Dear Barbara Dougan Foundation,
I am writing to express my sincerest gratitude to the Barbara Dougan Foundation for making the Creamland Library Project and the Creamland Safe-Classroom Project possible.
Over the past four years, I have come to know and love the Creamland Primary School community. Located in the Acholi Quarter of Kampala, Uganda, the school was built to support underserved children regardless their ability to pay or ethnic identity. In Uganda, primary school education usually comes with a price tag attached to it, leaving few options for those who cannot afford to pay hefty fees for multiple children. Inspired by his own upbringing, Mr. Alex Arinatwe, the founder of Creamland Primary School, vowed to make quality education accessible to children in one of the most low income communities in Kampala.
When I first visited Creamland I was instantaneously drawn to the vibrancy of the students and energy of the teachers and staff. I walked into a classroom and students stood up and greeted me in unison. Before exams students stayed at school until late at night preparing and teachers stood loyally by them, determined to see their students succeed. These students were smart, confident, and committed to their education.
But there was another truth to Creamland that was hard to ignore. One rainy day I visited the Creamland to find students standing in the corners of classrooms, trying to avoid the water pouring in from the leaking roofs, picking their belongings up off the floor as water created puddles on the ground. Even on dry days, students would share broken down benches or sit on the dirt floor as there was not enough furniture to go around.
And there was one critical piece missing from Creamland: a library. Today, I paint a different picture of Creamland Primary School. Thanks to the generosity of the Barbara Dougan Foundation, the students at Creamland now sit in brand new classrooms with sturdy furniture and solar powered lights, creating the safe and prideful learning environment that every kid deserves to enjoy.
Creamland Primary School is one of few in the area to have its very own library, equipped with books for students of all ages and a television for screening films.
The partnership between the Barbara Dougan Foundation and Creamland Primary School has inspired other communities to connect with and support Creamland. Today, a group of American high school students at White Plains High School in New York have started their own initiative to contribute to Creamland’s transformation. The students are selling handmade jewelry from Bulu Mango, a women’s artisan collective within the Creamland community, to raise money to build a playground in the Creamland Primary School courtyard.
On behalf of myself, Director Alex Arinatwe, and the students at Creamland Primary School.
THANK YOU Barbara Dougan Foundation for making our dreams come true.
Sincerely,
Molly Kellogg
Project Manager
