You may have heard news reports mid-January about elections in Uganda. The current president was declared the winner and installed for his 7th term, a reign that has lasted almost 40 years to date. The election opposition was led by a much younger man - a popular musician - who was backed by large numbers of young people across the country.

The declared outcome of the election was not accepted by many people. The opposition leader went into hiding, people protested on the streets and the military responded. 20-30 young demonstrators were shot, 2000 were imprisoned and the opposition leader's house was under siege.

This is the context for a message from Director Geoffrey Kyeyune at the end of January:

Dear Doug,
We have just concluded the general elections in the country, which was hectic and challenging. Many young people have been killed and some imprisoned. Sometimes we hiding in our houses.

Dear Doug,
Many young people have been arrested and remanded in prison. Have not heard from some staff but for me am safe. The only problem we facing is that between December and January food was scarce and what we purchased with the funds you sent (in December) was finished. Please pray for us.

The situation has not changed much after the election. So far half of the students have returned.

As these photos sent on February 27th by Principal Suzan Nabirye show, this continues to happen for those who have returned. They also show something of what it means when we are told that some of the funds we send are spent on 'training materials'.