Sunny Magezi Academy Celebrates First Year Of Learning, Growth And Possibility
Year Of Highs. The Aliguma Foundation marked a major milestone on November 7, celebrating the first anniversary of Sunny Magezi Academy, graduating its first group of learners and bringing a week of education, inclusion and road-safety activities to schools and communities in Masindi.
MASINDI, UGANDA – November 9, 2026: There was plenty to celebrate at Sunny Magezi Academy on November 7.
Children sang, danced, recited poems and performed skits, parents and community members shared in the excitement, and seven young learners took an important step in their education journey as they graduated from top class to Primary One.
But beyond the cake, colourful performances and anniversary celebrations was a bigger story: a young school steadily growing into a centre of opportunity for children and families in Kinuuma Village and the wider Masindi community.
Established by the Aliguma Foundation, Sunny Magezi Academy marked its first anniversary as the organisation celebrated nine years of using sport, education and enterprise to transform vulnerable communities.
The occasion also brought together partners, government representatives, educators, parents and well-wishers to celebrate the progress made and reflect on the work still ahead.
For Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ritah Aliguma, the day was a reminder of how far a vision can travel when people believe in it.
“All I can say is Ebenezer. The Lord has been good to us,” she said, welcoming guests to the school.
“The Sunny Magezi Academy is an extension of this vision. We believe every child is a champion. Regardless of their background, gender or disability, we are committed to providing an inclusive learning environment where children can discover their potential through education, sports and other talents.”
Growing beyond the classroom
The school's first year has been marked by growth in both infrastructure and enrolment.
What began with 15 learners and six staff members has developed into a school with classrooms running from baby class through to Primary Three, alongside an expanding administration and support structure. The school now has 48 learners and 13 members of staff.
The academy has completed its classrooms, established a staff room, a principal's office and a front office serving as its administration block.
The school is also preparing to introduce Primary Four in the next academic year, as it works towards its ambition of becoming a model institution in Masindi District.
Principal Shirley Akeso said the first year had been one of progress and new possibilities, with achievements extending beyond the physical development of the school.
“This one year has been a year of progress, a year of possibilities and a year of growth,” she said. “We have been able to achieve quite a number of things, not only structurally, but also among our learners and staff.”
She added that the school's ambitions extended beyond Kinuuma Village.
“Sunny Magezi Academy is aspiring to be a model school in Masindi District. We don't aim at only serving Kinuuma Village, but we are aiming to serve Uganda as a country, Bunyoro as a region and East Africa as a subcontinent.”
The anniversary also marked an important moment for the school’s first graduating learners. Seven children completed top class and will move on to Primary One next year, offering a glimpse of the next generation the academy hopes to nurture.
Education for Her: Leaving no learner behind
The anniversary celebrations came at the end of a week of school and community activations under the theme; Education for Her.
The initiative, supported by the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame through the US Department of State's Global Sports Mentorship Programme (GSMP) alumni follow-up initiative, focused on keeping children in school by addressing some of the everyday barriers that affect attendance, participation and learning.
The activities covered three key areas: inclusion, road safety and girls' education.
At schools including Kinuuma Primary School, Kibaali Primary School and Kahaara Primary School, the Foundation and its partners engaged learners, teachers and community members on the importance of creating safe and welcoming learning environments.
For learners with disabilities, inclusion meant more than simply opening the classroom door.
The programme highlighted the need for appropriate support, including hearing aids, wheelchairs, crutches and other assistance to help children participate fully in school life.
Teachers and community members also received training to strengthen their understanding of special needs education and inclusive teaching.
Aliguma said the Foundation was determined to take this message beyond its own school.
“We did not only end with just our school staff, but we have gone beyond our school. We have taken the same message to different communities and other community schools,” she said.
She stressed that Education for Her was not intended to exclude boys, but to ensure that girls and boys had equal opportunities.
“We make sure that we involve the boys, because these are going to be the husbands of the future to the girls that we have mentored here. So we make sure we strike a balance.”
The programme also addressed menstrual health and hygiene, with the distribution of sanitary supplies and awareness activities aimed at ensuring that girls do not miss lessons because of their periods.
Arriving safely, learning confidently
Road safety was another important part of the activation week.
Working with the Uganda Police Force (UPF), including officers from the local traffic police, the Foundation took road-safety education to learners, parents, boda boda riders and motorists.
The sessions covered road crossing, traffic signs, responsible road use and the protection of children who walk or cycle to school.
Hundreds of reflectors were distributed to improve the visibility of learners and road users, while sports equipment was also provided to support participation in physical activity.
For Lana Surface, Cultural Affairs Attaché at the United States Embassy in Uganda, the road-safety component was a reminder that education begins long before a child enters the classroom.
“Every lesson begins with arriving safely,” she told the gathering.
Surface, who was the chief guest, said the Education for Her initiative was designed to remove everyday obstacles that prevent children from remaining in school.
“It provides books and school materials, sports equipment and games, clothes, and sanitary supplies so that no girl has to miss lessons every month,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of supporting learners with disabilities, noting that every child deserves the opportunity to hear the teacher, access the classroom and participate in school activities.
On the playing field, she added, children learn lessons that go beyond textbooks.
“You learn how to work as a team, how to lead, how to lose and come back stronger, and how to trust your own strength.”
Surface drew from her own childhood in a rural community in the United States, where she said the encouragement of teachers and neighbours helped her believe that her dreams were possible.
“I stand here today as a representative of the United States because people in a small rural school told me every day that my dream was worthy and that I was worthy,” she said.
That experience informed her message to the Sunny Magezi learners.
“When I look at the students of Sunny Magezi School, I do not see a small school in a rural district. I see future doctors, engineers, teachers, members of Parliament, and maybe a future Ugandan ambassador to the United States.”
Her message to the children was simple: “Finish. Whatever happens, finish school.”
Partnerships that bring ideas home
The Education for Her initiative is also a story of international mentorship translated into local action.
In 2023, Aliguma travelled to the United States through the Global Sports Mentorship Programme (GSMP), an exchange run by the US Department of State in partnership with espnW.
During the programme, she spent time with the Los Angeles Chargers and at the National Football League offices in New York, learning how sport can build confidence, discipline and leadership among young people.
A decade earlier, fellow Ugandan sports development advocate Chocho Immaculate had participated in the same programme, gaining experience in using grassroots sport to promote youth leadership and community development.
The two brought their experience home and joined forces.
Surface explained that the programme was designed and developed by Ugandans who understood the needs of their communities.
“The United States did not design Education for Her in Washington. Ritah and Chocho designed it, here, for girls and boys they know and a community they understand,” she said.
“Our role is to back Ugandans who already have the plan and the commitment.”
The initiative received sponsorship from the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, through the programme's alumni follow-up component.
Aliguma expressed gratitude to the Hall of Fame, the US Embassy and the partners who have continued to believe in the Foundation's vision.
The Foundation also acknowledged the support of the UEFA Foundation for Children, whose partnership has been central to the development of Sunny Magezi Academy, as well as the Chocho Sports Foundation.
A community invested in the future
For Martina Novakovic, a supporter of the Aliguma Foundation and friend of UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin from Slovenia, the anniversary was an opportunity to experience the work and the people behind it.
“I came to support the Aliguma Foundation in its cause and to experience Uganda first-hand, but these days have given me so much more,” she said.
“All the hugs and smiles enriched my soul, and I am blessed that my life gives me opportunities to give back some love I receive from others.”
Novakovic also related to the initiative through her own childhood experiences, explaining that growing up in difficult family circumstances had made her appreciate the role education played in shaping her life.
“My focus on school and learning improved my life and myself as a person. That is why I feel so connected with these endeavours, and I am honoured to support Ritah in her activities to make life better for the children.”
Buruli County Member of Parliament Aled Ronald Akugizibwe, popularly known as Kasojo Kato, praised the school for its work with children and the wider community.
He said he had been impressed by the confidence displayed by the learners and the Foundation's outreach to schools and vulnerable communities.
He pledged government support, noting that the academy was contributing to the education and sports agenda while developing facilities that could accommodate other sporting disciplines, including basketball, volleyball and handball.
For the parents and guardians, Surface had a message about the importance of keeping children in school, particularly when household circumstances make the decision difficult.
“The most important decisions about education are made at home,” she said. “When money is short or there is pressure for your children to leave school early, keeping them in the classroom matters more than any programme.”
Building on the first year
As Sunny Magezi Academy enters its second year, the ambition is to grow its enrolment, strengthen learning facilities and resources, and continue extending the Foundation's programmes to more communities.
The anniversary was not presented as an end in itself, but as a marker of what can be achieved when education, sport, inclusion and community support work together.
For Aliguma, the school is part of a much wider mission: to create opportunities for children who might otherwise be left behind.
And for the learners who celebrated, performed and graduated on November 7, the was as loud and as clear. Their school may be young, but the possibilities it represents are already much bigger than its emerging walls.
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