ONE staff recently had the pleasure of meeting some incredible humanitarians from Arlington, VA who shared their amazing success stories working to promote basic education and healthcare in rural Uganda. In 2004, John and Joyce Wanda, immigrants from Uganda, founded the Arlington Academy of Hope (AAH), a primary school in Mr. Wanda’s home village. Since its foundation, AAH has become a model school for villages in eastern Uganda with a high attendance rate and top exam scores. All AAH graduates have qualified to move on to secondary school, an astonishing achievement in a region where less than 14% of children ever reach this level. In addition to the success of the Academy, AAH has built a clinic on campus and also offers scholarships to graduates to continue their education.

AAH has partnered with Arlington Public Schools on a Global Reading Challenge, African curriculum, teacher exchanges, and fundraising projects. The Arlington Traditional Elementary School in particular has adopted AAH as its sister school and they collaborate throughout the school year.

Here’s one example of how AAH is transforming lives through education in rural Uganda:

Rachel is one of seven children raised by a single mother in Uganda. Her family was living in extreme poverty and marriage seemed to be Rachel’s greatest hope for survival until she was offered a full scholarship by the Arlington Academy of Hope. Rachel became one of the Academy’s top academic performers earning top scores on her primary level exams and receiving an AAH scholarship to continue her education. She now has become a student leader at her secondary boarding school in Kampala. Her mother still volunteers at AAH to this day even though her children have since graduated.

AAH is another great example of the impact that local grassroots efforts can have on developing communities in Africa and around the world.

-Lauren Conn