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Written by Alison McKnight
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Wednesday, 20 August 2008 10:11 |
Rwiaburindi Primary School sits on a hilltop in the striking location of Muko, overlooking the Lake Bunyonyi about an hour and a half west of Kabale on the road to Kisoro lying close to the Rwandan border. When first visited in 2008, the school was more or less empty. Not because of a lack of teacher (primary education is provided largely by the state) but a lack of children wanting or able to stay. With no provisions except the empty building and a teacher - no books, no equipment, no lunch - the children would either last but part of the day before retreating back to their homes in search of food or they would not attend at all. With homes often being far from the school and vital energy used in the long walk, some children would simply stay at home in hope of a meal. This however only tells part of the story.... Poverty, illness and death in families is sadly commonplace in Uganda and has enormous impacts on children and their baisc rights, including their right to be eductaed. Child labour is all too often used to replace lost breadwinner lives or to undertake daily tasks like carrying water from a well or tap several miles away or fetching firewood. Schooling is not always given the priority it deserves in the face of daily needs like fuel amd food. The year before, I had visited Muko with Geresem, Children Chance Foundation Uganda's Director to visit the Batwa people and see how their basic needs and human rights are unmet. Simple needs like a tin roof over their heads, blankets, clothes, clean water, foodcrops and soap can help their welfare but it was only in 2008, that we realised the opportunity to reinvigorate lives through the children's education was also staring us in the face. |
| RWIABURINDI SPONSORSHIP PROGRAMME
You can sponsor a more secure place for a child's education at Rwiaburindi School for just £36.00 or £3/month!
| CCFU was founded in 2007 tby Geresem Arineitwe who is a caring and driven man from the Muko area. Growing up Geresem felt first hand the problems of poverty and disease and lived amongst the Batwa people who had almost nothing, having been displaced from the forests to survive on borrowed land. With some close friends and colleagues Geresem recognised something had to be done and COULD be done to provide for the children's basic needs and rights like health and education and the Batwa in particular. CCFU also shared a vision to help the children driven out of homes, or who had fled homes to live on the streets in Kabale, often becasue of HIV, or fragmented families. Geresem works as a safari tourist guide and recognised through his work that there was a place to reach for care for his children's needs. |
| Childrens Chance Foundation Uganda |
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Last Updated on Sunday, 18 October 2009 13:37 |
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