Dreaming of the Future
I wake up to the dim light of a kerosene lamp burning in the corner of my hut where my grandmother (Jaaja) has just started to light the coals to heat milk for morning tea. I try to stretch my arms but I knock my sister who is sleeping on one side of me and my cousin who is sleeping on the other. I wake them up to come fetch water from the well with me. It is still dark but we know this path well. By the time we fill up our jerricans with water, the sky will be a light blue. When we arrive back home, our tea is ready.
We sit down on a banana fiber mat and quietly sip our tea. Today there is no bread or nuts to eat with our tea. Jaaja has been sick, so there has been no money. The sun is now at the horizon, so I know my cousin and I will be late for school. My sister no longer goes to school. Since Jaaja has been sick, she has to stay home to watch the little ones.
We hurry outside and dump a cold bucket of water over our heads. It makes my skin raise like a plucked chickens', but I hurry and get dressed for school. I put on my shirt that is missing 2 buttons, my shorts, and my socks that no longer wrap around my toes since the holes have grown too large. We grab our notebooks and our pencil case and quickly start walking the 3 kilometers to school.
When we get to school, assembly has already started. We run into line, I tuck in my shirt, and start singing with the rest of the students. No other place is like school. The teachers are smartly dressed and speak in English. We are served porridge and a hard-boiled egg for snack, and rice, beans, and spinach for lunch. I’m learning all different subjects but mathematics is my favorite. I want to go to university when I am older but I know I need to get good scores on my exams if I am to be accepted. I want to be an engineer so I can help my family have a better life.
This story is based on the life of a specific child that attends Mwebaza School. However, elements of this story are true for many of the children we serve in Africa.
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Progress at Empakasi School
This summer, Dale Peterson and Devaki Douillard from the Mwebaza Foundation spent three weeks in Africa. Their first stop was to visit the Mwebaza Foundation's most recent partner school, Empakasi Primary School, in Kitengela, Kenya. They were accompanied by two educators, Hillari Hansen and Karie Cooper, from Empakasi’s partner school, Eagle Crest Elementary, in Longmont. When they arrived at the school, they were eagerly escorted to the greenhouse and chicken coop to view the progress that has been made over the past few months. The greenhouse was overflowing with sweet peppers and tomatoes and the chicken coop was ready and waiting for chicks. During their visit, they witnessed the first sale of tomatoes to a lady working in the local market. The money made from this sale will help ensure the program continues to thrive. They also purchased the first batch of 500 chicks that will provide eggs for the students of Empakasi School.
Hillari and Karie taught lessons to the children about what life is like in Colorado and on dental hygiene. Thanks to the generous donations from local dentists, they were able to give every student a “tooth care” kit. They also filmed a short movie entitled, “The Day in the Life of an Empakasi Student” that will be shown to the students at Eagle Crest Elementary.
After distributing letters from students at Eagle Crest, they were able to get the whole Empakasi student body to write responses, with the help of the Empakasi staff. Photos were taken of each Empakasi student, and every child received a copy of his or her own picture, thanks to Hillari and Karie. There is no doubt that this trip greatly strengthened our ties to the students, staff, and community of Empakasi School.
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Reunion at St. Paul School
This summer, Dale Peterson and Devaki Douillard visited St. Paul School, and were joined by Mike and Christa Keppler and their two wonderful daughters. This trip was especially memorable for the Keppler family since both Mike and Christa have a long history of supporting the Mwebaza Foundation. Mike Keppler was the principal at Niwot Elementary when the partnership between Mwebaza and Niwot Elementary was established, and is now the principal at one of our other partner schools, Coyote Ridge Elementary. Christa Keppler was the principal at Coyote Ridge Elementary when the Foundation established its partnership with St. Paul School, has also served in various capacities on our Board of Directors, and was on the Mwebaza Foundation's first ever trip to Uganda to visit Mwebaza and St. Paul Schools.
When the Colorado team arrived at St. Paul School, they were greeted by a flood of children that surrounded the car. The Americans were escorted through the newly-finished school building, where more children were waiting to perform their welcome songs and dances. St. Paul staff also showcased their athletic curriculum through a presentation of "field day" activities. The welcome celebration seemed endless, but knowing that time was limited, Douillard managed to pull each student aside to take his or her picture for his or her pen pal letters before the sun set. That night we all set up our mattresses and mosquito nets in one of the new classrooms that was illuminated by lights that are powered by the newly installed solar system!
The next day, Peterson gave the entire school a lesson on dental hygiene and the team assisted the St. Paul staff in distributing the pen pal letters written by their friends at Coyote Ridge Elementary. Then the team helped the kids write their own pen pal letters, encouraging them to "make it their own," whether that involved drawing a picture or writing a story.
All the while, gutters were being installed along the roof so the school can harvest rainwater on site rather than walking far distances to collect stagnant water from a nearby marsh.
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Steiner Family Goes Above and Beyond to Help the Mwebaza Foundation
Lucas (14) and Bella (11) Steiner, both attended Niwot Elementary and participated in the school-wide pen pal program. Through this program, they learned about their pen pals lives, their families, what they like to do and what they want to do in the future. They also learned how challenging life can be there, so they decided to do what they could to help. Over the years, they have organized different fundraisers to bring in money for Niwot Elementary's partner school and the Foundation's other partner school in Kenya, which they were able to visit during the summer of 2014.
This year, Bella and Lucas organized another fundraiser to help the Foundation's partner schools in Africa. They set up an in-home store to sell things like organic cotton scarves, soy candles, and small boutique purses, which they purchased from a family friend, Angie Zabritski, who sells high-end merchandise like this to boutiques across the country. They also sold gourmet cupcakes and "obutunda" or passion fruit juice (a traditional Ugandan drink). Together, they raised over $500!
They have taken the advice of Dale Peterson and try to help, "when we can, as we can, how we can." Their hope is that the money they have raised will go to "better the lives of the children, giving them the best shot of a good future... whether it's for food, school supplies, teacher salaries, or buildings."
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A Visit to Mwebaza School
Upon arriving in Uganda, Dale Peterson and Devaki Douillard were greeted by Ms. Namatovu Catherine, the headmistress of Mwebaza School in Kyengera. Her parents started the Mwebaza School (the first partner school and namesake of the Foundation) years ago to address the increasing need for a cheap and reliable school in the area. Running a school can be challenging, especially in Uganda. However, the Mwebaza Foundation, working with Mwebaza's partner school, Niwot Elementary, has been able to improve the lives of these students, one project at a time.
A current project is the construction of a middle school for the graduates of Mwebaza School. This school will be located in the small village of Nkungulutale, about 15 minutes away from Mwebaza School. The school will also serve the children of this area. Upon completion, this 4-classroom school building will be equipped with 5 waste-composting/waterless toilets, a rainwater catchment and sterilization system, and solar electricity! However, construction was delayed this year due to the urgent purchase of an adjacent plot of land that was at risk of being sold to someone else. This land will allow the school to have a sustainable garden, raise chickens, and start multiple cottage industry projects that will bring in income for the school.
Currently, the frame of the school has been built, the walls have been erected, and the roof has been installed. However, the walls still need to be plastered, the floors lack cement, and doors and windows must be installed. In order to complete this school, the Mwebaza Foundation will need to raise $10,000 by next summer!
While at Mwebaza School, Dale Peterson gave a lesson to students about dental hygiene and spent an entire day helping the teachers with the pen pal letter process. Peterson and Douillard helped deliver pen pal letters that were written by Niwot students to their Mwebaza pen pals and later assisted the students as they crafted their own responses.
One evening, the Mwebaza staff gathered visiting Colorado educators to have an open discussion about different teaching strategies and techniques. It was a night filled with respect and inquiry. All were learning from one another and sharing experiences. It was a beautiful example of cross-cultural exchange.
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A Trip to Gulu
Devaki Douillard and Dale Peterson’s last few days in Africa were spent in Northern Uganda in a small town called Gulu. For over 20 years Gulu has been in the middle of a very violent and destructive civil war. During this time, development ceased. Only recently has Gulu found peace and the people have started to pick up the pieces and rebuild their lives. While they were there, they stayed with a local family that Douillard has known for years. The daughter of the family makes paper-bead jewelry for the Foundation and the son is on the Foundation's Ugandan Board of Directors. While in Gulu, Douillard and Peterson visited two schools that could both benefit from a partner school in Colorado.
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Mwebaza in the IRONMAN
This summer, the Mwebaza Foundation recruited over 25 volunteers to help work at an aid station during the Boulder IRONMAN race from 8 pm to midnight. We handed out food and drinks and encouraged the racers to cross the finish line! It was a night full of excitement that brought in $500 for the Foundation. Look for our recruitment emails next summer so you can be a part of the fun and help us raise needed funds for our projects!
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Uganda Unite Summit
The Mwebaza Foundation was invited to be part of the Uganda Unite Summit in Denver this fall. We met with other non-profits that work in Uganda to share our challenges and successes. The summit provided an opportunity for nonprofits to present on a sustainable business idea for a potential grant opportunity from UnbridledACTS. We presented on our School Bus/ Taxi program that has been very successful at our partner school, Mwebaza Primary, which we would like to expand to St. Paul School. We were happy to learn that the Mwebaza Foundation was awarded a $2,000 matching grant! So if the Mwebaza Foundation can raise $2,000 by the end of the year, we will be able to redeem the additional $2,000 from UnbridledACTS. If you would like to help us unlock this matching grant, donate HERE.
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G.O.T. To Get Down Charity Concert
This fall, the Mwebaza Foundation hosted its first community-wide benefit concert at the Pacific Event Center in Longmont. The popular band, Girls on Top!, performed all night. Thanks to everyone who came and enjoyed the fun music and wonderful food and drinks. The night included a popular silent auction that offered items from dinners for two to all-inclusive trips to South Africa! Overall, it was a lot of fun and we raised much-needed funds for our projects in Africa.
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