John Paul Secondary School Needs Your Help – by Tim Blackwell
In 2007, Paul and Nancy Berrigan of Farmington Hills, Michigan began building a school in Chelekura, Uganda. It was their dream then, as it is today, to help provide educational opportunities for children living in that disconnected part of the world. When John Paul Secondary School first opened its doors nine years ago, 14 students were registered for classes. Today, enrollment for both boys and girls is over 200.
Since project inception, the Berrigans have dedicated themselves to making sure the school provides the best education available for teenage students who are interested in pursuing a career in science. The newly built science center is a perfect example of their ongoing efforts. The center provides students with access to modern lab equipment for lessons and experiments in chemistry, biology, and physics. There is also a computer center that will soon be equipped with over 20 low-wattage computers and monitors for student use.
John Paul Secondary School has become an anchor for the surrounding Chelekura community and continues to attract students and teachers from the area. But, as with anything, growth brings challenges that need to be addressed. One of the school’s most urgent needs today is on-campus housing for teachers. Teachers must now commute long distances to the school which often becomes problematic, especially during the rainy season. The paragraph below was taken from the school’s CrowdRise fundraiser page and better explains the problem:
“John Paul Secondary School in Chelekura Uganda is in desperate need of teacher housing! Due to the lack of on campus housing, teachers must travel long distances to-and-from school daily. During the long rainy season roads frequently become impassable and the teachers cannot get to the school. If there are no teachers, the students suffer and fall behind in their studies. Also, teacher housing will help us to attract the best teachers from a much wider area, further improving our students’ education.”
Follow the links below to learn more about Paul and Nancy’s work in Chelekura and to see how you can help them build housing for teachers at John Paul Secondary School. Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated.
https://www.crowdrise.com/brick-by-brick-campaign
https://johnpaulschool.com/2016/04/15/building-housing-for-the-teachers-brick-by-brick/
Written by Tim Blackwell of “One World Sustainable”. Tim is the founder and president of “One World Sustainable”. He previously donated solar panels to JPSS. This year he and his team were instrumental in completing the installation of a complete solar-powered system on “Daryl D. Wittich Science and Learning Center”. The students will now be able to use the classrooms during the darker hours and there is power for the soon-to-be-purchased computers in the Computer Center. The solar system is able to power the entire Science Center and has a battery backup system that allows power to be stored for those rainy days.
