Partners and Progress
COME Uganda
Directors: Frank and Michele Heyward, Lugala, Uganda
Years of partnership with AHI: 9
COME Uganda website
Progress and Achievements
In 06/07, the classrooms at the HOPE Primary School at Masanafu were completed and are a credit to Frank Heywards building skills and experience which he has passed on to the Ugandan supervisor and builders very successfully. The compound wall was also completed with very smart rendering finishing off the essential building work at this site. Children in this campus are performing academically with the best in Kampala.
The Lugala campus is a hive of activity with the nursery children from the baby and top classes thriving in an ever increasing quality of education with the key teachers growing in skill and experience over several years at the school.
The team of 20+ trained people working 3 - 4 days a week in the Mulago Hospital, Kampala's largest government medical facility, do an amazing work which is highly appreciated and respected by the staff. The hospital is supported in numerous areas by COME which help hundreds of patients cope by providing medicine, counseling, basic nursing care and rehabilitation because many cannot return to their village or family due to the stigma of having AIDS, being caught in crime or victimization by acid burns. The HOPE Primary School at Kasengejje under the leadership of Pastor Rene has grown further in student numbers (200) and quality of education. A financial squeeze challenged the work but support from a sponsoring church (Christian Family Centre, Murray Bridge, SA) facilitated recovery and a more confidant future is assured for this project.
Ongoing Development and Future Objectives
![[ Mischievous faces at HOPE Nursery School, Lugala. ]](come.jpg) |
| Mischievous faces at HOPE Nursery School, Lugala. |
The HOPE Primary School at Masanafu is consolidating class sizes and curriculum that best serve the needs of the children for their future life. The Heywards are arranging training for the current teachers that will help them maximize their skill to teach effectively, preparing the children for their future in a rapidly changing Uganda. Work will soon begin to construct an all weather shelter shed for protection for the children while outside especially in the wet seasons. Children are also developing gardens where they are learning to grow vegetables in poly bags and any other items that will hold soil. At the HOPE School at Kasengejje, the building work continues with new stores, offices and staff quarters, and soon construction of permanent classrooms will commence as fast as support comes through. It will be great to see the plastic, rusty tin, rotting timber and dirt floor classrooms replaced with new rendered mudbrick buildings!
The Mulago Hospital Support Program aims to become increasingly effective in helping hundreds more sick and needy people arriving at the hospital with no food, no money for medicine and nowhere to go when they leave. The provision by the hospital of an office and meeting room for volunteers has been well used and COME plans to place more trained people in the wards to meet the growing needs of more patients in the future. Training for volunteers will also be stepped up as new helpers are coming forward from numerous organisations across Kampala eager to be involved in this specialised work.
The dream for the proposed HOPE Medical Centre is very close to commencing construction. This facility will provide specialised care for those suffering with HIV/AIDS and acid burns. Frank Heyward will oversee the design, building and set up work which will also be a place of training for African medical personal.