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SINGAPORE, Aug. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Singapore American School (SAS) welcomes Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project (NAOP) founder Twesigye Jackson Kaguri to discuss student leadership and advocacy through the Nyaka AIDS Orphan Project at SAS started by then seventh grader Ayla Martin in 2016.
The NAOP was first founded in 2001 by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in south-western Uganda. It began in the Nyaka Primary School, a two-room school on a small plot of land. The school officially opened in 2003 to 55 students, all HIV/AIDS orphans.
The SAS project was a direct result of Martin's involvement with the NAOP. According to Martin, "1.6 million children in Uganda have no parents because they've died of HIV/AIDS. Also they have to walk seven miles barefoot each and every day to school and back." The goal of the service club at SAS is to educate these children and bring a better life to orphans by sponsoring their education and developing a personal relationship with students.
The project aims to work with Kaguri in rural Uganda to end systemic deprivation, poverty, and hunger through a holistic approach to community development, education, and healthcare. So far, the SAS community has successfully sponsored seven orphans to date. The project is actively supported by the SAS Foundation which has a 60 year-old legacy of paying it forward to enrich the educational experiences of the students.
From living the American dream to facing Uganda's HIV/AIDS pandemic, Kaguri's work has admirers in humanitarian circles all over the world, including the United Nations. He received the 2015 Waislitz Global Citizen Award, was named a 2012 CNN Hero, is recognized in Time Magazine's 'Power of One" series, is a Ted Talks participant, and has authored five books including A School For My Village.
At SAS, Kaguri will inspire students by sharing his own journey about building a life and a career of serving others. He will also address local and global issues like poverty eradication, help for the disabled and ill, education for all, his environmental worldview, as well as his position on environmental ethics.
According to Martha Began, co-advisor of the SAS Executive Service Council and Global Issues Network, "Mr. Kaguri's life story will add vibrancy to the pallet of SAS student experiences that develop skills, traits, and dispositions to become exemplary global citizens. We look forward to broadening our minds with Mr. Kaguri." The SAS Service Council consists of 54 student-run and led service clubs and their teacher advisors. The council values diversity, democracy, civic engagement and contributing to the common good, encouraging young people to make local and global societies better together.
SAS would like to invite all members of the public as well as the media to a community event that will be held on August 24, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the school. Kaguri will highlight his experiences around building a school to educate AIDS orphans in his home village. The presentation will be followed by a book signing event.
*As a security requirement, all attendees as expected to RSVP by by filling this form.
About Singapore American School
Singapore American School (SAS) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational, college preparatory day school offering a US curriculum with an international perspective for students in preschool through grade twelve. SAS has the largest Advanced Placement program outside of the United States, is fully accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in the United States, and offers the American High School Diploma at the senior level. Established in 1956, the school primarily serves the US and international expatriate communities of Singapore.
For more information, please visit http://www.sas.edu.sg, or contact the SAS communications office at communications@sas.edu.sg or +65 6360 6031.
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