Staff members of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Limited recently donated an assortment of items to Masaka School for the Deaf as part of the celebrations to mark International Children’s Day.
Handing over the donation, Grace Semakula, the Chief Executive of SBG Securities, said, “At Stanbic Bank Uganda, we are driven by our mandate of driving Uganda’s growth. We believe that this small donation will create a great impact on the community, especially through enhancing digital skills in learners, and instilling in them all the necessary basics to improve their livelihood.”
SBG Securities is one of SUHL subsidiaries, along with Stanbic Bank, Stanbic Properties, FlyHub and the Stanbic Business Incubator Limited. The donation, generated through individual contributions, included desktop computers, laptops, a printer, personal hygiene supplies, and scholastic materials, aimed at improving living conditions and the learning environment.
The school was established in 2005 by Francis Kamulegeya and his late sister Sophie Kafeero, with support from Hope HIV, a UK-based charity.
According to Kamulegeya, the school was founded in order to provide deaf children with education and vocational skills training as a foundation for a meaningful and independent life. He said many of these children often face challenges, including stigma and discrimination, making it hard for them to access education.
“Education is a fundamental human right, and it is essential for the exercise of all other human rights. Education promotes individual freedom and empowerment and yields important development benefits,” he said.
The school has a student population of around 120. Its headteacher, Sarah Nakabuye Kigongo, said, “To ensure that the school is self-sustaining, the leadership has set up several commercial projects which generate income that supports the school.
She said, “They include: growing food such as cassava, potatoes, beans, yams, cabbage and others for feeding the children, commercial coffee farming and processing and commercial fish pond farming, where all the proceeds go towards funding the school’s budget.”
