A letter from Annabelle: What I saw during my recent trip to Uganda and what's next

I’ve just returned from Uganda, where I spent time in our schools, with our teams, and with the Blake family—Hamish, Zoë, and their two children—who joined us to see the impact of our community firsthand.

We participated in classes, sport, music, assemblies, and danced with students. We listened to the inspiring stories of staff and saw them in action in their classrooms. We visited student homes and undertook the difficult task of fetching water in the villages.

The Blakes’ visit reminded me of something important: when people see our work up close, they understand the depth of what’s possible. What a gift it was to host them. It will be a trip I will never forget.

For those of you who know me, you’ll know that I am always passionate about what we do at School for Life. But when I returned home this time, I had a renewed sense of energy and focus because it was another awe-inspiring trip.

I’m proud to say the students are healthy and thriving, the culture is aligned and focused, the leadership and team morale are strong and resilient, and School for Life’s impact is being felt not just within our three schools but right across the district.

I wish you could have been there to feel the bustle of activity and the real sense of progress being made. We’ve got the construction team working on boarding facilities for our primary school students—there are 260 beds going in. The education team is not only supporting the 1,900 students at our campuses to get a quality education, they are also expanding our footprint into local government schools, supporting them to run School for Life programs so we can empower more students.

The operations team are also doing amazing things. They’ve purchased 20 more acres of land and have 70 local farmers (mostly parents) forming an agricultural co-operative to improve their farming skills and increase their incomes.

But the initiative that gave me goosebumps was our Tertiary Pathways Program. Thirty of our graduates from last year are now volunteering, mentoring, and teaching in School for Life and government schools. They’re paying forward the gift of education while they work with our team on their post-school pathways.

These are the same young people that joined us 16 years ago on our journey, when we had just two classrooms, five teachers, and 80 very nervous students. To think we are now supporting more than 4,500 students and 250 staff across 10 schools in our network. We’re not just growing—we’re coming full circle. The students have become the teachers.

I was lucky to bump into one of our first graduates, Cissy. She was volunteering back at Katuuso Primary, the very school I saw her start at in 2011. The young woman who stood before me was quietly confident and equipped with the skills she needs to thrive. I’ve been thinking back to when I first met her all those years ago. She was a gorgeous but super shy six-year-old who was terrified of coming to school for the first time. Now, she’s a role model. A graduate. A leader. One of the most educated people in her village. A living, breathing example of what happens when we prioritise education.

Seeing her there with my daughters by my side was emotional beyond words, because in that moment, I realised: this is what happens when we work together.

You can view Cissy’s powerful story of transformation below.

Cissy and her classmates' success is no accident. It’s thanks to people like you—people who choose to show up and make a difference. People who refuse to accept the lotto of life, where a child’s potential can be squandered simply because of where they were born.

Cissy is just one student. We are educating thousands more young people—just as capable, just as inspiring.

So thank you for being a part of this incredible journey.

Warm wishes,

Annabelle

CEO and Founding Director

Success Stories
Goretti

Sweet and shy Goretti lives with her aunt, uncle and cousins in a small house in the local village. When Goretti was younger, she moved in with her aunt and uncle because her parents could no longer look after her. She was one of our first students at Katuuso Primary, starting in 2011 when she was just 4 years old. Now, Goretti is in Senior One at Mbazzi High School, and is relishing the honour of being a high school student in her community - something that is taken for granted in Australia, but in Uganda, represents freedom and opportunity. Goretti also loves attending School for Life because she hopes to one day become a pilot in Uganda - a dream which she knows can only be reached with the help of a good education.

Violah

Violah has been at School for Life since since she was six years old. Sadly, Violah has experienced hardship no child should ever deal with. Her Dad passed away three years ago, leaving her Mum without the financial means to support her family - so she left Violah and her siblings with their elderly grandmother. Every day, Violah has to wake up at 5am to fetch water, cook meals and make sure that her younger sisters are properly looked after. Then she walks half an hour to get to school. Despite this adversity, Violah has flourished at school and has made many friends. She loves that School for Life is "helping me to build a future". After finishing school, Violah hopes to become a teacher to help other children.

Umar

Umar is one of our best performing students at Mbazzi Riverside High School - but life has not always been easy for Umar. His father abandoned the family in 2015, leaving his mother to struggle to support her five children on her own. School for Life has provided Umar with opportunities that may never else have eventuated for him. Umar begun his journey with School for Life at Katuuso Primary School, where his academic ability was quickly revealed. Now, he is a thriving member of our Senior 1 class and a formidable wing on the football team. With a love for mathematics, Umar is set on studying electronic engineering after finishing his senior studies - a goal which he is the first to admit is now within reach thanks to the skills and resources provided to him by School for Life.

Rose Nambooze

Rose is a 32‐year‐old single mother of one. She started working with SFL in 2013, after taking part in our tailoring training program. Prior to working with us, she was unemployed and living in her father's home helping to care for her father, who had cataracts, and his farm.
Thanks to her full time employment, Rose was able to save enough money to pay for an eye operation and restore her father's sight, allowing him to return to work as a mechanic. Now, Rose has moved into her own home and no longer relies on her father financially. 

Joseph

Joseph is one of our Special Needs teachers at Katuuso. After surviving a severe case of malaria at age four, he was left permanently deaf. He was raised by his single mother and attended a nursery school for the handicapped and later transferred to a school for the Deaf in Kampala. He eventually mastered sign language and pursued a university degree in education. Joseph decided to become a teacher so that he could give the gift of education to others who are hearing impaired.

Teddy Namatovu

Teddy is a participant in the Kumi Tailoring Program and four of her five children attend Katuuso Primary School. She and her husband farm two acres of land, which supplies fluctuating revenue. Participation in the Kumi Tailoring Project has secured income to reliably pay for school fees, nutritious meals and renovations to the family home. Teddy has gained a great deal of self-esteem from her ability to support her family and she takes pride in independently financing the education of all five children. Teddy has also been working on her numeracy and administration skills. She was appointed Treasurer of the tailoring group and will be responsible for keeping records of their savings.

Flaviah Nassaazi

Flaviah Nassaazi started working at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School in 2011. Prior to cooking at the school, she and her husband were subsistence farmers. They worked tirelessly for small yields and minimal income to support their family. Flaviah's cooking job not only enables her to pay school fees for her children, but she has also invested in a local barbershop business. She is now passing her cooking skills onto her eldest son Frank, who has also joined the school's cooking staff. Flaviah and her husband attend the adult literacy classes offered weekly at the school. Her English and reading have improved immensely, as well as her confidence.

Rachel

In 2010, Rachel began as a cleaner at Katuuso Primary and Vocational School. She was working to save money to study to be a teacher at University. Thanks to Barrie and Simone Goldsmith, her dream of studying came true and she is now fully qualified.