
The community around Ruhanga School was so excited about the WSDP coming that the executive director of the Sector and the coordinator of Cells had been called to attend the inception meeting. Almost 160 parents and teachers attended the meeting to hear about and endorse the program. Not only were the teachers looking forward to the training beginning, but the parents were eager to get training as well.
At the end of the meeting, the Principal burst out in a prayer of praise, “Thank you, my God, for this answer. I have cried out many times and now this is the beginning!” Ruhanga is the smallest school Wellspring is working with, consisting of only 12 teachers and 689 students. The initial appearance of the school is drab and run-down. Most of the glass for the windows is missing and the classrooms are dark and dirty.
One class was meeting outside under the trees in the hope of finding fresh air and sunlight. With a closer look, however, it is evident that work is being done to improve the conditions: gardens have been planted in the courtyard, rocks have been brought in for a remodel project, and even rickety wooden basketball rims have been put up for the children to play with.