Rotary Club Malta Builds Another School in Uganda

In December 2020, Rotary Club Malta completed a project to build its second school in Uganda. The construction of Rotary Malta Parents Primary School, in the District of Luwero, Uganda, commenced  in July 2019.

The project, headed by Rotarian Ian De Cesare, was completed three months ahead of schedule in March 2020. Although a launch date was set for April 2020, this was postponed to a later date due to Covid-19 restrictions.   The school was built with 2 NGO partners, Kids of Africa, who operate an Orphanage Village on the shores of Lake Victoria in Entebbe and with which Rotary Club Malta has collaborated on 4 projects, and the Rotary Club Bwebajja also from Entebbe.

Luwero is situated in an underdeveloped part of northern Uganda where the need for education facilities is sorely felt.  Hands on support in ensuring effective implementation of the project was  provided by the Rotary Club of Bwebajja and KoA with frequent on-site visits whereby they were able to keep all stakeholders up to speed with photos of progress on the project.

The project was funded to the tune of Euro 125,000 by donations to, and several fund raising events, held by Rotary Club Malta,  together with a generous  grant from the Maltese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Promotion, as part of their Overseas Development Aide programme.

“All the construction, fixtures and fittings as well as furniture contracts were awarded to local craftsmen promoting the local economy in Luwero. Our partners in Uganda were responsible for the planning of the school, prepared BOQs, scrutinised and approved by qualified members of our club, awarded the contracts within budget and were ever present, physically helping out whenever they could throughout the project,” says De Cesare.

“One of the driving needs of this school was a separate toilet block for girls. UNESCO estimates that one in ten adolescent girls in Africa cease to attend school when they begin their period. We allocated 15% of the budget to this life-changing basic facility to empower girls in the region. The girls' toilet block ensures privacy for girls at their adolescent stage of their lives, without which some would not even attend school,” he continues.

This is Rotary Malta’s 4th  project in Uganda. The school consists of 10 classrooms, administration facilities and separate toilet blocks and now has space to educate some 500 children from the local community.  The building has been completed to a very high standard.

Whilst working on the project, the team identified the need for the provision of fresh water into the school which had not been highlighted during the initial planning stage. A water engineer was  commissioned to plan, design and cost how we can provide fresh running water to the pupils by the use of borehole with solar driven pumps and storage tanks. This part of the project was funded by additional private donations by Club members“ De Cesare concluded.

Rotary is a Service Club and is always on the lookout for new members who wish to make a difference. To find out more about this project or to become a member, contact Rotary Club Malta on secretary@rotary.org.mt