TESS v3

At the beginning of 2010 we had 251 students sponsored on the TESS programme.

The majority of these students are in secondary schooling either studying towards O-levels or A-levels. A number of students are in vocational schools studying plumbing, carpentry, bricklaying, tailoring and cookery.

A few students are studying to be nurses or teachers and we have 3 students at university.

Note: although TESS works through the diocese of Soroti and many of the trustees and members of staff are Christian we do not discriminate against students of any faith.

We do not ask a students faith when selecting them and we encourage students to express themselves and discuss their faiths.

In December 2009, we again ran an 8 day Retreat (a bit like a summer school) for all the students except those in S2. The programme was very varied and included topics such as corruption, relationships, sex, different careers, study skills, and simple development projects. They were all given lessons on how to set up their own small businesses in the summer holidays and were given a small loan (£7) to do this. We taught them a range of games, puzzles and exercises which our children play from the time they are toddlers, but which they have never experienced.

They also had plenty of time for rest and relaxation and creative activities, including writing. Each day started with worship and a talk on various young people in the Bible who were used by God even though they were still only children or teenagers. The girls often started spontaneous worship and dancing.

The students were also taken to an area of Teso that many had never visited and were taught about the eco-systems at Lake Opeta and a few were taken out on the lake in a boat.

Whilst on the Retreat istudents were invited to write a poem or short story on a variety of set topics.

Together with some biographical information about each girl, their stories and poems and artwork appear on the following pages, and will give you quite an insight into their lives and culture, their concerns and feelings. Some are very powerful and moving. All are a real achievement, especially when you consider all that they have gone through to reach this point in their short lives - and they are writing in a foreign language!