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Myself and a friend, Elliot Waters, are heading to Bukoora, a village near Kabale in southwest Uganda, where we will spend a few months working directly with the local community and school. The purpose of this trip is to support the next stage of a long-running school project through a structured, collaborative programme focused on listening, planning, and practical action.
This is an independent, grassroots project that I have been running alongside Muhumuza Prosper, the school’s director, for the past eight years. We are not affiliated with any larger organisations, charities, or NGOs, and there are no external overheads or administrative costs. All funds raised through this campaign will be invested directly into the school and the ongoing development of the project.
Over the course of our time in Bukoora, we will be following a four-phase programme that prioritises community engagement, shared decision-making, and realistic next steps. The initial phase will focus on listening, discussion, and understanding local priorities. This will be followed by collaborative planning, hands-on work where appropriate, and finally reflection and preparation for the project’s next stage.
Project Background
This school project has been running for over eight years. Prior to the first involvement, the school was close to shutting down due to a lack of funding and was operating from a much smaller, rented building that was less safe and unsuitable for long-term use.
An initial trip eight years ago led to the construction of the school’s main four-classroom building. Since then, the project has steadily grown, with additional collaborators joining over time. Improvements have been made gradually as funding allows, focusing on durability, safety, and everyday usability rather than one-off interventions.
Over the years this has included:
- Upgrading classroom furniture, including safer desks and seating
- Providing blackboards, teaching materials, and classroom supplies
- Supporting everyday running costs such as textbooks, workbooks, chalk, lunches, and teacher salaries
In recent years, more substantial infrastructure improvements have been completed. Last year, a new toilet block and water tower were finished, and the school was connected to mains water. The toilet block is one of the best in the area, with a strong focus on hygiene: ceramic fittings, self-contained cubicles, and adjacent hand-washing basins with running water.
The year before that saw the completion of a fifth classroom, allowing the school to offer more years of education to its existing students and reducing pressure on overcrowded spaces.
Purpose of This Trip
This trip is about supporting the next steps of the project in a careful and grounded way. Rather than arriving with fixed solutions, we will work alongside the community to identify priorities and develop practical plans together.
Key aims for this trip include:
- Establishing an electricity connection for the school, ideally through a renewable, on-site system where feasible
- Setting up a basic digital facility to support learning, administration, and future educational opportunities
- Creating a wider communications network linking the school with the surrounding Bukoora community and nearby schools, to support collaboration, shared resources, and future project development
Funds raised through this campaign will support:
- Materials, assessments, and early works related to electricity and digital infrastructure
- Equipment and setup costs for basic digital and communication facilities
- Ongoing school operating costs during and after the project period
- NOT! Any travel costs, accommodation or personal expenses
This project has always been incremental, collaborative, and community-led. Your support helps ensure that progress continues in a way that is sustainable, practical, and rooted in local needs.
Thank you for supporting this next phase of the school’s development.
Organizer
