Educate Bwindi

👨🏿‍🌾Meet Ronald - because he has a love of gardening, he came to the Bwindi Watoto School and offered to help with the gardens. Under his care and with the help of students- the gardens have flourished and produced - so much so that the school will not have to purchase vegetables next term! 🥬
Well done! 👏🏻

💜Today is the last official day of term 1 of the 2026 school year here in Uganda. Report cards have been marked and children reported to pick them up along with their Holiday Packages. We hope the children have a good holiday break and return at the end of May ready to study hard. Thank you to all teachers and staff whose commitment to education help create a successful learning environment at the Bwindi Watoto School and helps make this the #1 school in the district. 🥇

💡Let there be (constant) light!!! And electricity!!! 🔌
The Bwindi Watoto School was the fortunate recipient of a grant that allowed for 10 solar panels to be installed 🌞 This has allowed the lights to be on and electricity to be constant. Although the school is hooked up to the local dam for electricity - it has not been needed since the installation of the solar panels. Thank you to The Columbia Foundation for making this happen! 💙💜

The children have been busy with new and exciting projects this year! 30 children from P5-P7 have been participating in a STEM class spearheaded by Tr Desire, who was instructed on the course by Professor Jennifer. Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle events-such as leafing and flowering- driven by seasonal and climatic changes.
Children received notebooks to record their observations of the dicots and monocotyledonous plants such as how long they take to germinate - how long they take to produce leaves and when do they produce flowers.
This project gets them out of the classroom and helps refine their observational and science skills!

🐣Not every child could go home for the short Easter Break last week - 12 children remained on campus along with a matron, a patron, 2 teachers, a cook and a security guard. Thank you to long time supporter Paula Silver 💕 who paid for this group to have a special meal that included chicken! We appreciate her generosity in making this holiday special for the children and staff.

🌈🍦 I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!! 🍦
Wow! Thank you to Charlie for sponsoring this ice cream event for the students at the Watoto School. For most - this is the first time to have ice cream (Charlie’s favorite food!)
Board member Erin Donahue and her husband Charlie traveled to Uganda with a group to go on safari and go gorilla trekking. Many of the travelers sponsor children at the Watoto School and this was the first time they met the children! By the looks on the children’s faces you can see what a glorious afternoon it was for travelers and children! Thank you Charlie for making this happen! 🍦

🧑🏿‍🎓Congratulations to our graduate Ruth, who was one of the top students 🥇 in Uganda in 2025! 🇺🇬 We wish her success in her future academic pursuits. We look forward to following her on her journey. Congratulations also go to the committed teachers and staff who, with the support of sponsors and donors are working hard to create the best possible educational environment for the children of Bwindi.
(Results are based on their PLE Primary Leaving Exams - rigorous exams all students in Uganda take.)

🙌🏾This is the story of James, a success story in progress. James came to the Bwindi Watoto School in 2015. His parents were killed in a fire and he had suffered some serious injuries including burns on his head and left arm and hand. James was living with his grandparents in a village high up in the hills. Never having been to school, James was wide-eyed and curious with an impish grin. Because of the tragedy he had suffered, he was cautious but observant. The children embraced the new student and within a couple of days he was running (barefoot) with his shirt tails flapping in the breeze (because he had no fingers on his left hand - buttons were impossible). It is a testament to the culture and stability the Watoto School offers that we have had the pleasure of watching James grow and flourish in our environment. With encouragement and the amazing support of his sponsor Nancy Dahlberg - James is now a young man with opportunities and a future and he enters the P7 class of 2026. It has been a heart warming pleasure to see this young man grow - we are forever grateful to the consistent and generous support from Nancy that has enabled James' progress. We look forward to keeping you posted on how his story unfolds....💜💙

📚Monday Jan 5th started our "Future Readers" tutoring session! For several years, under the direction of Karen Pampush, (our new President) who introduced critical thinking to the currriculum and guided our teachers in helping to provide tutoring to children who needed help in reading - the children have progressed immensely. This has been a very successful endeavor and the number of students who needed this boost has diminished. As our Nursery section improves, the children will be given a stronger foundation in reading and writing skills. We will continue to follow the progress of these budding learners!

🎄🎉Happy Holidays to all of our sponsors💜 and donors💙 from Educate Bwindi and the children and staff of the Bwindi Watoto School! 🧑🏿‍🏫👨🏿‍🏫💙💜
We'd like to share the success story of a young man called December, to celebrate the holiday . December graduated from the Bwindi Watoto School in 2011. During his P7 year he met Lorna Gladstone (one of our co-founders) whom he calls his "guardian angel". 👼🏻Lorna believed in this little boy with a dream of becoming a doctor. With sponsors and support, December went on to study nursing and secured a job working as a theatre nurse at one of the Specialist Hospitals in Kampala for 3 years, gaining a lot of experience. With continued support both financial and knowing there were people that believe in him , his secret dream of studying abroad as a specialist nurse in Germany became a reality - December's flight to Germany took off in 2024 and he is well on his way to fulfilling his dreams. We wish him luck and look forward to updating you on his dream. 🩺