projects
KAASO is not just a primary school, but a full community initiative. The school remains self-sustaining thanks to a variety of projects that also educate and empower the community. Children and adults alike are taught not only how to read and write but also how to grow crops, rear pigs, save money and invest in income-generating projects with loans from community micro finance funds.
It takes a village to educate a child - but it also takes a school to educate a village.
KAASO Empowerment Group
The KAASO Empowerment Group was started in 2002 as part of KAASO’s mission to educate not only the children of the community but also the adults. Over the years, it has assisted members of the community with adult literary classes, a micro-loan fund, piggery, poultry, beekeeping and forestry projects as well as mentoring and guidance in the fields of agriculture, health, nutrition, finance and childcare.
The Suubi Sanyu Fund
The Suubi Sanyu Fund was created in 2015 as a way of providing micro-loans to students unable to obtain credit from other sources. The fund offers interest-free loans and currently supports piggeries, passion fruit gardens, craft work, brick-making projects and a chapatti business.
Share Uganda Hampton Health Centre
The Share Uganda Hampton Health Centre provides primary healthcare services for the children of KAASO and the wider Kabira community. The Centre is managed by clinical officer Nashiba Nabunje, with support from an incredible team of Ugandan healthcare professionals.
Library & Computer Lab
The KAASO library and computer lab was officially opened in 2009. From humble beginnings, the stock of books and laptops has grown over the years and in 2014 the library benefited greatly from a donation from the Literate Earth Project, which filled the shelves with picture books, resource books, text books, novels and journals. The computer lab has a modest collection of laptops and desktop computers, which the children and teachers use to work on their skills.
School Gardens & Forests
With over a third of KAASO's students paying no school fees, KAASO’s gardens and forests play a vital role in helping keep the school afloat, assisting both with feeding and income-generation. Since KAASO’s founding students planted the school’s first gardens and eucalyptus forest in 1999, KAASO has expanded its reach to encompass multiple garden and forestry projects. Thanks to these projects, KAASO does not have to buy firewood and much of the children’s food comes from the school’s own gardens.
Poultry Project
The KAASO poultry project has been greatly assisted by both Rotary and volunteer efforts over the years and is now an integral part of the school. The project supplements the children's diets and also provides valuable income to the school. The poultry project has now expanded to the members of the KAASO Empowerment Group who also benefit from their own poultry farms.
Piggery Project
Rotary built the first KAASO piggery back in 2006 as a way to help the school’s efforts to support itself. Today, the piggery project at KAASO has expanded significantly, not only within the school but also in the wider community, through the KAASO Empowerment Group and volunteer-funded piggeries for families struggling to pay school fees. These piggeries have been of huge benefit to all beneficiaries and remain a vital part of KAASO’s operation.
Maize Mill
The KAASO maize mill, another Rotary-funded initiative, has helped KAASO to guarantee its food supply over the years. Local farmers, often parents of children at the school, bring their maize to the mill, the school buys it and mills it and uses it for the children’s feeding. The old diesel maize mill has recently been replaced by a new electric one, making the most of the recently connected power lines which have now reached Kabira.
School Bus
In November 2016, the village of Kabira came to a standstill when KAASO’s dreams came true and their very own school bus drove into the school gates. The bus is not only used for transporting the children to various educational, cultural and sporting events, it is also hired out around the community to help cover running costs.
Sun City Gardens
Sun City Gardens is a community project started by Dominic and Rose in 2016. Located in Kifuta, the neighbouring village to Kabira, Sun City is a music, function, workshop, meeting and conference space with future plans for an internet café and a supermarket selling local crafts and international products.
Bermuda Water Project
Inspired by Bermuda’s unique rainwater collection system, we got together with the Rotary Club of Hamilton and, thanks to the support of the club as well as the generous donations of those at RenaissanceRe, KAASO now has guttering on all buildings in the school, as well as four 20,000 litre water tanks ensuring that no precious drops of water are wasted. Opened in November 2017, KAASO is now able to use clean, fresh rainwater for the children to drink.
