Schools

World Shine Foundation Nursery & Primary School – Rwentobo

In 2005, World Shine Ministries announced a dream to start, staff, and fully operate a school in Uganda which is currently a reality. It is called World Shine Foundation School Rwentobo. It has primary one to primary seven and last year 38 of our graduates sat their Primary Leaving Exams. We are very glad to inform you all that we performed well with 16 pupils in first grade and the rest did a good second grade. We really thank you for all your support. We have 35 members of staff. We also have a Kindergarten/Nursery school with all the levels, baby, middle and top classes and we hope to have a day care centre to help poor mothers who walk long distances to go and work, digging in the fields carrying babies. We started a section/orphanage for desperate children who walk 12 miles a day to and from the boarding school, those rescued from domestic violence and from the streets, total orphans and those who are at risk. We hope to build a dormitory that will accommodate 300 children where we shall give hope to the children as they learn in a very peaceful environment.

  

Vision:Our vision is to create a Christian school and equipping students with knowledge and skills to serve and shine for Christ in leading and influencing the nation. This will be seen in our students as they influence the nation through the word and deed by academic excellence, spiritual maturity, leadership development, moral values and servanthood.

In order to achieve these goals we hope to be a school which; puts the Christian faith at the heart of all that we do, recruits, develops and retains excellent staff, has high expectations of everyone in our school community, creates strong links between home and school and nurtures our students academically, socially, culturally, spiritually and physically.

Mission: World Shine Ministries exists to raise Godly men and women to lead Uganda and influence the nations of the world for Christ.

Motto: Knowledge and Skills for service to shine for Christ for the Healing of the nations.

Core Values, Ethos: We believe that every young person is made in God’s image, and is infinitely valuable to Him. Each is born with unique skills, aptitudes and talents which we will nurture so that they can flourish and live life to the full. We believe in ‘life-wide’ learning, allowing for the whole child to be developed and cared for academically, spiritually, socially, creatively and physically.

Our Core Values: Christ-Centered.  We believe that our lives are no longer our own, but belong to Jesus in covenant exchange. Truth which includes integrity honesty and openness. Excellence in everything that we do, including academic, creative and sporting achievement. Love is the basis of all that we do, exemplified in profound relationships, a love that nurtures every individual; a demanding, sacrificial love that expects the best of and from, all members of the community. Leadership. We expect all members of the community to take personal responsibility and to lead their own learning. Service. Serving each other and our wider community. Reflection. Opportunities to respond with ‘awe and wonder’. Making connections and Evaluation of learning. Creation and creativity. {Stewardship}. Our impact on the world. Opportunities for creativity and Responsibility. Growth. {Resilience}, Belief that we can succeed and Self- management. Grace. Forgiveness. Generosity. Scholarship. High attainment in all of our students. Justice and Compassion. Empathy with other people and places. Our impact on the world and others, Responsibility and rights. Service. Friendship. Work co-operatively. Connections with the world, Opportunities to work collaboratively. Curiosity. Opportunities for critical thinking, Exploring, Excitement. Hope and Joy.  Enjoyment in learning and each other. Integrity. We are our Message! We want to do what we say we will do and be honest and consistent. Mission. We live for no other reason but to fulfil our calling and finish His mission on earth. Urgency. We Believe that the hour is late and the Day of the Lord is imminent, so we live with urgency and readiness to serve and meet Him any moment. Humility. We are committed to remain humble and teachable before God and before Men as seek to fulfil His mission. Learn from Jesus’ humility. Putting others first, Opportunities to get things wrong, See ourselves as others see us

A Christian Education:

Our school will be a safe, welcoming and inspirational place for all students. We welcome those with faith and those without. We believe that the Christian faith has a great deal to offer to the education of our children and young people, as demonstrated by the popularity of Christian Schools on a local and national level.  We want our students to know about Jesus, his life and teaching, and to offer them the opportunity of following him, as we believe he is the best example of a life lived in all its fullness. All students will be aware of the needs of others and will be expected to value and support one another.

Excellence in Everything

Excellence is a key value for World Shine Foundation School. We seek to be the best in everything that we do with no excuses. Learning is centred on a belief that outstanding learning requires students to be exposed to as broad a range of cultural, creative and personal experiences as possible. We are a school where the next piece of music a student hears or the next sculpture they see, may open up a new and entirely unexpected perspective on their life; where the next sporting or personal challenge may help them to understand they have reserves of character they never thought existed; where the next member of the community they support shares an experience from their life which changes a child’s outlook on their own future; where the next community they visit may make them see their career choices in a new and radically different context.

‘Education for life in its fullness’ allows the possibility that each day should be a challenge and an inspiration, and a segment in the developing picture of what each child might become. We want our students to learn, lead and inspire, but also to question everything, to examine every angle, and have the self-awareness and courage to be the person they wish to be. All members of staff are committed mature Christians and are available to offer support and advice with form tutors having a particular responsibility for individual guidance through structured and informal mentoring in their forms. Pastoral arrangements are centred on the four Houses, where the Head of House and tutors are available to pupils at all times.

The Chaplain fulfils a valuable role by offering additional support and guidance, and this is backed up by more formal work led by the school counsellor. Senior leaders including the Headmaster are readily available to all students and are highly visible during lunch, break and before and after school. We are designing a curriculum and materials to help the children to grow in discipleship and raise them as Christian leaders.

Currently, WSM sends 700 orphaned and vulnerable children to WSM Christian School through an education sponsorship program. These children receive three meals a day, school supplies, medical care, and spiritual discipleship. They learn about Jesus in school, and on Saturdays all the sponsored children come to the WSM fellowship site for Bible study, worship, lunch and lots of playing. They are sent home with food and soap every Saturday, along with seeds during the rainy season so that they and their families may begin growing their own food and the supply of goats to the parents.

Children’s care takers harvesting sorghum through the seeds given to them by World Shine Ministries.

  

Giving out goats to the orphans at WSF Primary School.

          The school has been progressing academically, spiritually and in the infrastructural dimensions of growth and development. Last year 2014, we held a joint evaluation meeting between the WSM staff, the teachers of the staff, and the guardians/caretakers of the children. This meeting took place at the school premises and its major purpose was to make a frank appraisal of how far the school has gone, and what needs to be done in connection to where we need to see it going, as far as impacting the lives of these children and the surrounding communities are concerned.

A general improvement in the morals of the children due to the emphasis on the impartation of Christian values and the collaboration between guardians and teachers on issues of discipline. This is irrespective of some children whose moral behaviour is still a challenge and in part this is due to the nature of the caretaker families from where they come and/or how they have grown up.

Happy Pupils at our Orphanage School in Rwentobo

A note worthy increase in the children’s love for school and education due to the care given to the children while at school. A considerable improvement in the general academic performance of the pupils due to the laudable hard work by the available teachers; together with  their role modeling, their support and encouragement to help shape the young ones become responsible citizens. This is irrespective of the teacher – pupil ratio which is still low. A remarkable improvement in English speaking among the pupils due to the deliberate emphasis on developing their skills for meaningful communication and self-expression.

  Availability of the classrooms built so far. This is irrespective of the need to further improve them with the completion of the closing phase i.e. plastering the walls, stocking with more furniture, hanging more learning charts together with the need to set up other necessary structures. Continuous provision of food for the pupils while at school; this has improved on their nutrition and health whereas before some of them suffered from malnutrition related illness like kwashiorkor. Availability of water at the school as well as the need to put in place means of tapping rain water to boost the amount of water needed for use.

Cooks preparing super for the boarding section with some children taking polledge while others are washing their cups.

  

Guidance, counselling and care given to the pupils by the teachers and the school matron, this is greatly helping the pupils in making informed decisions and embarking on the journey of goal setting in their lives.

Further concerns for future consideration were expressed on the practical need to:

Stock more textbooks for pupils & teachers use in the teaching and learning process. Urgently have a bigger boarding section in place- many children either have a considerable distance to travel to school or have nowhere to be accommodated. Build a bigger dormitory for the children at risk and also renovate Hope House. Fence the school to ease the matter of monitoring security. Build a dining hall where the children can eat their meals in a comfortable and hygienic environment. Purchase a water tank to harvest natural rain water for use at school. Install electricity in the school both for lighting the rooms and running equipment such as computers (when purchased) for the secretarial demands of the school; the installation of electricity will also add to security within the school buildings and grounds.

Link the school with other good schools within and outside the country for mutual collaboration and exchange arrangements in a bid to improve the standards of the school – academically and spiritually -linking with other schools can also help them learn from WSM’s ideas and methods. Build a chapel in the school as a centre of spiritual activity e.g. fellowshipping, morning devotions, scriptural study sessions, praise and worship services etc. Build more classrooms and renovate the currently existing ones. Purchase more land for the expansion of the school.

More support and God’s grace as you can see are still needed in plenty so as to put in place a school that will indeed help in raising up holistic beings – nurturing unique children, imparting Christian values in the society through these children, and also helping the needy children that God has put under our custodian stewardship. This support can be financial, material, moral, or spiritual in nature as the Holy Spirit guides you.

The School Team, the Head master addressing the pupils (left), one of the school’s administrator (middle) and the head of the head of the sponsorship program at the school (right).

     

Headmaster

World Shine Ministries is blessed with a fantastic team of servants who work tirelessly to serve God and love others. It takes many people loving the Lord and working diligently to run an operation of such magnitude to truly changes lives and impact communities. World Shine Foundation Primary School-Rwentobo has qualified 22 teachers. These men and women patiently teach the kindergarten and preschoolers at the Rwentobo School. In a year, they have turned a rowdy crew of toddlers into well-mannered, studious pupils. They are impacting the future of their students in a profound way.We have a very assertive and innovative headteacher who loves children and is assisted by three deputies in charge of administration, academic and nursery section respectively but they work like a team.We also have a deligent bursar to handle all the finances of the school.

Some of the teachers at our orphanage school at WSF P/S.

  

In addition, we also have a Child development officer/Social worker and Counselor who possess a playful spirit and a heart that loves Jesus, she  is the perfect social worker because the children and community members adore her! Emily is in charge of community health care and HIV counseling in Rwentobo. She gently teaches the people of this community how to best care for themselves and their children and takes them for routine check-ups and emergency care when there is an illness that we cannot treat in the village. She also helps Oliver with home visits and assessments of sponsored children.

Emily; In charge of Child Sponsorship and HIV Counseling to the children’s caretakers

She furthermore brings strong organization skills and a deeply rooted knowledge of and love for the communities we serve. She coordinates everything sponsorship related on the ground in Uganda, keeping up relationships with the schools we send our children to, visiting children in their homes to ensure their safety and happiness, and tracking the progress of each child in the program.

A Matron/Nurse who provides new ideas and much wisdom to our organization, but always with great humility. She manages all the medical work, diagnosing, treating and referring sick children in the school and does some medical outreaches to the community. She is also responsible for their hygiene.

Deputy Headteacher/Religious affairs

Religious Leader/Chaplain who contributes wonderful creativity and discipleship to the children we serve. She also happens to be the Deputy Headmaster. On Saturday he leads hours of worship and Bible teaching with the children who are sponsored through WSM. Throughout the week, he teaches Bible studies in Rwentobo, at the 4 different schools that sponsored children attend, and in the home villages of these children. We desire for these children and their entire families to come to know the love of Jesus. He also organizes special events for these communities where people from all over come to learn about the life of Jesus and His death and resurrection.

Cooks at World Shine Foundation Primary School.

  
With their loving and joyful spirits, these men and women make sure our children and staff, eat delicious meals every Saturday. They oversee the feeding of all our children, both at the school in Rwentobo and at the fellowship site on Saturdays.  We so appreciate their desire to serve the WSM children and in doing so, glorify the Lord.

Grounds Keeper and watchmen.

  
We have 2 watchmen. Keeping up with 2 acres of land used by 700 children and sometimes their family members is a big job. Yet they does it with determination and lots of hard work!

About Sponsoring a Child.

For $300 a year/$20 a month, you can sponsor a child through World Shine Ministries. Your sponsorship educates, nourishes, and changes the hearts of orphaned and vulnerable children! For $300 a year/$20 a month, your sponsored child will receive: Education at our Christian school, School supplies, School uniform, 3 meals a day, Medical care, Christian discipleship with a photo of your child, basic information such as name, family information, health information, a picture that your child has drawn with a letter from him or her and an update on your child once a year.

For sponsorship and other kind of support to the orphanage school, payments can be done through our trusted partners in scortland on their website; http://www.worldshinefoundation.org/sponsoring.html or  http://www.worldshinefoundation.org/giving.html

 

    We continually thank all those who have been supporting our school and planting seeds that by God’s grace can’t fail to germinate. Some have sent gifts to the children they sponsor and such gifts have been safely delivered to the respective children.