TESS

Will it detract from the successful and vital sponsorship programme run by TESS which is the original reason for the existence of TESS?

The objects of TESS are:
1. For the public benefit to promote and advance the education of people living in or originating from Teso, Uganda in such ways as the Charity Trustees think fit.
2. To develop the capacity and skills of people living in or originating from Teso, Uganda in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society.

The sponsorship programme is, indeed, the reason why TESS was originally set up in 2004. The initial aim was to enable orphaned and vulnerable children, especially girls, to go to secondary and vocational school. However, TESS is a dynamic organisation which has grown up from its early beginnings under the auspices of Teso Development Trust to independence as a thriving charity. TESS has responded to the needs as expressed by our partners and students in Teso and has developed in some exciting ways over the past eight years as our experience and resources have grown.

Some of the changes include:

• although we have always targeted girls, the first sponsored student was actually a boy; we are committed to taking up to 15% boys on the sponsorship programme
• we realised that dropping students after four or six years in secondary school was a waste of their sponsorship as secondary education alone does not equip children in Uganda to be independent and self-supporting; we therefore committed ourselves to taking them to whatever level was most appropriate for each one to enable them to be independent (ie: university, college, professional training etc)
• we started providing medical treatment whenever needed, recognising that they could not study whilst sick
• the sponsorship programme expanded within three years beyond anything anyone had anticipated; we had insufficient resources to adequately monitor and support 265 students in about 45 institutions throughout Teso and elsewhere in Uganda
• whenever we were aware of problems, such as sleep deprivation and excessive beating, we tried to influence and support schools, but without success; we sometimes had to transfer students to other schools
• we recognised that sponsorship did little to change home situations which were desperate and needed changing, but our ability to help was very limited
• we saw the woeful inadequacies within schools and the Ugandan educational system, as well as the way students were driven to study up to 16 hours a day cramming facts without knowing how to learn; we therefore started the annual Retreats to give them life-skills and study skills, leisure activities, support in setting up small business projects
• we saw the need to help students start to transform their communities even whilst still at school, but one week a year on the Retreat was not enough to achieve all that we wanted
• when we grew too big to continue within Teso Development Trust and became an independent charity, we had to think through our aims and objectives, our name and structures
• we recognised that our aims needed to be broader than just providing school fees if the sponsorship programme were to have any real impact on changing Teso as well as individual students; the name was therefore changed from Teso Educational Sponsorship Scheme to Teso Educational Support Services, to reflect our developing objectives
• meetings with influential people, such as the State Minister of Youth and Children Affairs, District Education Officers and Head Teachers, to discuss challenges and problems within the Uganda educational culture, had no impact whilst all the time, we were watching our students suffer and fail to reach their potentials
• consultations with many professionals and leaders in Uganda and elsewhere about the idea of building a school which will be a beacon in Uganda; visionary professionals elsewhere in Uganda, who see the need for a few “showcase” schools as being the only way to facilitate change in the educational system, are giving enthusiastic support and encouragement for Shalom School

Someone has suggested that since the aims of TESS and Shalom are not apparently the same, they should split into two separate charities. However, having spent several years talking and consulting with people at all levels in Uganda, both locally and nationally, about the idea of Shalom, all the Trustees of TESS have come to a common mind and see Shalom as an important and natural development of the TESS mission statement. The Mission Statement is “To work with the people of Teso to promote life-long learning to empower them to fulfil their God-given potentials”. And Shalom certainly fits within the objectives listed in the TESS governing document which is registered with the Charity Commission.

The task of TESS is to support and encourage quality, relevant education for the people of Teso in various ways. Whilst the sponsorship programme is undoubtedly transforming the lives of many young people, especially girls, and giving them hope for the future, it has no impact in transforming the disturbing and inadequate educational system in Uganda which is actually failing young people and the nation and is getting even worse. Shalom School is therefore a crucial part of the work of TESS, fulfilling its name and objectives.

Although the fundraising for Shalom is being driven by the UK Trustees of TESS, and two out of the three Shalom Board are from TESS UK, the Shalom Development Committee (SDC) in Teso is driving the development of Shalom School. The SDC consists of an impressive range of people from all over Teso, representing different professions, denominations, communities and levels of leadership. Shalom is ‘owned by’ and being developed by the people of Teso – it is not in any way “donor imposed” although TESS has an influence.

Shalom School will not cost any more to build than standard school buildings in Uganda. It will just look different and be better suited for its purpose. All Ugandans who have seen the plans are excited that they look more traditionally African and are “beautiful”. All aspects can be copied and used by other schools.

Shalom will not be only for sponsored children from disadvantaged homes - the proportion of fee-paying students is yet to be decided by the SDC in Teso. But the intake will be restricted to people “living in or originating from Teso”, in line with our charity governing document.

Benefits of Shalom School to the sponsorship programme

Shalom School will allow TESS to provide the services, support and education it longs to provide for our sponsored students and their communities to a much wider range of young people in Teso (1680 instead of just 265, as well as countless adults).

• Although we are paying school fees for sponsored students, we are failing to provide them with quality, relevant education. A few sponsors have even queried whether they are better not going to secondary school rather than suffer the way they do at school.

• Although we try to extend their education and “fill the gaps” on the annual Retreats (or Life Skills Conferences as they are now called), one week a year is totally inadequate to have any lasting impact.

• And although we try to give on-going support to our students at home and school, this is not really possible when they are scattered throughout Uganda in 45 institutions.

We recognise the weaknesses of the sponsorship programme and believe that Shalom School will enable us to address these and to run the sponsorship programme much more effectively.

The Trustees are very aware of the need to make sure that attention and resources are not drawn away from the sponsorship programme so will ensure that building Shalom does not in any way adversely affect students already being sponsored by TESS, nor our commitment to take on 30 new students each year. There is no sign of this happening so far.