A Story of Hope!

The dream of a high school in Uganda first came to our attention in 2006 when Ugandan school director Vincent Zaake and his wife Mary attended a Christian school conference in South Africa and met Ray and Pat Sutton. This was before Classrooms for Africa was officially launched. Vincent ran a primary school in the town of Masaka in the days when Uganda was still recovering from the trauma of the conflict that had devastated the country. The Zaake’s aim was to provide stability and a values-based education to the children in a very poor area of the town. He also saw the desperate need for older children to have a sound education. When Classrooms for Africa was launched in 2008, Vincent was encouraged to apply for funding to help build high school facilities on the land they had purchased about 20 minutes from Masaka. Very soon thereafter funds were secured and construction of the first classroom block began.

By the end of 2010 a four-classroom block had been completed and work had started on a separate administration building and storage area. In January 2011 Hope Comprehensive High School opened its doors to the first students and applied for registration with the Ministry of Education. The first year’s enrollment was around 60 students in grades 8 and 9.

Thanks to the Morton family and their friends from Alberta, Canada, Classrooms for Africa has been able to fund a number of major buildings on the campus. In 2012 a girls’ dormitory was constructed and later expanded. By October 2013 a boy’s dormitory was completed. In 2016 a second classroom block was built in memory of the Morton’s daughter who passed away tragically the previous year. The latest but probably not the last project was the construction of a much needed kitchen facility to prepare meals for the over 400 boarders as well as the day students and staff. This building was completed by 2017.

This year representatives of Classrooms for Africa visited Hope school and were very impressed by the development at the school over the years. Over 500 students are now enrolled in S1 through S6 (grades 8 through 13). The students are performing very well in the state examinations. The structure of the second classroom block allows it to be used as an assembly hall and examination centre.

Hope Comprehensive High School has grown and developed into a centre of excellence and a model school. The vision and entrepreneurship shown by the school leaders has resulted in many initiatives which they have promoted and funded themselves. These include: teacher training programs, the installation of solar power and a computer lab, the drilling of water wells, the development of a sports field and a farming initiative which provides fresh produce to the kitchen. Classrooms for Africa feels very privileged to partner with such an inspiring school community.

In September 2019 a very special occasion took place at Hope school when the major donor family from Canada visited the campus. The family, which included their two young boys, took part in many activities. They mingled with students from both the high school as well as the Hope Primary School in Masaka who came for the occasion. They planted trees and were treated to live music, singing and skits. The boys were particularly thrilled when they received the gift of Uganda soccer outfits with their names on. The family and their friends were very blessed by the occasion and by the love shown to them. Thank you Hope Comprehensive High School!