Being involved in a partnership with people in a different part of the world is something very special. I believe that the secondary school project that we’ve been supporting recently really has brought out the best in people. So many people have been involved in the project since its inception nearly two years ago and many people have made life changing contributions to help the project along its way.
Over the Easter break, Monica told me about the community fundraising event that was being held in Kihembe, in order to raise funds for science equipment and other scholastic materials to be purchased for the school. Over the course of the weekend, over 5million UGX (£980) was raised in cash, and a further 5million UGX was pledged in donations, a staggering amount of money in a small village in rural south-western Uganda.
I really was overjoyed to hear about this, because it reminded me about why we set up The Zuri Project in the first place. The Zuri Project never has been about hand outs. Our objective is to partner with like-minded organisations, to support people to facilitate long term, sustainable change in their own communities. Our Ugandan partners know that the funding that we provide to support projects is limited, and they encourage the wider community to get involved in all aspects of the project, including fundraising.
The secondary school project in particular has evidenced that our approach can work, and that encouraging people to make a positive contribution to a community based project can have a lasting impact. The project now is very close to completion: the second classroom block is nearly finished, the vegetable gardens have been cultivated and the team are just adding the finishing touches to the school site. In the coming weeks, when we sit down to evaluate the project, I will be thrilled to hear from so many different people about how the project developed, what went well and also what didn’t go so well, in order for us to build and progress in the future.
A lot of people should be very proud of the contributions that they have made to the first ever secondary school in Kihembe, particularly the pioneers and community leaders, like Monica and Herbert, who have driven the project forward since its inception. The project, above all else, is proof that great things can be achieved through collaboration. This is what I’m most proud of and I value the relationships that we have with developed our Ugandan partners so highly.
It will be a joy to see the school finished at the end of next month and also to start planning the next stage of our journey together.
Ross.