The school reopened in January after almost two years of being closed because of covid. The older children are studying in the evenings and weekends to catch up. P7 class took their mock Primary Leaving Exams in March and 3/9 got grade 1 which is excellent.

We have 176 children: 62 in Nursery and 114 in Primary of which 59 are orphans.
We have 14 fully qualified Teachers and 7 support staff (Bursar/secretary, 2 cooks, a cleaner, a security guard and 2 work on the farming land for school food).

We built new classrooms in 2021 but there is still a lot of work to be done to complete them.  We need to finish plastering and painting and urgently need windows.  We had to build a wall around the perimeter of the school so this diverted some of the funds for classrooms. Accommodation for the orphans badly needs improving.

We now have an official website and have been featured in local press

 www.helenmargaretowenfoundation.org

We’ve had articles in Warrington worldwide, Lymm Pages and article in Lymm Life, making the front page! 

Gift Aid application as a charity has been approved by HMRC so we’re now eligible to claim gift aid. If you’ve donated at any time, a tax payer and not completed a gift aid form, please let me know and I’ll send you one.

Thank you for your support, your donations  – monthly and otherwise.  It is very much appreciated.  It’s life changing.

Helen

A container of aid loaded by CareUK and some charity members was sent on its way in March with a wide range of contents for the elderly to newborn and much needed equipment for the school.

We are most grateful to CareUK for funding this and filling it with charitable donations to be distributed widely benefitting hundreds of people.

The container was expected to arrive at the school in early May so I flew out on 4^th May with Sarah Cross (charity member and CareUK volunteer) to be there for its arrival.

Unfortunately things didn’t go to plan and there were a lot of complications.  Sadly, while we were there, Sarah’s Grandma died and then my mother died the next day.

We remained in Uganda while our families took care of things at home. We were looked after very well and surrounded by love and prayers.

Our return to the UK was overnight on 22^nd May and right up to the last minute we’d hoped that that we would see the container arrive before we left.

We were there for the container but also and very much so, for the school. Seeing the children studying and enjoying sports day etc. was such a joy. 

This was our first time back after two and a half years because of covid so it was good to see the progress of the school, children and teachers since we were last there.

I’m happy to say the container has now arrived and we’re waiting for customs to release the goods.

Fundraising Events

We held a coffee morning in April which raised £610 on the day and another £450 in donations as cheques.

Coffee Morning to be held 17^th June – TOMORROW!

Afternoon Teas at High Legh Village Hall on 10^th July – very fortunate to get a slot here. We need volunteers for making cakes and sandwiches and helping on the day. If you can help in any way, please contact me.

Curry night in July. Ticket only guests.

Ideally we need to hold a fundraising event each month to help cover the costs of running the school. If you have any ideas and can help/host, please let me know.

The object of The Helen Margaret Owen Foundation is to advance the education of the children attending Kirinya Children’s Centre by the provision of funds for education, training, and by prevention and relief of poverty.