Kireka School for Children with Special Needs

Kireka School, on the outslirts of Kampala, Uganda, is a school of almost 100 children, almost half of whom are orphans, with special educational needs. These children from very poor backgrounds have physical and mental disabilities including cerebral palsy, downs syndrome, autism, deafness and brain damage due to chilhood head trauma or cerebral malaria. Their own familes lack the resources neccesary to take care of them at home or educate them appropriately. Some children have parents who struggle to contribute towards their childs attendance at Kireka, at take them home at weekends and school holidays. Others are orphaned, some were found abandoned on the streets, and for them Kireka School is their only home. Children vary in age from the very young to teenagers and young adults in their twenties who have nowhere else to go.

In collaboration with the school board, Réalta has embarked on a programme aimed to improve the physical and educational welfare of the children at Kireka school. This programme includes the provision of basic healthcare and medicines including anti-seizure medicines, anti-malarials and anti-biotics, the regular provision of fruit, vegetables and eggs to improve nutrition, provision of mosquito nets, clothing and educational materials and provision of a new dining area and kitchen which will in turn free upclass room space in the school.

In January 2005 Kireka School was officially twinned with St. Johns Park School in Waterford, Ireland. Since then the boys and staff of St. John's Park, under the leadership of their headmaster Mr. Harry Flynn, have held numerous fund raising events which have contributed significantly towards acheiving these goals for Kireka. Harry himself was in Kampala to visit the school in March 2005 and spent St. Patrick's Day with the children of Kireka.

Christ Church, Lillian Grove, in Manchester is also a major ongoing supporter of Réalta and the children of Kireka, and funding they have raised through church events has provided mosquito nets for the whole school and provided ongoing supplies of badly needed fruit and vegetables for the children. Norm Watts, who coordinates this work visited Kireka school himself this summer.

Kireka has also greatly benefited from the intervention of Pfizer Ireland and it's Managing Director Mr. Dave Shanahan who made a large donation of high quality medicines to Kireka School. Dave also visited Kireka in March 1005.

In August and September 2005 Neil O'Morain spent amost two months in Kireka School on a volutary basis and made a huge contribution to the school. In that time he procured and hung the mosquito nets, procured material and oversaw the making of school uniforms for every child at the school and arranged a system fot the children to get regular supplies of much needed fruit, eggs and vegetables to supplement their poor meal based diet. TheRéalta Foundation greatly appreciate his contribution and he made a visible difference to the happiness of the children.