Bududa Learning Center, Uganda
By Barbara Wybar
I have now been in Bududa for twenty days. There is usually a slow start, but once I have stayed for a while, the pace grows to where it is almost overwhelming and that is where I am now. There are so many needs, so many orphans and needy children who want to be connected to sponsors in the west, as well as decisions to be made, such as the Family Planning session we are hosting here for the community, and so much more.
The really good news is that the school seems to be thriving and there are more students reporting every day. A good sign for me is that we have two bright students here who have come from Namasindwa district, about 30 miles away. Namasindwa is well known for its established government vocational school, but the locals are travelling to Bududa to study; maybe it is because we are better equipped.
Children of Bududa
We also have a new headmaster at Bududa Vocational Academy, Paul Wasolo, and I think he is doing a lot to boost morale and interest in the school. He was described to me as approachable and a leader. His success may be partly because he is a Bagisu of the local tribe. Previously, we had a headmaster from another tribe.
At the end of 2022, each employee here—and there are 35—was asked to bring at least two fee-paying students to our school. Most of the faculty have done more than that.
We have a Canadian visitor, David Monk, the son of an old friend of mine, here at present. He is a professor in the education department at Gulu University. Gulu is in the north of Uganda. Having spent a little time at our school, he says he is impressed. His reason is one I was not expecting. He says the faculty work well together and they are not overworked. He says that typically, in many schools in Uganda, the ratio of students to faculty is huge. At BVA there is more time for the teachers to spend with the students.
Bududa Vocational Academy
Let me tell you a little of what is consuming me today. There is money from a Canadian sponsor for a young local student, Metrine, from our nearby trading center. There must have been over thirty emails and text messages to connect Metrine with her sponsor and then receive the money and somehow get the money to Metrine and also to her school for fees.
Then there is Alex, a bright young man who has been in our orphans program for years. He has a caring, wonderful sponsor who wants the best for Alex, and Alex wants to go to pilot training school if his marks are good enough. While he waits for the final results from his A level exams, he would like to learn to drive. That will cost money and he will have to move into town to be able to do that. Will his sponsor pay? I wrote this up and asked the sponsor, and by return the answer was “yes” and the money is on the way.
Next are two widows, Aida and Ester, whose husband, Wopo, was our motorcycle driver. He died a couple of years ago of complications from untreated ulcers. A friend in North Carolina, Bryan, who heard this story, has been supporting these widows ever since and two days ago I picked up two new sewing machines for them in the local town, Mbale, as they had said that they could start to earn a living if they could sew. Dear Bryan was willing to buy the machines for them. (Yes, Wopo had two wives, and many children each, at one time, as is common here in Uganda.)
Then, there is Israel Koboyi, who has been an orphan in our program for more than 12 years. His story is like no other, but he is back in Bududa, having been in jail unfairly for defilement, and he wants to come to BVA and learn to be a brick layer but he cannot pay the fees of $216 for the year. Can I find him a sponsor?
Bududa Women’s Development Group
Sarah, a 21-year-old orphan in our program, passed her O level exams but failed her math test and therefore cannot take a nursing course. Our rules say that she must now come to BVA. Our mission was “to build a vocational school for AIDS orphans.” Sarah does not want to come to BVA; she wants to go on at school to A level. This dilemma is causing much internal discussion. We have trouble sticking to our own rules.
The son of the cook needs 300,000/= ( About $80. US) for school fees. I do not have it. Maybe his Mum, our cook, can get a loan from us.
The daughter of our compound cleaner here at Bududa Learning Center ( BLC ) wants to go to nursing school and she has passed her O level exams well enough that she is eligible to go. Can I find her a sponsor? Yes, I can! I just found one for $2,000. a year for two and half years.
Business decisions are always there. We have money from a British NGO to host a family-planning session for teenage girls here at BLC. We will host it on March 6 for approximately 150 girls. We have invited a number of local schools to attend. Although our social worker, Martha Nanzala, is organizing this, it does take some input from me to make it all happen and to get the money and issue some of the invitations.
These are just a few of the balls that are in the air for me today. I know tomorrow there will be different ones.
Barbara Wybar is the Executive Director and founding team member, Bududa Learning Center and a member of the Rotary Club of Chestnut Hill. Bududa is one of the educational institutions in central and eastern Africa that Chestnut Hill Rotary supports as part of its international initiatives.
