When you see the enthusiastic smiles and energy of the kids at Kingsway Christian High School, you’d never guess the details of their stories. Some were conceived by rape. Others have lost parents to AIDS. They, like many in Uganda, have endured much suffering in recent years.
In the 1970s, almost two million Ugandans died during the rule of Idi Amin. In the early 2000s, the Lord’s Resistance Army terrorized northern Uganda and destroyed countless families and communities, leaving many with nowhere to go.
Rev. Dr. Milly Erema grew up in northern Uganda and endured these horrifying realities herself. She was just thirteen when she watched insurgents burn down her home before fleeing to live in near starvation for almost two years. Later, four of her brothers were murdered by the Lord’s Resistance Army, leaving Milly responsible to raise their 22 children.
In 2008 Milly and her family founded Kingsway Christian High School, to provide a desperately needed education to her orphaned family members and others who had endured the horrors of war. Since then, they have now educated over 300 students and given them a chance to build a better life than they could ever imagine.
“Unstoppable with Christ” is the school’s motto, reflecting Milly’s earnest faith and awe for Christ who has accomplished miracles in the lives of her students. Some have gone on to university and good jobs, a fate impossible for impoverished youth otherwise.
Check out the video below for an introduction to Kingsway from Dr. Erema:
Critical Needs: February 2023
Kingsway Christian High School was established in 2008 and is licensed and registered through the Ministry of Education in Uganda. The school has historically operated independently and sustainably, by enrolling paying students whose school fees allow impoverished youth to attend for free.
However, the two-year COVID shutdown devastated Uganda and now inflation is driving prices upward. Drought has further increased the cost of food. Very few students can afford to pay, yet an enormous number of needy children apply in the hope of getting an education.
In addition, the Ugandan government is insisting that the school complete a dormitory for girls. Currently, girls at Kingsway rearrange a classroom each night so that they can sleep on mattresses on the floor.
Despite their best intentions, Kingsway is now in great need of support. Its current needs are listed below.
The Ugandan government had given Kingsway until the end of 2022 to get a dormitory built for girls (or to make significant progress). The building had been partially completed with foundation and walls of the lower level built. (The plan is that the dorm will have two levels, with the lower level for the girls and the upper level for administrators to live.)
Because of your generosity, Kingsway was able to raise over $20,000 in 2022, which will allow them to enclose the lower level of the dorm. When this level is finished and doors and windows are put in, the girls can move in, satisfying the government’s main requirement.
They have now starting to build as of mid-December 2022! Praise the Lord! They need $4000 for doors and windows for the lower level, and another $25,000 later to finish the upper story and complete the building.
Why is building the dormitory so critical? One reason is that it is unsafe for girls to walk from home to school each day. Young women and girls are increasingly preyed upon by boda boda (motorcycle taxi) riders and other young men who solicit sex or even rape them.
Milly explains the need in the video below:
COVID/Inflation Emergency:
The COVID pandemic closed schools for almost two years and devastated families financially. In other countries, children studied on the computer at home. In Uganda, many children were forced to give up school entirely to do menial labor to support their families. See this PBS report.
Along with other schools, Kingsway was able to reopen in January 2022, but with far fewer students than their usual class of forty to fifty. Few families have money to pay school fees right now to support students who cannot pay.
In addition, inflation is driving up prices for everything. An additional $2000-3000 per term is needed to pay teachers and buy food and classroom materials. Your prayers and financial support are needed to weather this crisis.
Drought Impact:
Kingsway has a large garden that it uses to grow vegetables and fruit, to keep the cost of food for students at a minimum.
The worst drought in eastern Africa in forty years destroyed last season’s crop. Until the rains return, Kingsway must purchase what usually can be supplied for little cost.
Update: In August the rains returned and Kingsway has planted crops for next year. Since then rains have still been scanty and there is some worry that the harvest will be small. Kingsway will need to buy food for several more months until the crops come in.
Applicants Turned Away:
Your ongoing monthly support will allow Kingsway to transform many more lives. The school has a long list of needy applicants who they are unable to enroll. Kingsway has classroom space available but simply doesn’t have money to take them on. These children may lose their only opportunity to get an education.
Kingsway would like to return to their enrollment of forty to fifty students in 2023, but it costs the school approximately $900 per year ($75/month) to offer room, board and an education to a needy student.
This year Kingsway has been able to support less than twenty students. The school would need an additional $18,000 to $27,000 to take on twenty to thirty more students next year if few families are able to pay regular school fees.
If you’ve ever wished you could directly help the poorest in Africa, you’ve come to the right place.
After months of prayer, planning, and preparation, we are excited to announce the progress that is being made in the construction of the girls’ dormitory! The new school year at Kingsway begins on February 6, so the girls won’t be able to move in right away, but after many hurdles, the Lord has finally opened …
It’s fascinating to hear how Christmas is celebrated in Uganda, and how Milly and family celebrated it with some of her Kingsway students. Many of them have relatives to go home to for the holiday break, but some of the orphans do not. These come home to Milly’s house in Kampala and celebrate Christmas with …
Christmas is when many make wish lists, so we asked Milly to make a list of things that Kingsway could really use, from small to big. From chickens to scholarships to bunk beds to Bibles, there are lots of needs! Use the “Donate” button at the bottom of this page to choose which funds that …
Hundreds of students have attended Kingsway and have been nurtured in faith as they’ve received essential education for life’s journey. Here is where you’ll hear and see them share.
Letaa Ivan Bob
(Credit: Kari Tverberg for video editing)
Trinity Yikiisi
Here is Milly along with Trinity Yikiisi, who graduated from Kingsway in 2014.
Trinity’s father died when she was a baby and her mother had no money for school fees. Her education would have ended in the 7th grade but Milly sought her out and enrolled her at Kingsway, where she did very well. When extended relatives heard how well Trinity did, they pulled together the money for her to attend university.
Trinity has since attended university and is looking for her first job.
Donate
Kingsway Ministries is a fiscally sponsored project of the Christian Ministry Alliance. The Alliance is a U.S. registered 501c3 tax-deductible charity with the Internal Revenue Service and has a Candid Platinum Seal (formerly GuideStar), the highest rating available for nonprofit transparency and accountability. [Tax ID: 46-3408177]
The Kingsway Ministries US Financial Oversight Board is in Holland, Michigan.
Lois Tverberg, Chair (616 212 9910)
Patricia Bartlett
Fred Bartlett
Elizabeth West
Tim West
To make a donation by mail, please make your check payable to Christian Ministry Alliance with this note in the memo line: Fund #3134 – Kingsway, and mail to
Christian Ministry Alliance
P.O. Box 7735
Goodyear, AZ 85338
Your ongoing monthly support will allow Kingsway to transform many more lives. The school has a long list of needy applicants who they are unable to enroll. Kingsway has classroom space available but simply doesn’t have money to take them on. These children may lose their only opportunity to get an education.
