Location: Mityana, Uganda, a rural village west of Kampala

Mission: “To reduce the exposure of children, especially orphans, to life threatening risks while preparing them for a challenging and productive future.”

Who they serve: Children ages 5 to 19, many of whom are orphans

• Provide elementary school education at a cost the children’s families can afford.
• Free meals are provided at the school
• Shelter is provided at the school to about 50 students who have no parental support
  

Year founded: 2001, by Christopher Kigongo, a Ugandan physician

Website: http://naamaschool.tripod.com/

• Support for teacher salaries
• Support for the nutrition program
• Support for the staff and building maintenance
  

Their story: As the Director of health education for the country of Uganda, Dr. Christopher Kigongo was well aware of the AIDS statistics for his country. Not content to just script health education messages, he wanted to provide practical care for the children in his home village who were struggling because of the effects of AIDS on their families and the economy. Many children were leaving school to look for petty jobs to help feed themselves and their families, often putting themselves at risk of HIV infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and teen pregnancy. Dr. Kigongo started Naama Millennium School to provide affordable education and basic nutrition and shelter for those most in need. The school began in 2001 with 77 children and 5 teachers. By 2006 it had 321 students, 10 teachers and 2 support staff. The number of children who had lost one or both parents increased from 13 to 113.