; there are not enough latrines; the dormitory floors are sinking and have gaping holes; the girls bathe out in the open air; and there are only five faucets for them all to share. Two of their larger classrooms have been converted into dorms in order to house them, creating an ill-suited living environment because of all of the windows.

To date, we have provided enough support to refurbish the most immediate plumbing needs, including the refurbishment of two boreholes. Two blocks of five stance Ecological Sanitation Latrines have been completed with another two blocks currently under way, as well as a protective perimeter wall around the campus.

We have also supplied Sacred Heart with a limited amount of textbooks in the main compulsory subjects and a limited amount of lab supplies, but not enough to get the school up to the national standard. The staff has been provided many different types of trainings, including assistance in leadership, school development planning, monitoring and evaluation, psychosocial support for guidance counselors, financial planning and computer literacy.

As we enter Round IV, the school has proposed some ambitious projects, including the development of a three-story classroom block. The completion of this project will result in class sizes at Sacred Heart hitting the target ratio of 60 students per classroom. As we forge ahead with this big development, we will continue to support the school’s needs in terms of scholastic supplies, teacher training and the new emotional literacy program. Sacred Heart is on the rise and making strides towards restoring her former renown.