Peter and Sunrise school children. In December 2012, a group from Australia travelled to Bwagogo village in Uganda to help build classrooms. Six months later, the students of Sunrise Nursery and Primary School in Manafwa district of Mbale, a four-hour drive from the capital city Kampala, will soon be able to occupy their new classes now that the works have been completed.

The Aussie crew who travelled to Uganda for two weeks, came to participate in voluntary work and visit some of Uganda’s National Parks. Working alongside local volunteers and paid staff, in five days, the group raised four classrooms from foundation to about two metres high. Once the week was completed, the visitors saw a bit more of Uganda before heading back home, and the local contingency continued with works.

Six months later, the classes are ready for use. Before construction of the new classrooms was completed, a portion of the original, poorly built classrooms began to collapse and for the health and safety of the students, the school body moved the students out and brought down the deteriorating structure. For the last few weeks, the students and teachers have managed to graciously share the available share, including outdoor lessons on the verandah, so the completion of these new classrooms has been eagerly awaited by all.

This weekend, the teachers will gather together at the school to paint the classrooms, a task which they agree to carry out and in their own way helps to put their mark in building not just the students but the physical structure of the school which they consider their own. In a visit to see the completed works, guests were greeted with an enthusiastic impromptu performance one evening, before the official welcome took place the following day. It becomes quickly apparent that Sunrise Nursery and Primary School is an incredibly hospitable school.