At the end of January each year we pinch ourselves to check that we are not dreaming – has another year gone past already? Oh yes, it has! The past 12 months have zoomed by and now The Uphill Trust is six years old! 2020 was a very odd year for everyone involved in the […]
Towards the end of 2020, Uphill Junior School hosted a team from Kirabo Africa Foundation, a US-funded non-profit organisation partnering with community-based organisations in Uganda to effect grassroots change. The visitors were particularly interested in learning about water harvesting systems, the new Uphill handwashing station, making liquid soap and to find out how to raise […]
Play is a key element in child development. Learning to play encourages children’s imagination, cognition and emotional development. Physical play develops motor skills and dexterity. Play is important for healthy brain development and helps to maintain a sense of well-being throughout life. Play is an essential part of early years learning and its importance continues […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
As we all know, you can never have too many toilets in a school! Thanks to a generous grant from the charity Meeting Needs, Uphill now has a new 5 stance latrine block which has been designed for the girls at the school, with a private washing area at one end. The new latrine also […]
