Following reports that Kampala Parents’ School has offered a place to another young musician, Champion Ogudo (Ssendiwala Deogratius), to study, some rich parents of the school are complaining that their children should also be sponsored, raising eyebrows within the poor community.
The Ruparelia Foundation has also taken on young vulnerable musicians like Fresh Kid (Patrick Ssenyonjo) and Felista Di Superstar (Faith Nanyanzi) to help them get an education, which will be very useful whether they continue with their singing careers, or not. Data shows that most musicians who have studied can manage their businesses very well to create wealth and jobs.
Young singer Felista is on social media saying that she is the one who approached her teachers at Kampala Parents’ School to help Ogudo get an education. It appears the teachers and other officials of the school approached the Ruparelia Foundation, which gave a positive response.
In fact, Ogudo’s father Godfrey Kibuuka is happy that the Ruparelia Foundation has given his talented chance to study in preparation for a tough future. And that is why he was in the media asking Musician Alien Skin (Patrick Mulwana) who has a close relationship with Ogudo to let the boy go to class.
Therefore, rich parents of the school should not think that it is Kampala Parents’ School paying school fees for poor kids like Fresh Kids, and Felista. The same Foundation is sponsoring poor students to attain higher education.
The Ruparelia Foundation is sponsoring such children from poor families to have an education because it is one of their aspirations, but Ugandans and the government want such talented children like Fresh Kid, and Felista Di Superstar to have an education so that they can have a bright future. It is therefore wrong for the rich parents of KPS to blame the Ruparelia Foundation for sponsoring such Ugandans.
In fact, what the rich parents are saying is like the rich man in the village who doesn’t want to see his poor people neighbours buying meat just like him.
At their website the Ruparelia Foundation quotes the African Development Bank, Education for all Global Monitoring report released earlier in 2016 as saying that 38 percent of children who would be in lower secondary school in Africa, and 26 percent of those who would be in primary school, all drop out.
“A UNESCO report released earlier in 2012 had similar findings, suggesting that more than two in five children who start school will not complete primary school. School dropout rates in Africa were reported to be highest in Chad at 72 per cent, followed by Uganda at 68 per cent in that report,” the Foundation adds.
The Foundations says by sponsoring poor children to have good education, they are helping to fight poverty in those homesteads of the poor.
“We believe education is key element in alleviating people from poverty and the foundation’s initiative to reduce on the rate of school drop-outs, it awards scholarships to deserving students from primary to university. This has restored hope of having a better life in the future to many. Over 200m has been contributed through paying school fees for over 100 students at all education levels in and out of Uganda.”
The Ruparelia Foundation is not only helping poor children to get an education. The Foundation has also helped poor communities, and schools in places like Kamwokya to have improved sanitation. The Foundation, apart from sponsoring poor children to study, also supports religious, sports, health, wildlife, environment, and business initiatives with the aim to make Uganda better.