Couple Helps Open School in Native Uganda

In the 1990s, Ugandan Twesigye Jackson Kaguri came to the United States to study at Columbia University. During a 2001 visit to Uganda, Kaguri and his wife Beronda Montgomery-Kaguri first got the idea to start a school for AIDS orphans. Kaguri himself has lost a sister and a brother to HIV/AIDS.

"I was looking after my nieces and nephews after their parents died, but what about those who didn't have an uncle?" asked Kaguri, an Okemos, Mich., resident who works for H&R Block and spends much of his time applying for grants for the school. "In Uganda when parents die, the children are taken care of by the extended family. When AIDS swept in there was no extended family to care for many of them. Before that you never heard of an orphan crisis."

At first, the Kaguris wanted just to send money. Then, using their own savings, they opened a school near Kaguri's native village in January 2003. At the school, the orphans get free education, learn vocational skills, receive basic health care, and get placed with a foster family. The orphans receive free vegetable seeds and learn to plant gardens, which helps improve their nutrition. They also learn about HIV prevention.

In its first year, the school had 56 students ages 5-14 in the equivalent of first and second grades. By the end of this year, it will offer grades one through seven. The school now enrolls 116 orphans.

Back to other news for August 30, 2005