A Coventry teaching assistant has visited a school in Uganda after pupils raised over £900 to help provide books and clean water.

Pupils at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School in Courthouse Green, part of the Romero Catholic Academy, generated £916 to fund drinking water and learning resources for their East African counterparts at the Bright Future Primary School in Kampala. 

The school had no running water in 2012, and thanks to support over the years, it now has fresh running water and flushing toilets – with books, sports equipment and training to help students become sports leaders and for staff to enhance their lessons also donated.

The schools first partnered through the Africa Inspires project, with staff, pupils and the Good Shepherd community raising over £7,000 in the last 11 years. 

Classes took part in a sponsored relay carrying buckets of water around the school playground. Many children at the Bright Future Primary School must walk long distances before school to collect water for their families. 

Karen Vince (pictured), teaching assistant at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary School, recently returned to the school for the first time since 2017.

She said: “I have had the privilege of visiting the school in 2013, 2015 and 2017 to work with their staff and children. 

“It is an amazing school working in the hardest of circumstances, and it was fantastic to go back and to see how it has grown.

“This year’s fundraising has been one of our most successful, and I am continually overwhelmed by the generosity of our families, especially in the present economic situation. 

“I have seen first-hand the difference we have made and how much the children and staff at Bright Future appreciate our efforts and while we have helped to make a difference, there is still more work to do.”

Andrew McConville, principal at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary school, said: “We are extremely proud of our work with Bright Future Primary School. 

“This partnership has given our pupils the opportunity to actively support others who may be without some things we take for granted and think about their needs, and I would like to thank them for this year’s magnificent fundraising effort.”