Wolverhampton millionaire funds new school hall and hospital wing in Uganda

Property developer Samuel Leeds made the announcement during a recent trip to the country when he officially opened a school building, which was named after him. He was accompanied by his wife Amanda, a chartered surveyor, and graduates of his training course. His company turns over more than £10 million a year.

As well as funding the new school hall, Samuel is also funding a new hospital wing to be built at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital. He received treatment there himself in 2018 after a rafting accident saw his knee shattered and he lost a quarter of his blood. It happened while he was leading a mission to bring fresh water to remote villages.

Mr Leeds and his wife were welcomed by hundreds of singing and dancing pupils at Bulubandi Primary School on his arrival to unveil 'The Samuel Leeds School Hall.' The facility was financed though his charity, the Samuel Leeds Foundation.

Upon visiting two years ago, Mr Leeds found the remote Ugandan schools to be in "appalling conditions", in a "poor state of repair" and without an assembly room, despite having 2,000 pupils.

The 31-year-old said: "I was so shocked by what I saw that I immediately agreed to build a large school hall where all the pupils can gather together."

He said the entire project cost around £20,000, as "money goes a long way" in Uganda.

"It was worth every single penny to me," he said. "It was amazing to be at the official opening ceremony. I was also flattered to see they had named the new building after me."

Mr Leeds said he suffered from ADHD and dyslexia, and was "not a good pupil", and paid a special tribute to one of his former teachers at Walsall’s Emmanuel School.

"My favourite teacher, Mrs Hey-Smith, really believed in me," he said. "That made all the difference to my future life. I believe in this school, and I believe in the teachers here too. That's why I've been investing my money."

The multi-millionaire entrepreneur left school at 16 and could have retired in his early 20s on the back of a string of lucrative property deals. Among his current projects is the conversion of the Eagle Works, an old Victorian factory near the centre of Wolverhampton, into luxury apartments.

Samuel has been a regular visitor to Uganda since 2016, paying for fresh water tanks to be installed in isolated villages and offering free business loans to aspiring entrepreneurs at Dragons' Den-type events.

After opening the new school hall, he was driven to eight other schools to see which were most in need of his support. He is said to be planning more projects for the future, for schools where the "rain pours in" through the tin roofs, and they are covered in a dust that attracts a type of insect which gives children rickets.

Speaking about another school Samuel plans to help, Bunafu Primary School, he said: "There is also just one toilet for the entire school which is basically a hole in the ground. Most of the children have to go outdoors if they need to go to the loo. It was so bad during my first visit I had to find a tree when I needed to relieve myself. People in the UK would not believe the conditions these children have to endure."

In addition to building a new toilet block, Samuel plans to reconstruct the entire fabric of the building. Costs are expected to reach up to £100,000.

Samuel, who owns historic Ribbesford House, near Bewdley, as well as a £3m family home in Buckinghamshire, says it is vital for him to see with his own eyes what work needs doing overseas.

"There's no point in me just blindly writing out cheques. We visited one school in Uganda recently which had a room with 27 computers. Not one of them has been used because even the teachers haven't got a clue how to operate them. The computers have sat there gathering dust for seven years. That's why I keep going back to Africa to see for myself how my money can best be spent."

The father-of-three has also revealed that a vital part of his mission is to overhaul the school curriculum.

He added: "I feel overwhelmed, blessed and speechless even to be able to affect the school curriculum in Africa. My dream is to one day achieve this for pupils in the UK too. It’s absolutely crazy that kids in the UK leave school geared up to do only one of two things – go to university or get a physical job working for someone else.

"I thought I was a complete failure at school and destined to become a binman, but then I discovered I was very good at making money. My company now turns over more than £10m a year."

"When I look back, I want to see that I've left the world in a better place than I found it," he said.