The School Facilities
Education and skills training is at the heart of John and Alice Tumusiime's ministry to children and young people.
"The School" comprises six different parts in Rukungiri and Kampala. The initiative began with a vocational training centre, however the need to educate young children was so great that this became repurposed as a primary school, and has since been extended through many phases to become today's Rukungiri Modern Primary School (RMP). When funds allowed and land was made available, a new Vocational Training Centre was established - The Gables.
In order to support the mission teams coming to help with building and development of RMP and The Gables, an accommodation block was built, which with the addition of several separate small round single-story lodges (rondavels) became the "Rondavels Hotel". A large hall was built in the land at Rondavels to provide a meeting place and "Conference Centre".
Mission teams travelling from abroad had increasing difficulty finding accommodation for their stop-over nights in Kampala (near Entebbe airport), and a number of very generous donations allowed land to be acquired, and the 'White Crest' Guest House to be built near Kampala.
Finally in 2008, work began on the building of a nursery school "Rukungiri Modern Pre-Primary School" just two minutes walk from the RMPS.
If farm land is eventually bought to support the school, I imagine that this will become the seventh part of this wonderful development dedicated to the support and education of children!
Rukungiri Modern Pre-Primary School
Development on the Nursery School began in 2008,
with plans for a two storey building comprising boys and girls dormitories, sick bay and staff bedrooms upstairs, with classrooms, offices, kitchen and toilets downstairs.
A playground overlooks fields beyond which the town can be seen. The nursery school is about two minutes walk from the primary school, so that siblings can easily meet up.
In March 2009 two classrooms were operational, and each has about 100 children. There were 220 children at the school. A third classroom was being built. At present nursery children who board stay with their older siblings in the Primary School.
The school is staffed by four teachers including the head teacher Loyce. As new classrooms are developed there will be a need to employ more teachers and also a Matron.
You can help by sponsoring a teacher's salary, which costs about 100 a month. See our 'Get Involved' pages to find out how.
Rukungiri Modern Primary School
Rukungiri Modern Primary School was started in 1997. It is the main school within the complex. 
Since the opening of the nursery school, 220 children have moved across to leave some 800 children at the Primary School. Since it began, RMPS has been the top performing primary school in Rukungiri District, and since 2000 has been among the top 5 primary schools in Uganda. This performance is a wonderful fulfilment of the school motto "Let us invest in education."
The school is built around a quadrangle, with classrooms on three sides, and the staff room, library, kitchens and toilets on the forth side. Just behind the school, the walls of the town's sports stadium can be clearly seen over the top of 'Abergavenny Hall'. The stadium is a tremendous asset to the school and allows several hundred children to gain exercise at the same time.
Dormitories occupy the upper stories of one classroom block, and a large hall sits above another block. The Hall and two of the four underlying classrooms were built in 2007.
There are seven year groups (P1 through P7) at the primary school, and some of these groups are so large that they have been split across two classes. Children progress through the school based upon their abilities, and this is described in the article 'A child's progress.'
The school is led by Jeffrey, an inspirational and dedicated head-teacher, who maintains very high morale among both children and staff. This is amply demonstrated by the warm reception given to visitors by the school bands, and the assembly of the whole school for the lowering of flags at the end of each day.
One of the projects in vision is to develop a sanatorium above the Abergavenny Hall.
The Gables Vocational Training Centre
Some children on leaving the Rukungiri Modern Primary School are unable to afford or rarely unqualified to attend secondary school, and of these many have potential to learn a craft. The Gables Vocational Training Centre currently offers this opportunity to around 200 teenagers to develop skills that will enable them to become economically independent, and able to help support their families.
The Gables provides accommodation and offers training in a variety of disciplines for both boys and girls including:
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Bricklaying
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Carpentry
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Metalwork
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Electrical work
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Driving
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Catering
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Baking
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Knitting
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Tailoring
The Gables are currently sponsoring a student at agricultural college so that he might become a teacher in agriculture. This will also enable Gables to develop a nursery for growing seedlings, and to act as the hub of a cooperative (for example for coffee). These two economic activities will help the growers gain access to markets at good prices, and provide much needed additional income for Gables.
There is also a need to train a teacher at Gables in Plumbing skills so that the centre can offer this training too.
Gables equips each student upon leaving with
their first set of tools for the job, and so is in constant need of a supply of new tools.
Many of the students choose to give-back to the schools by helping build the classrooms, and make the school furniture and uniforms. One of the Gables students is now the full time school tailor, and works at the gate of the Rukungiri Modern Primary School.
Rondavels Hotel
Rondavels Hotel is on an adjacent campus to the Gables Vocational Training Centre, and about 10 minutes walk away from the schools.
It was first established to provide accommodation for visiting mission teams, but since then the single story accommodation block has been enhanced.
Firstly, a set of round-houses, or Rondavels were built to provide more secluded accommodation for other visitors, and perhaps the team leaders. The largest of these was built by Joan Hall
as her retirement home, and has been lent to Rondavels, where it provides two accommodation wings, a meeting room with kitchen and the hotel office. A second large Rondavel is a single large dinning room for groups of up to 20.
In 2007 it became clear that the single story accommodation block was now insufficient for the size and number of groups visiting, and so a second story
has now been added.
The standard of accommodation has also been continually improved, so that for example the twice daily delivery of buckets of hot water has been replaced by running hot water in most of the rooms (when the power and water supplies allow!).
Each room has en-suite toilet and shower facilities, and all of the beds are equipped with mosquito nets.
Life at Rondavels is very definitely a community life. Tea and buns are provided in the gardens at regular intervals, and people gather round to chat and work. Many visitors pass through and stop to meet the guests, as well as enjoy the refreshment and delight of the gardens and hospitality.
The next stage of development at Rondavels is to develop the gardens to make an environment suitable as a conference and wedding venue. The location and views, the scale of the catering facilities and conference hall, and the ready access to many volunteers from the Gables, open up the possibility of new revenue streams to support the schools from weddings and conferences.
www.traveluganda.co.ug/rondavelshotel
Rondavels Conference Centre
Co-located with the Rondavels Hotel is a large open-sided hall that can accommodate perhaps 200 people. It is mainly used as a dining room for larger groups, and a place of celebration.
In recent years, the availability of the accommodation and the hall has led to an increasing demand for its use as a conference location. For example it was the base for a Rukungiri district conference on Micro-Finance, a key economic initiative across many parts of Africa to stimulate economic development through the provision of small loans.
However, the hall is too small for many of the demands placed upon it. This is fine when the weather is good, but a passing rain storm could be devastating to a conference or wedding. There are therefore plans to extend the hall to at least twice its current size.
White Crest Guest House, Kampala
One day some visitors to Rukungiri were being taken back to Kampala for their flights home. Unfortunately no accommodation could be found for them that night in Kampala, and so began the search for a guest house.
In typical fashion, John had a vision of a plot on a hill overlooking Lake Victoria. After a fruitless search, he was approached by a lad who took him to the plot in an undeveloped are outside of the city. The area is now a thriving centre for education and trade, with a modern shopping centre just ten minutes walk away.
Subsequent mission groups camped on the plot, and eventually funded the development of the White Crest Guest House. It is a welcome oasis for visitors from abroad, who have arrived after a long flight into the culture shock and bustle of life in Uganda! It is also a base from which to 'get organised' before the one day journey across the equator to Rukungiri.
Simon-Peter and Lisa provide a very warm welcome, and help getting organised, including meeting you at the airport, and escorting you into Kampala to exchange currency, book safaris and see the city. They also organise transport to and from Rukungiri, and tours / safaris for you.
Although the White Crest was established to support visitors to Rukungiri, it is also well placed and open for holiday makers and business people visiting Uganda. The accommodation is very good, and all rooms have en-suite facilities and mosquito nets for the beds.
For enquiries and bookings please contact Simon-Peter and Lisa
at
White Crest Guest House and White Crest Tours
& Travels Limited
www.whitecrestuganda.com
Mob.Phone:+256 712 195653