World Environment Day and Recycled Sports Day

Inspired by the 5th June World Environment Day message: “Beat Plastic Pollution. If you can't reuse it, refuse it,” the children watched an educational video on how we are damaging our planet through irresponsible use of plastic. Moved by this, everyone got together to clean up the local market village, Rwaihamba. Usually an untidy scene, littered with stray plastic bags, mulch and other carelessly abandoned refuse, it looked like a completely new place once the kids were done with it! Next up was “Recycled Sports Day.” Teams of excited and vibrant school children competed against each other using footballs made from stray plastic bags and negotiated an obstacle course made entirely from old car tires. This was their first full sports session on our beautiful new hoe-leveled and hand-planted playing field.

Summer School: A Week of Music, Dance and Drama

The week following the end of term was fired up into mornings of music, dance and drama, led by Wanjiru, visiting from the UK and of Kenyan descent, who gave herself wholeheartedly to inspiring the children, despite a painful leg injury. In her own words:

“In the school I found the kind of ethos that I have sought all my working life; a balance between work and play; creativity and information; stillness and activity; yoga and dance. I spent nine intensive days in a valley in Ndali, surrounded by hills, and the children soon started to open up like beautiful flowers in springtime.”

A Learning Showcase for Parents

Sadhguru School devoted a special day for parents from the local Ndali community to experience how their children are learning. The parents were deeply impressed to see the children learning joyfully, without blackboards or homework.

About Sadhguru School

The only one of its kind in East Africa, Sadhguru School in Western Uganda provides an international education to rural children. The School’s vision is to invigorate a new generation of rural African youth to become change makers, dedicated to improving their community and the world. Students are nurtured to become exuberant, fully rounded individuals who are in harmony with themselves and the world. The curriculum is designed to ignite a child’s natural curiosity to learn and explore, in contrast to the more traditional teacher-led methods of rote learning. In addition, they provide daily yoga practices for the students, and organize yoga retreats, workshops and events for the local community.

Editor’s Note: The first batch of students come entirely from the local community, in which the parents are either subsistence farmers with no cash income, or earn between $35 and $80 per month from contract work digging in local fields, or from work on building sites. To support these children and their education, click here.