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‘Education needs inspiration, not just information. Only inspired

human beings can transform their own lives and lives around them.’

Sadhguru

Vision

Our vision is to invigorate a new generation of rural African youth to become changemakers,

dedicated to improving the communities and world they inhabit. Sadhguru School in Western

Uganda offers a learner-centred international education to rural children, offering them access

to a standard of learning that would never normally come their way. Students are nurtured to

become exuberant, fully rounded individuals who are in harmony with themselves and the

world. The curriculum is designed to ignite a child’s natural curiosity to learn and explore, in

contrast to the more traditional teacher-led methods of rote learning.

Atmosphere

Sadhguru School opened in January 2017 with 64 students aged 4 to 8 years old. The children

are taught in three airy, spacious and open-fronted classrooms, designed to incorporate the

natural environment into every aspect of a child’s learning. Classes take place outside regularly,

many under the Magic Tree - a venerable old acacia tree brimming with wild orchids,

bromeliads and ferns, and host to many visiting birds. Twenty minutes daily practice of

children’s yoga, designed by Sadhguru, is geared towards enhanced concentration and memory,

and improved mind/body co-ordination. Much to the joy of the staff, their biggest challenge is in

persuading the children to go home at the end of the day: many children rush back into the

classrooms to continue reading story books or play with the day’s learning aids, while others

bounce around on tree branches, filling the crater valley with giggles.

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After-School Clubs

Recognising this exuberance, a wide variety of optional after-school activities were introduced

two months into opening the school, running every day of the week (from 2.30-3.45pm). So far

every child has chosen to stay on and join a wonderful revolving medley of at least three of

these activities:

traditional African music and dance

contemporary dance

drama

singing and percussion (tambourines and shakers)

nature club

stories and rhyme

The Student’s Background

girls and boys mini football and

tag rugby

fielding and striking (a mix of

mini rounders/baseball/cricket)

gymnastics

film club

One hundred percent of this first intake of children are from the local community, whose

parents are either subsistence farmers with no cash income, or earn between $35 and $80 per

month from contract work digging in local fields, or from work on building sites. A few are in full

time employment, but jobs are scarce in this rural area and salaries are low; even full time

employees earn less than $1,500 per annum. A large percentage of parents are illiterate.

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On such incomes, parents can only afford to pay a commitment fee which is individually

assessed according to their situation. This falls between $11 and $35 per term. The school also

makes commitment-fee allowances for siblings, so that more than one child from a family can

be able to join the school.

Sadhguru School is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee in Uganda, committed to

working closely with the local community in which it is situated. To offer an international

standard of education in such an environment is a sheer joy and exciting door-opener, both for

Sadhguru School staff and Board, as well as for the local community. However, the local

children need close to 100% support with school fees, and to ensure we can sustain this

transformational education we need to find sponsors for our students.

What a School Day Looks Like

The school day starts at 8am with a nutritious breakfast of millet porridge, often mixed with

amaranth flour (high in iron, calcium and fibre), a type of wild spinach grown at Sadhguru

School, and a banana. A healthy vegetarian lunch is served in the middle of the school day and

the children enjoy two scheduled outdoor break times. Formal lessons end at 2.30pm, which is

when the after-school activities begin. The key subjects are:

1. English and Rutoro (the local language), reading and writing

2. Mathematics

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3. Knowledge and Understanding of the World (which encompasses Science, Geography,

and Social and Environmental studies)

4. Personal and Social Development (which encompasses hygiene, confidence building and

relationship skills. Puppets, stories and role play are strategies used to encourage

children to come up with their own solutions to everyday problems)

5. Information Technology

6. Creative Visual Arts (dance, drama, drawing, painting, design and technology)

7. Physical Development (sports which include athletics, ball games, dance and

gymnastics)

8. Yoga (children’s upa yoga for lubricating the joints and bringing balance to the system,

enhancing concentration and mind/body co-ordination)

Once a week during assembly, an inspiring individual (entrepreneurs, artists, conservationists,

community leaders) comes to share with the children their passion and experiences, their skills

and determination.

The school maintains an African herbal garden for everyday use and for the children to learn

from. This keeps alive traditional herbal remedies that can be effective against common

ailments, as well as great immune boosters, and helpful preventatives against common issues

such as parasites, including malaria.

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The Environment – our Buildings and Location

Sadhguru School is set within the beautiful forests and volcanic crater lakes of the 680-acre

Ndali Estate, in Western Uganda, overlooked by the Rwenzori Mountains, and within the

Kingdom of Toro. Fort Portal town is 24km away; Kampala is 300km away or a five-hour drive.

Designed by a volunteer, all the construction materials at Sadhguru School were sourced locally

either from Ndali Estate, where the school is situated (coppiced eucalyptus for roofing poles,

and timber from wind-blown trees for classroom desks), or from the surrounding area (locally

made clay bricks and clay floor tiles; swamp grass and banana fibres for flooring mats woven by

local ladies).

The classrooms run off solar power and all water is rainwater harvested. The external walls are

coloured using a wash of natural earth pigments. The toilets are self composting, based on a

design developed in Brazil, and in to which are added lunchtime vegetable peelings and wood

shavings from the carpentry workshop. The result is a rich compost for the flower gardens and

fruiting trees. The kitchen uses fuel-efficient rocket stoves made by a member of Sadhguru

School staff out of old oil drums, a welded sheet-metal central combustion chamber and

murram (the red gravelly soil used in African road construction) for insulation.

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Adopt a Child’s Education: What it Costs

For one academic year (three terms) at Sadhguru School, for a child on 100% scholarship, the

funds needed to cover their education, over and above the parents’ commitment fee (discussed

above), are as follows:

Item Cost

Meals (breakfast and lunch during 3 term times) $160 £123 Ugx 560,000

Books, stationery, art and learning materials $70 £54 Ugx 245,000

After-School Clubs $450 £347 Ugx 1,575,000

Medical contingency $30 £23 Ugx 105,000

Tuition $1,790 £1,379 Ugx 6,265,000

Uniform (3 sets), including sportswear and shoes $90 £70 Ugx 315,000

100% sponsorship school fees per child per year $2,590 £1,996 Ugx 9,065,000

100% sponsorship school fees per child per term $863 £665 Ugx 3,022,000

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Sadhguru School students are being offered the foundations for them not to stand in line for jobs,

but to be the ones to create jobs in Africa. Good education costs. Yet because the school is not-

for-profit, and works hard with volunteers to source external funds for infrastructure through

grants and corporate donors, it is able to offer a world-class international education at a fraction

of the cost of other international schools (whose fees are upwards of $6,000); but most unusually,

and the only one of its kind in Uganda, Sadhguru School is offering this world class education to

children of the poorest rural families in Uganda* - through seeking individuals touched by the

initiative who are willing to ‘adopt’ a child, whether it be the full or partial adoption of their

education (there are 9 levels of sponsorship to choose from on the attached ‘education adoption

form’).

* Those that are familiar with Isha education in India, might recognise that Sadhguru School

is an African marriage between Isha Vidhya schools - children from very low income rural

communities who require sponsorship to access good education within the confines of the

rural environment - with Isha Home School - active learning akin to Montessori, small

classes, quality facilities.

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Keeping you in the Loop

For education adoptions (see education adoption form (p19) for options):

we will pair you with a child and send you their photo

biannually we will email a 1 or 2 page newsletter with an update on your child and the

school’s progress

annual correspondence and pictures from your child will be emailed

An open-ended offer to come out and stay, meet ‘your child’, and volunteer - whether

for a day or a month. Volunteering can range vastly from sharing with the children

about your line of work in assembly, teaching in class (including music, art, dance and

drama), playing with the children outside, improving office/admin systems, managing a

building site, design and architecture, water management, playground building,

sculpting something fun or inspiring for the garden, gardening, forestry, permaculture,

herbal knowledge... the list is endless; or just a camping holiday for yourself. Note that

accommodation at Sadhguru School is very limited, so you may need to find local

accommodation nearby, which we can help you source.

For partial sponsorships (see education adoption form for options):

biannually we will email a 1 or 2 page newsletter with an update on the school’s

progress

we welcome you to visit the school and volunteer in any capacity

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The Founder Sadhguru

Sadhguru is a yogi, mystic and visionary humanitarian whose fundamental vision is to offer the

science of inner wellbeing to every human being. From his vision stem a multitude of non-profit

projects, programmes and methods, all towards this same aim. These include Sadhguru School

in Uganda; Action for Rural Rejuvenation, Project Green Hands, Isha Craft and Isha Vidhya rural

schools in India; Isha Institute of Inner-Sciences and Isha Care in the USA; and globally, Isha

Foundation which has been offering methods of holistic development throughout the world for

the last three decades, enabling people to reach the peak of their potential through the science

of yoga.

Sadhguru is an avid life-long adventurer with an insatiable appetite for life, which is perhaps

what enables him to have so many different personas as poet, visionary, designer, architect,

entrepreneur, motorcycle and sports fanatic, environmentalist, and globe-trotter.

‘Education is not about loading the child’s mind with information, but about making it

capable of razor sharp perception, capable of knowing life in its full depth and dimension.’

- Sadhguru

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The Board of Sadhguru Schools

Director Lulu Sturdy

I have yearned to be able to offer this beauty I see every day in Ndali

to something much more important than my feeble endeavours to

encircle her hills and lakes with love. When the opportunity arose

through a gathering of like-minded individuals, it became clear that a

school over and above any other social endeavour, such as health-

care, sporting, farming or business initiatives (all of which I had

entered into in the past), was the only proposition that made sense in

terms of far-reaching sustainable impact for the land and future

generations.

But not just any old school, a school founded by a man who has

inspired millions around the world and whose young schools in India I

had seen clearly flourishing in a very similar rural environment to our

own here in Uganda. From where I am right now, as founder of the

brand Ndali Vanilla which works with the over 2,000 farmers whom

we established as a Fairtrade and Organic Union; and as Managing

Director of Ndali Estate Ltd since 1999 (I unexpectedly inherited Ndali

as a struggling farm along with my cousins and siblings in 1998),

everything else just seems to be messing around. There is one thing I

have learnt through the nearly 20 years I’ve been in Uganda as a

farmer and business person, you have to attend first to the roots for

beautiful flowers and nutritious fruit. I’ve had enough with patch-up

jobs on the trunk and branches. I want to work with the roots.

Board Member (Legal Advisor) Clare Kogere Murumba Price

My parents (and myself as a small baby) were political refugees from

Uganda in Melbourne, Australia, during the dark days of General Idi

Amin. Education is considered the greatest possible treasure in my

family; and despite political upheavals, our histories are imbued at

every turn with education-enabled opportunities for personal

advancement and social service. So I knew I could do and be

whatever I wanted, and I knew that my education would be the key,

the cipher, the magic. After graduating from Harvard, I worked for

Goldman Sachs on Wall Street, and then returned again to University

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- to Yale to study Law. I am now back in Uganda, helping to develop

the vision of Ndali, where I have been living for the past 10 years.

My paternal grandfather had school-aged children in his homes for

his entire adult life, those who wouldn't have been in school if living

with their own families. And for my part, from primary-school age, I

wanted to one day establish a school in Uganda. And not just any

school; the best sort.

I've been fortunate to attend some of the best educational

institutions on the planet, places which strive to lead the way. I

recognise that Sadhguru School is leading the way in next-generation

schooling, and feel incredibly privileged to be a part of this

endeavour. It is thrilling to know how deeply this school is already

transforming the lives of our students, and through them, their

families, community and, one day, the world. Something very special

is happening here.

Director Amar Thakrar

As a 4th generation Ugandan with family roots in the country since

1905, I am proud to call this beautiful country my home. Blessed by

nature in every way and with some of the most warm and welcoming

people in the world it is by no coincidence that Uganda is referred to

as the Pearl of Africa.

When the initial discussions took place of setting up Sadhguru School

in the lush, natural surroundings of Ndali Estate it was a no brainer.

The holistic approach of Sadhguru School to nurture the curiosity and

potential of each individual child to become the best they can be is so

fundamental in today’s world where everything seems to be

revolving around economic development and accumulation of

wealth. Having been a product of the Western education system

myself, I feel Sadhguru school is a revolutionary step in transforming

the way we learn which will no doubt leave it’s mark for years to

come.

As the Managing Director of Transtel Ltd, a leading consumer

electronics distributor in the country, I have been deeply involved in

business activities for the past 11 years. I see this school as a

wonderful way to give back to the country that has nurtured me and

given me the opportunities to become who I am today.

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The quality of our lives really depends on how much we can touch

others and Sadhguru School, Ndali, is a wonderful foundation on

which to shape the future of our citizens and country. It is truly an

honor and privilege to be part of this dynamic and visionary team

which is working whole-heartedly to make a positive difference to

the education system, and ultimately the wellbeing of our people.

Board Member Bliss Kyomugisha

After over ten years of social work with various organisations at

both national and international levels, I finally discovered where

my heart belongs: supporting rural children to access high quality

education. My volunteering experience at Isha Vidhya Schools

(founded for the economic and social betterment of rural children

in India), was the turning point.

I feel privileged and exhilarated to be part of the team that is

breaking ground with Sadhguru School in Africa. I see so many

possibilities in these children, especially the potential to transform

their own communities into a source of knowledge, skill and

inspiration for the growing young generation of rural Uganda.

Board Member Manjit Kaur

With more than 25 years of public health and organisational

development experience in developing countries, including 13 years

living and working In Uganda, I have had the privilege of being able to

contribute (albeit small) towards making a difference in increasing

and improving access to services for vulnerable and underserved

populations. When a child is born into poverty, they have little

control over their health, their education and their quality of life.

Sadhguru School is dedicated to addressing just such factors.

I believe passionately Sadhguru School’s innovative holistic approach

will help nuture children, support them to reach their potential and

grow into fully rounded individuals. The type of education - igniting a

child’s natural curiosity to learn and explore - being offered at

Sadhguru School will help them not only to be changemakers in their

communities, but also to be part of the solution for the future. I

greatly appreciate the honour of being a part of this innovative

change and am committed to bringing all of my skill mix to ensure

Sadhguru School is impactful.

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Advisor to the Board, Design and Construction Glenn Hinton

After 25 years involved in furniture and construction in the UK I came

to Uganda in 1996 and was enthralled by the country and the people.

One of my first thoughts was how to enrich the education of the

many young people I met on Ndali Farm where I was living.

Vocational training is where my heart is, but for that to happen

smoothly, there needs to be a good base level of education and a

disciplined set-up. I believe Sadhguru School will be this beginning.

The quality of the educational environment is vital to how people

learn, and I want the architecture to include the beautiful landscape

into the classroom - to enrich the experience of the children and

teaching staff. Working with local builders, I am helping to design the

teaching environment using locally sourced materials, gradually

introducing new, environmentally sensitive construction techniques

which will inevitably lead to the buildings becoming teaching aids

themselves in the future.

Advisor to the Board

Professor Edward Rugumayo

I have had a long career in politics and education. In the early 1970s,

after 18 months as Minister for Education under General Amin, I

resigned from the post and went into exile. I was Head of Education

at the University of Zambia, Lusaka, 1973-79, and taught at Moi

University, Eldoret, Kenya, 1989-91. Under His Excellency Yoweri

Museveni’s government I have served as Minister for Internal Affairs,

and Minister of Tourism, Trade and Industry; in the 1990s I was

Uganda’s first Ambassador to South Africa. Today I live in Fort Portal,

not far from my birth place, and close to where Sadhguru School is

situated. I have a Bachelor of Science degree from London University

in Botany and Ecology, and a Certificate of Education from Liverpool

University; and since retiring from politics I have devoted my attention

to Education and the environment. I am the Founder of Toro Botanical

Gardens and also co-founder of Mountains of the Moon University (of

which I am currently Chancellor), both in Fort Portal. I have been

Warden of Mitchell Hall, Makerere University (Kampala), and was

Chancellor of Kampala University. I currently serve on the board of

Nyakasura School, Fort Portal, of which I am alumnus.

It is a striking endeavour to see Sadhguru School blossoming out of

the village setting, and I am looking forward to serving the interests

of the school in whichever way I can best offer my experience.

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Advisor to the Board Margaret Mackenzie Bell

I was Head of Lincoln International School, now International School

of Uganda, for five years, and started Kabira International School in

Kampala in 1993 with a child-centred curriculum based on the British

system, designed to help all children develop their own potential.

Ugandan children were welcomed through a bursary system and

Ugandan culture was woven into the fabric of the curriculum at every

level. An inclusive approach was followed for children with a broad

range of special needs who were invited into the Kabira family.

Following Kabira, I was Chief Executive Officer and Head of Education

for The Aga Khan Educational Services, Uganda (AKESU). During my

seven years at the school I developed a school leadership team which

worked across all three school levels, nursery, primary and

secondary, to fulfil the mandate of developing a child friendly dual-

curriculum school system and introduce an internationally recognised

Cambridge Primary exam, International General Certificate of

Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate

Diploma (IBD).

Advisor to the Board Keren Murumba

I am on the board of Educate! a US NGO that works with schools in

Uganda. I have a BA and Diploma in Education, and an MA in the

Education of Girls in Africa, from Monash University, Melbourne. In

Australia I taught High School English, History and Geography for 12

years. For the past 20 years I have been working for The Childrens’

Storefront, an all-scholarship private junior school in Harlem (Ist

through 8th grade) where I was Head of the Lower School for some

years.

Director of Ndali Lodge Aubrey Price

I have been living at and running Ndali Lodge ever since my father,

Lulu's Uncle Mark, who reclaimed the estate and built the lodge,

passed away in 1998. After 18 years it still feels to me like we are

looking after this beautiful place for him. We have welcomed

countless guests, sponsored many children and planted thousands of

trees. But the creation of a world class school in our backyard seems

to me the most far-reaching project, set to change the lives of

thousands of children and parents as it grows and flourishes. My

father would be delighted and proud.

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The Teachers

Head Teacher Jane O’Leary

Over a career spanning three decades, I have had the privilege of

teaching and leading learning in schools in the UK, and in International

Schools in the Middle East and Uganda. I have seen how schools can

help children grow as responsible, ethical, innovative and talented

human beings, who have the skills and drive to make a difference to

their world.

Uganda’s people and its natural beauty have drawn me back to this

unique region of Western Uganda; along with a strong desire to

transform the lives of less privileged children through access to high

quality education. I believe that we can only achieve equality in this

world if all children are given an education that can enable them to

reach their full potential as a human being.

It is not enough to transmit a limited body of knowledge or promote a

limited set of skills in order to pass exams. Instead we should educate

our children to succeed in a future that we can now barely imagine.

They will need to be adaptable, resilient, creative and open minded

individuals with the capacity to communicate well, be technologically

literate, and have the ability to cooperate and empathise. In learner-

centred classrooms teachers can engage students more deeply in the

learning process, setting high academic standards, whilst helping

students to grow into inquiring and resourceful individuals.

It has been my long-held dream to bring such a world class education

to the children living in this rural, economically deprived part of

Uganda. Sadhguru School students will be given the sort of education

that will enable them to be part of the solution for Uganda’s future and

to be real changemakers for their communities. For me, Sadhguru

School is the embodiment of Nelson Mandela’s words:

‘Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world’.

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Physical Education Teacher Sven Kroger

As a qualified Physical Education Teacher and a sports and outdoor

activities enthusiast, with over 20 years experience of teaching in

International Schools, I am drawn to Sadhguru’s vision for a holistic

education, and the importance Sadhguru School gives to all aspects

of learning, including physical and creative activities, outdoor

education and service to local communities.

As an adventurer, who relishes the challenges offered by sport and

the outdoors, I want to inspire our students to experience the same

thrills and personal rewards that I have experienced. I agree whole

heartedly with Sadhguru’s message to children:

‘I want you to see sport not just as a game or one more

discipline, but about becoming a sport for life - you are

willing to play life to the fullest.’

I have rarely felt that my values and beliefs were so aligned to those

of a school. Our greatest testimony however is from the children who

all want to stay at school as long as they can, and never want to go

home.

Teacher Grace Kembabazi

Grace is from Western Uganda. She previously worked at

the International School of Uganda, Kampala, with Jane

O’Leary. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Education from

Kyamboga University, Kampala. She has brought with her a

wealth of experience in child centred learning and a love of

this region, its unique habitats and traditions. She teaches

Class 1, and leads our Nature club. She is also our senior

learning mentor with responsibility for pastoral learning

and developing our partnership with parents and the

community.

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Teacher Betty Akello

Betty is from Amuria, in the east of Uganda, where she was

leading schools and social projects. She is our lead teacher

for Early Childhood in the reception class. Her own life story

and determination to attain at the highest level, despite

coming from an underprivileged background, together with

her boundless energy for nurturing children, are an

inspiration for us all.

Teacher Madeleine Oulevey

Madeleine grew up and attended an International School in

Chile, before going back the USA to complete a Bachelors

Degree. Having dreamt of coming to Africa, she

volunteered as a Peace Corp teacher and was delighted to

find that her two year placement was in Fort Portal.

Needless to say she fell in love with Uganda and when her

two year teaching placement with Peace Corp was

completed, she chose to say on and take a position as a

Class 2 teacher with Sadhguru School.

As a specialist in Literacy together with her knowledge of

both international curricula and the Ugandan thematic

Primary Curriculum she was perfect to take on the role of

Curriculum Coordinator. She brings many additional gifts to

Sadhguru School, including a tireless enthusiasm for

teaching , a love of singing, music and drama, topped with a

knowledge of Rutooro, the local language.

Hatha Yoga Teacher Chris Atunga

Chris is from the Ndali neighbourhood and underwent an

intense 5 months of rigorous teacher training in classical

Hatha Yoga at the Isha Yoga Centre, Coimbatore, Southern

India, in 2014. He offers the children 20 to 40 minutes of

yoga daily.

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Assistant Teacher Emma Kaswarra

After gaining experience teaching in schools in Fort

Portal and Kampala, Emma has returned to his home to join

Sadhguru School, as a Learning Assistant teacher for Class 2. In

addition to completing his Bachelors of Education, he is

responsible for teaching Rutoro and developing Information

Technology in the school. His passion for sport and the

environment are shared with the children in Nature Club and

through his coaching of the school football team.

Assistant Teacher

David Tumwine

David is native to the area and has recently graduated as a

specialist Music Primary School teacher. He plays several

instruments, including piano, and has mastered many local

Ugandan instruments and traditional dance. In addition to being

the Learning Assistant for Class 1, David supports our music

programme across the school and imbues a love and respect of

traditional art forms to all our students.

Assistant Teacher Daniel Murungi

As an undergraduate teacher, Daniel caught the attention of the

Headteacher, Jane O’Leary, when she was working as a guest

lecturer at the local teacher training college. He is exactly the type

of young person we want our students to emulate. His natural

intelligence and leadership quality stood out but so did his

yearning to help young people succeed through education.

Unusually for Ugandan male teachers, Daniel chose to specialise

in Early Years Education and he is currently the Learning Assistant

teacher in our Reception Class, where the children adore his great

sense of fun and joy for learning. Daniel also coaches football to

both boys and girls.

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Education Adoption Form

Please put a cross by any of the items below if you would like to ‘adopt’ a child - whether full or partial

adoption of their school fees – or to become a school sponsor

Cost ($) Put a cross here for your choice in $

Cost (£) Put a cross here for your choice in £

EITHER: to be paid annually until my child completes primary school*

OR: for one year only (I will decide whether to renew after one year)

Number of children

Education Adoptions

Full adoption (100% sponsorship of all school costs)

2,590 1,996

Tuition adoption (100% sponsorship of school tuition costs)

1,790 1,379

Half adoption (50% sponsorship of all school costs)

1,295 998

Quarter adoption (25% sponsorship of all school costs)

648 499

After-School adoption (100% sponsorship of After-School Clubs)

450 347

Partial sponsorships

Meals (breakfast and lunch during 3 term times)

160 123

Books and stationery 70 54

Medical contingency 30 23

Uniform (3 sets), including sports wear and shoes

90 70

*from 4-12 years old - an average of 8 years

First Name: Last Name: Country of residence:

Tel: Email: Date:

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I would like to make my contribution by:

1. Payment to a USA bank account which is fully forwarded to Sadhguru School without

any deduction. We can provide you with a receipt for US tax benefits, eligible under Sec

501 (c) (3); payment to this option is also available online

2. Payment to a UK bank account (to Isha Institute of Inner Sciences in the UK), which is

fully forwarded to Sadhguru School without any deduction, and allows Sadhguru School

to claim the tax benefit on your donation

3. Payment to Sadhguru School’s Uganda bank account in US$ or Ugx

4. Payment by cash

We will be in contact with the relevant information, based on your above choice.

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