About this image: Awegys students perform a scene from the original musical they wrote and performed under the guidance of a theater professor visiting from the U.S. The play is called "Journey to Mtaala," and it is the true story of our students' lives. The above scene tells of a student's family suffering an attack by the LRA one night in their village in Northern Uganda
Special Programs:
While we currently do not have formal volunteer opportunities in Uganda, if you are interested in funding or creating a special workshop for Awegys students, please "Contact Us."
Student Art
Many of the students at our school possess overwhelming artistic talent, and we are proud to support them in their artistic endeavors. With the support of the Mtaala Foundation, Awegys students have received workshops in the art of making jewelry from handmade paper beads, journaling, self-portraiture, photography, and traditional bark cloth painting. UNESCO named Uganda's bark cloth part of the world's collective cultural heritage. Visit Mtaala Foundation's Shop to purchase our students' original bark cloth paintings.
The artist Klara Cecmanova has curated a number of exhibitions of the students' artwork in London, these not only showcasing our student's artistic talent but also raising precious funds for Mtaala. Some of the exhibition artwork remains for sale and can be purchased HERE: http://www.mtaala.bigcartel.com/ Seven of our students participated in a three-day, hands-on cultural workshop in which they trained with one of Uganda’s leading tailors and fabric artists. At the end of the training, the students exhibited their work in a fashion show in downtown Kampala. The Paper Bead Project
With every purchase of a beaded necklace from the Mtaala Foundation, you are sending support directly to our programs in Uganda. Every bead is hand-rolled from recycled paper and strung together to create an exquisite, one-of-a-kind necklace. Click on Mtaala Foundation's Shop to purchase necklaces from our store.
Community Reading Day
A fundamental part of our Student Sponsorship program is that our students give back to their community. Every Saturday, Awegys students and primary students from the local village gather under the large tree across from the school for Community Reading Day. The primary students play games and sing, dance, and drum before settling down to a collection of children’s books. Awegys students read to the younger children, translating the English words into Luganda for those primary students who do not yet have a grasp of the English language. At the end of the session, all of the students share new words or facts that they learned.
Since its inception, the local primary students have arrived of their own initiative and continue to show increased curiosity about reading. Given the lack of reading culture in Uganda, this alone is a true testament to the project’s success. Additionally, Community Reading Day gives our students an opportunity to hone their leadership skills, as two different Awegys students help lead the session every Saturday. All students have a chance to improve their reading and language abilities. The Play: Journey to Mtaala
A theater professor visited Awegys School for two weeks on a grant. Within that two week time, she and our students wrote the script and songs for a play about their lives titled, Journey to Mtaala. The play chronicles the students' varying stories of hardship--war, poverty, HIV, orphans, bias, child labor, and their dreams of attending school. It follows the students from these backgrounds to their current lives at Awegys Secondary School via the Mtaala Foundation.
Awegys' Environmental Greenstars
The Awegys' Environmental Greenstars, a student-led environmental club at Awegys School, meets weekly to discuss environmental problems facing their community and to take practical steps towards addressing them. Projects undertaken by the Greenstars include the development of a school vegetable garden, planting trees maintaining the school compound, picking up garbage in the nearby village, and educating the surrounding community about positive environmental practices.
The Greenstars began as a legacy project of our 2009 Alice Paul Institute Girls‘ Leadership Workshop and is open to all Awegys students, encouraging the students to take on leadership roles and address problems they witness in their community. It's another way for our students to give back. Photography Workshop
Awegys students completed a five-week workshop in digital photography with a visiting professional photojournalist and artist, Amy Mullarkey. Amy also secured the donation of a number of digital cameras for the school. Throughout the workshop, the students focused on composition and frequently took field trips into the surrounding villages to practice new techniques.
At the workshop’s end, students participated in a photography competition and received prints of their work--a first for every student in the class. The winning photos from the competition were be up for auction, with proceeds benefiting the Mtaala Foundation’s work. Amy also contributed a number of her own photographs of Uganda to the Mtaala Foundation, many of which can be seen on our site. To learn more about Amy Mullarkey’s work, visit her website or check out Amy's blog. Writing Workshop
A visiting teacher made Writer's Notebooks with Awegys students. The initial session was followed by a week of reading and creative writing workshops.
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