The community of Kiyindi lies on the banks of Lake Victoria. It has a small landing stage, where a ferry brings people from some of the 55 outlying islands. People come to bring their goods to sell, to visit the health centre (also an International Needs "IN" project). It is also a place where fishermen launch to go and find the lucrative silver fish. Whole families are dependent on the fishing industry for their survival. Boats go out at night to trap fish. They place an oil lamp on the front of the boat to attract the fish. They drop their nets and haul them in, before heading back to shore at dawn. The fish are dried out and sold at the markets or increasingly exported.

The community of Kiyindi has been greatly impacted by the HIV virus. The community can be very transient. HIV spread rapidly throughout the community, leaving many families parentless and struggling. There are also many children who may be carrying the virus so are struggling with their own ill health, in addition to the trauma caused by the loss of family members and the uncertainty that brings for them.

Many children were being used to help in the fishing industry, prior to the school being built. IN recognised the need to reduce the numbers of children working at a young age and try to get them an education. Hence, the school in Kiyindi was built back in the early 90s. The classrooms were put up quickly in an immediate response to the need.

Such is the success of the school that it is now bursting at the seams, with over a 1000 pupils. New classrooms have been built to accommodate the influx of children, but it is now at capacity and the original buildings are no longer fit for purpose. The school In Kiyindi takes children from aged 4- 13. It has a different feel to the other IN schools back in Buikwe. Children are less well turned out and seem more needy in many ways. But there is a real sense of love and care from all the staff.

On a recent visit, we found the older classrooms to be severely overcrowded dark, stifling and airless, with no ventilation gaps between walls and roof and only small, shuttered windows. Cracks are appearing in the walls where the buildings are subsiding. One class we visited in the old building had 76 pupils, another 80 in a room originally built for 12!

The staff are ambitious and want to see the children succeed and climb out of the poverty in which they currently live. They plan to erect some two-story buildings. This will allow for up to 180 more pupils to attend. As they cover two storeys they will require much deeper foundations. The sloping nature of the school also makes it more of a challenge for builders. They will be employing a building company to do the works and are looking to a number of people to help fund the project. It is hope that sufficient funding will in place by the end of the year for them to make a start on the new classrooms.

We would love you to partner with us in raising funds to ensure the safe education of the children in Kiyindi now and for many more years into the future.

THANK YOU! This project will change lives in ways you can never imagine for many many children for many years to come.