Bunalwenyi free Secondary School and Dorm

Hello all,
Here are some photos of the new Secondary School and Dorm at Bunalwenyi.
1. & 3. The dorms: the left half of the building is the 'Lasalle Community Safe Haven' dorm for girls. The middle section is the Matrons' house, and the right hand side is another dorm, also for girls. So far 60 girls are living here, with 2 matrons, but more girls will be coming. It is now completely roofed, but the rest still needs to be finished.
2. The Bunalwenyi free Secondary School ~ four classrooms in one long building. They are already overcrowded with almost 400 students.
4. Sec. 3 class in their classroom.
5. Janet Konso, age 14.

I want to tell you about Janet, because she exemplifies the vulnerability of teenage girls in rural Uganda, and also the real need for the dorms. After the opening ceremony and the meal, we started the drive home, giving a lift to the principal, Sarah...... As we drove down the dirt road, she suddenly asked us to stop to pick up Janet, one of her students, to give her a lift home since she has a very long way to walk (maybe 2 miles or more). Sarah was concerned about Janet's vulnerability on that long walk, and also because another girl, who until recently had walked to and from school with Janet, was now no longer attending school. Sarah asked Janet what had happened to her friend, and was told that she had been married off to an older man, and could not continue her education.

Sarah then asked Janet about her own situation, and Janet said that her mother and father had both died, and she was living with her uncle, but that she was afraid that her uncle was planning to sell her off to an older man as his second or third wife, and that she would no longer be able to attend school, as happened to her friend. Sarah told Janet to bring all her possessions (a blanket and not much more) to school the next day in order to move into the dorm, then cell-phoned the Matron right away to tell her to receive Janet the next day.

The next problem was that Janet had absolutely no money with which to pay the 40,000 U. shillings ($24 CAD) that was needed to cover the cost of board and lodging at the Dorm for the semester. My heart leaped with joy, because a friend in Montreal, before I left, had given me a certain amount of money to use "where most needed". She said, "you'll know when to use it" ~ and I did, and gladly paid for Janet's expenses.

We dropped Janet off at her little thatched hut compound, and I pray that she made it successfully to the dorm the next day. I'll try to find out.

Blessings to all,
Jill