Arlington Academy of Hope

The Arlington Academy of Hope (AAH) is dedicated to building a foundation for hope in rural Uganda by providing access to quality education and basic healthcare for children in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Our primary school in Bumwalukani village, Uganda, also called Arlington Academy of Hope, enrolls more than 300 students in seven grades providing dedicated teachers, individual attention, and a supportive learning atmosphere. In three years, it has become the model school for villages throughout Uganda. One hundred percent of the Academy’s first graduating class went on to good high schools, called secondary schools in Uganda, with scholarship support from the U.S. In Uganda, only 14 percent of students typically go on to secondary school.

Our clinic built in 2006 provides immunizations and basic healthcare to students, their families, and the local community. More than 6,000 patients have been cared for since the clinic’s opening. In February 2008, AAH opened a second medical clinic stretching its reach to Bupoto and providing healthcare to thousands of villagers in an area desperate for basic services.

Founded by John and Joyce Wanda, who emigrating to the U.S. from Uganda more than a decade ago, AAH began as a way to bring the benefits of quality education to children in their native Ugandan villages. Today, the Academy, which was built in John’s home village, is a symbol of what is possible in rural Africa and how caring communities in the United States truly can make a difference, one child at a time.