UGANDA
In October 2013, Marilyn visited Uganda to meet with two extraordinary young men, brothers Richard Mmiro Masimbi and Isaac Lwanga, who had been trying to build a school in Sserinya, the rural village in central Uganda where they were born. Sserinya is 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the nearest town of Masaka. There is no electricity, no running water, and the only school was literally a tree, seen in the photo below. It was a private school for which many families could not afford the modest fees and the public school serving the area was too far away for most children to walk to, therefore many children in the village were not able to attend school at all. Pictured to the left are Richard and his late grandmother, Namuddu Teddy Tereeza, age 91. She was a retired teacher and donated her land in the village to be used for the new school.
For the development of this project, Richard and Isaac registered in their home country a nonprofit organization called A Bright Child-Uganda (ABC-Uganda).
For the development of this project, Richard and Isaac registered in their home country a nonprofit organization called A Bright Child-Uganda (ABC-Uganda).
Isaac, seen in the foreground, arranged for Marilyn, along with Richard, to visit the "tree" school. There was only one teacher and the only equipment consisted of a few benches, one small chalkboard leaning against the tree behind the students, and a rusty tire rim hanging on the tree, functioning as the school bell, rung each morning to alert children that it was time to get ready for school since there are no clocks in the village. When it rained, the students all had to pack into the teacher's small house on the property. The plan was for this school to be incorporated into the new one. We broke ground in July, 2016 but due to a number of unforeseen delays, another organization built a primary school in the area before we could finish construction. In October, 2016, Isaac and Marilyn met with local residents of Sserinya and four neighboring communities to see what other needs we could meet with this facility. Their feedback was that the greatest benefit would be the establishment of a vocational skills training center and they provided input as to what classes were desired. We are happy to say that with your support, One Future at a Time raised funds to complete this vital project and ABC-Vocational Skills Center became operational at the end of July, 2017. The first two classes were dressmaking/tailoring and sweater-making (machine knitting), which are particularly useful for local production of school uniforms as well as clothing and other items. Adult literacy has also been taught.
ABC-Uganda later "inherited" and for a few years operated a nearby primary school which also received and occasionally still receives support from One Future at a Time.
In addition to our collaboration with ABC-Uganda, we have also partnered with other Ugandan organizations, where we participated in outreach programs in remote areas to empower children, and especially girls, to stay in school. The root causes we are addressing are as diverse as inability to pay school fees, child marriage, and lack of menstrual hygiene supplies.
One Future at a Time also provides scholarships and access to healthcare that would not otherwise be affordable or available.
ABC-Uganda later "inherited" and for a few years operated a nearby primary school which also received and occasionally still receives support from One Future at a Time.
In addition to our collaboration with ABC-Uganda, we have also partnered with other Ugandan organizations, where we participated in outreach programs in remote areas to empower children, and especially girls, to stay in school. The root causes we are addressing are as diverse as inability to pay school fees, child marriage, and lack of menstrual hygiene supplies.
One Future at a Time also provides scholarships and access to healthcare that would not otherwise be affordable or available.
