The next stage has begun....Lots of progress being made at the Emily Collins School in Kisoro! The supports for the roof slab are going up on the shorter length of the L shaped building. The steel wires have arrived despite the huge increase in the price of steel and...
Such fantastic news, the concrete has set!! They’ve taken the support poles away to use on the other part of the 1st floor. The ceiling slab is now over 2/3rds of the school and work begins on the other 1/3rd. Thanks for your support so far! And we look forward to...
The Raise the Roof Party organised by my lovely friend Tiffany and her family was a huge success! It raised £4k to help put the concrete slab on top of the remaining section of the first floor. There is still a long way to go but, as always, we travel ‘one step at a...
We call it 'building the roof' but in reality we are currently trying to finish building the slab for the first floor which will, in time, become the base for the next floor. This is only the long section of the 'L' shaped building and once the concrete has set, the...
One Million Steps! We’d like to invite you to join us in a virtual ‘walk around the world in 80 days’. Get fit, improve your well being and raise money to rescue vulnerable children from the fields, streets and jungles around Kisoro. My friend Greg and I have linked...
Christmas Appeal 2023 - The Emily Collins School in Kisoro, Uganda This year donations given at our Community Carol Service, Christmas Extravaganza Service and Midnight Communion Services will go to the Emily Collins School in Kisoro, Uganda. This is one of our...
I was honoured to be invited to give a talk about the Emily Collins School at a parents event at Pamphill First School last evening. The schools are ‘twinned’ and exchange videos that have been made by the children so they can all learn things about and from each...
Wine O’Clock - at St. Mary's Church, Church Road, Ferndown, Dorset On Monday evening 23rd October, Sarah and I will be hosting ‘Wine O’clock’. It is going to be a fun wine tasting with nibbles at St. Mary’s Church. The good news is that it is not just for...
We are able to offer the choice of 2 different calendars for 2024. All we ask is a donation of £15 per calendar and, as you know, 100% of your donation goes directly to the school. Here are photos of the content in the calendars...please click on this link to go to...
Lots going on at The Emily Collins School…children being creative, teachers having meetings and everyone having fun in the sunshine! Thank you for your ongoing support as we continue our building programme [gallery...
Fundraising has been tough this year with the state of the economy in the west and the war in Ukraine, quite understandably, having an impact on people’s ability to give. However, despite reduced funds Martin and his team at OFHM manage their resources well and...
Well done and thank you to Mo-Lizzie and Bethan for leading a class for the children and, indeed, one for the adult guardians…It is so exciting to receive lessons from visitors and both the children and the adults obviously loved it as much as Mo-Lizzie and Bethan did...
It is great to see people from the UK showing interest and the commitment required to visit the Emily Collins School. Martin Duhimbaze, the founder of Our Father's House Ministries who is building the school also took Mo-Lizzie and Bethan into the Kisoro community to...
A nice saying 'raising the roof' and, in this case, it is perfectly apt! We need to 'raise the roof' by shouting about the progress Our Father's House Ministries is making in operating a busy school whilst simultaneously enlarging the building. So, while the school...
Arriving at the Emily Collins School in Kisoro, following a very long drive from Kampala, Martin Duhimbaze encountered the children crossing the main road to walk up the track to the school... What a wonderful sight for sore eyes?!
Passing on the baton! Martin tells me that we have 5 young boys training to be carpenters at Jim’s Shed, our woodwork training centre, in Rukungiri. They are learning basic woodworking skills and helping to make furniture for customers. This helps create an...
Greetings from Uganda! We have lots going on behind the scenes at the Emily Collins School… a new area of ground has been dug up and now it is clear the guys can sow grass seed so that the schoolchildren can have a much needed playing field…how exciting. Well done...
Plenty going on behind the scenes this month at the Emily Collins School - now we are harvesting rainwater. Firstly because we need to be careful and protect our natural resources, secondly because it will save us money by reducing our water bills and thirdly to stop...
On Tuesday afternoon, 28th February 2023, I was honoured to share the stage with the truly wonderful Jill Mumford. We were invited by the Dorset Heritage Trust to give their annual Alan Wilson Memorial Lecture. Well in truth, Jill was invited to speak and I was asked...
When we started this project in late 2019 we never expected to have got this far so soon but the generosity of our donors, sponsors and partners has exceeded our expectations. So much so, that we are where we are today: The ground was cleared within months, by hand,...
Some exciting, if slightly wonky, photos that show the progress the guys are making in building the first floor of the school while it is closed for the Christmas break. Well done to Martin and the team in Kisoro 👏👏👏
Mixed emotions this morning. Firstly; ‘sadness’ because of the Government’s decision to close schools a few weeks early in an attempt to slow the spread of the deadly Sudanese strain of Ebola and, secondly; 'the absolute ‘joy’ of seeing the guys start building the...
This is Gift, an 8 year old little girl who turned up at the Emily Collins School to ask for a job. Just as some friends had been in touch with Martin about sponsoring. So Gift didn't get a job but she got a sponsor....What a brave little girl and what a great way to...
Two firework displays, the first at the Ageas Bowl near Southampton and the second in Morden Park, London have raised much needed funds for the Emily Collins School, Kisoro, Uganda. Pains Fireworks is renowned for creating spectacular pyrotechnic displays. Not only...
Sadly, it is not always good news from Uganda. This is becoming a particularly tough week! It is now the rainy season and the temporary roof over the stairwell to the (future) first and second floors needs upgrading to stop anymore damage being caused by water...
Here is a ‘shout out’ for these three amazing people at The Emily Collins School, Kisoro Left to right - Ignitious Irimaso - Headteacher, Doreen Manishimwe - Team Leader, Emanuel - Director of Studies A hard working, committed and inspirational leadership team,...
To have clean water is a ‘given’ here in the UK, but at the school the team are happy to to use water filters - and to have them in such a bright blue colour just adds to the joy!
Aw, one of the Mission Direct volunteers who was working in Rukungiri recently gave Martin Duhimbaze some dolls for the children at the School in Kisoro, how kind! Judging by the smiles on their little faces they love them.
It is hard to believe that a lady sitting in our church hall, here in the South of England watching the band, 'Lock, Stock and Barrel, could be drawn to the shoeless plight of so many children in the villages around Kisoro in SW Uganda, but she was! Playing on a loop...
The Autumn term started recently and the children came back to school looking happy, smiley, very clean and eager to get started again. The sun shone for the first few days and the school flew that National Flag of Uganda with pride and set up the community hall as a...
We enjoy a wonderful relationship with Pains Fireworks, a local company with a huge profile in the sporting world and an enviable international client base. They are very happy to support us by making regular donations to the school for the photos I take of their...
We are thrilled to be able to promote this gig featuring Lock, Stock & Barrel. Howard, June and the band have very kindly offered to perform for you to increase awareness of the Emily Collins School and raise funds to continue to build it bigger and better for the...
1: Rescuing Children from the streets and villages In the villages around Rukungiri in the Kigezi District there are now roughly 150 vulnerable children who have been rescued from extreme poverty who now go to school locally, they board during term time so they have...
Tools and the finance to build a woodwork training centre were both donated by kind ‘Friends of the Emily Collins School’. It is called 'Jim's Shed' because Jim's two daughters donated everything to set this up once Jim, their father, had died. This now serves as a...
...vulnerable children will be able to sleep and eat there too The school partially opened on the 10th of January 2022, when Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in Uganda and it was granted a licence to operate by the Ugandan Government. It aims to provide a safe...
It is a great honour to be supported by a world-wide company which designs, manufactures and supplies high quality photographic accessories especially when the office is here in West Parley! …. Please click on the link above the photo below so you can enjoy reading...
Quite often I find that is the little things that bring me the most joy! For example, yesterday I was thrilled to receive this photo of the new office desk and chair for the Emily Collins School from Martin. It just goes to show that setting up the woodworking...
A big ‘THANK YOU’ to the people that make up the congregation at St. Mary’s Church, here in Ferndown. You have been the most committed and ardent supporters of our work with Our Father’s House Ministries (OFHM) in Uganda. They have been generous many ways –...