Blog

COVID Safe School

closed due to COVID sign closed due to COVID sign

We are delighted to learn that Uphill Junior School has been designated a COVID safe school, following a rigorous inspection by members of the local District COVID Task Force. All the schools and universities in Uganda were closed in March 2020, when the country went into full lockdown. Only schools which meet the full COVID […]

Uphill has Pigs!

piglets piglets

In December 2018 we launched the Uphill Farm Appeal, to fund a programme of hands-on agricultural experiences for the pupils (and staff) that would, in time, become a source of additional income for the school. This is an ongoing project that began with vegetable growing around the school grounds in odd corners, raised beds and […]

Kindergarten on the Move

kindergarten on the move kindergarten on the move

The early years classes at Uphill are often the biggest and, up to now, children in the Baby, Middle and Top kindergarten classes have been crammed into their small wooden classrooms like smiley tinned sardines. We decided to take action… We have been fundraising for the last 2 years to build a permanent Kindergarten separate […]

The Masking Tapes

fabric face masks fabric face masks

Looking for something to do to keep myself busy during lockdown, I started sorting out my fabric store, and my thoughts drifted to “What can I make with this stash of fabric?”  So it was convenient that, almost at the same time, the government announced that wearing non-medical fabric face masks was advisable to help […]

Lessons in Lockdown

home school programme home school programme

In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, Uphill Junior School, along with all the other educational establishments in Uganda, closed its doors on 20 March 2020. At the start of May, the Uphill teachers on lockdown in Iruhuura met school director Elius and offered to begin a lockdown schooling program for the older primary children […]

COVID 19 Food Relief 2

covid food relief covid food relief

Earlier this month, while posho (ground maize) and soap bars were being handed out to the Uphill Junior School families (see COVID 19 Food Relief 1), it became clear that other households in the wider community were also in need of food relief. School bursar Ramuel and Director Elius travelled around the neighbourhood and found […]

COVID 19 Food Relief 1

covid food relief covid food relief

We received a fabulous response to our COVID 19 food crisis appeal in April, both in donations and as sponsorship for the Uphill 2.6 Challenge, which enabled us to send £1467  to the school to purchase essential food supplies plus hand washing soap for the Uphill families.The COVD 19 food relief project was overseen by […]

The Uphill 2.6 Challenge

2.6 challenge 2.6 challenge

On Sunday 26 April 2020 – the day the London Marathon would have taken place – charitable folks across the UK will be getting active – in a lock-down friendly way – to raise money for their favourite charities. Say hello to the 2.6 Challenge! Never one to pass up a fundraising opportunity trustee Liddy […]

COVID 19 Update

school lunch school lunch

COVID 19 Food Crisis Uphill Junior School has been closed due to the COVID 19 pandemic since 20 March 2020 and, as in the UK, the Ugandan lockdown has been extended  – with a strict travel restrictions and a night-time curfew in place. This is causing great hardship across Uganda. Even those who can are […]

COVID 19 Lockdown

uphill children uphill children

With COVID 19 lockdown measures firmly in place in the UK and now also in Uganda, we feel it is important to let you know what is happening at The Uphill Trust and Uphill Junior School. Trust News You may have heard that many charities have been badly affected by the huge downturn in income […]

Isobel Duncan Building

Power for Education Power for Education

Esther Isobel Searles, nee Duncan, 1931-2017 Isobel met Jock and Eileen Macdonald, our Chairman’s parents, at Dollar Academy and they became life-long friends. When she learned about the fledging school in 2013 she started to support the project with one-off donations and was always eager to hear updates on progress and see pictures of the […]

Uphill Washable Sanitary Pads Workshop

teaching a pupil to make sanitary pads teaching a pupil to make sanitary pads

Around the world, girls and women resort to using rags, mattress stuffing, banana leaves, feathers, and even cow dung to manage their menstruation. Having access to washable sanitary pads, along with private washing facilities and targeted education for both girls and boys, is essential for the dignity of girls and women and helps to keep […]

Gleaming Smiles

stick toothbrushes stick toothbrushes

Round and round, slowly, one tooth at a time… the oral hygiene message given to the kids at Uphill during my Dentaid trip in late October 2019 to make sure that they all have gleaming smiles. More than 30 children with toothache were seen by the Dentaid team on the day we visited the school […]

Clean Hands for Uphill 1

image of three sets of hands with soap cakes and a washing up bowl image of three sets of hands with soap cakes and a washing up bowl

Encouraging the children and staff at Uphill Junior School to wash their hands after using the latrine and before eating has been a top priority for The Uphill Trust since our first trustee visit in 2015. Currently the school has three small hand washing tanks dotted around the school grounds and they are well used, […]

Go Tartan Unicorns!

dundee kiltwalk 2019 dundee kiltwalk 2019

Event Report by Fundraising Trustee, Liddy A year after my inaugural Kiltwalk with the fab bunch of Uphill supporters who made up Team Uphillya, I signed up for the Dundee Kiltwalk again. This time I wasn’t able to do a huge amount of pre-walk training so I opted for the Wee Wander, 6 miles, starting […]

No Mosquitos on Us

photo of uphill junior school children with donated mosquito nets photo of uphill junior school children with donated mosquito nets

If you live in Uganda it is very likely you will suffer from malaria at some time in your life. It is as if “getting malaria” is expected – just as “normal” as we consider suffering from a common cold in the UK. However malaria is much more serious – it can be a killer. […]

More New Classrooms!

uphill site 2019 uphill site 2019

2019 is becoming the year of building! Early in the year a second Ventilated Improved Latrine block (with sewage tank that can be emptied when needed) was completed, then the Uphill building team moved onto the first of two additional classroom blocks. By the end of this academic year we hope that all the primary […]

Running for Uphill

edinburgh marathon 2019 edinburgh marathon 2019

On Sunday 26 May 2019 Liza Lakey (affectionately known as ‘Legs’ to Uphill chairman, Max) donned her running gear in readiness for her very first marathon, in Edinburgh. In November 2018, in her home country of Sweden, she had decided that running a marathon would be a suitable challenge in the year she turned 60, […]

Uphill Nutrition Project

matoke matoke

In the middle of 2018, a young pupil at Uphill fell and broke his leg, a childhood accident. While he was being treated for this, our young patient was diagnosed with malnutrition. As the doctor who examined him, Dr Jolly Banura, said, “Malnutrition is a major problem in many parts of Uganda and requires education […]

Needles and Stitches

knitting lessons knitting lessons

Do you remember learning how to knit? Knit one, purl one, drop several and invent a few… As an avid knitter since a child, having learnt to knit from my Mum, I couldn’t resist the chance to share my knowledge of knitting with the kids and teachers at Uphill.  A request on Facebook at the […]