Help us build a home for the Batwa in Uganda!

This July we (Tiffany and Ann Bradbury; Emily, Eva, and Andrew Seamone) are traveling to Uganda on a service trip to assist the Batwa people and their neighbors. In 1991, the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was established as a World Heritage Site to protect the endangered mountain gorillas, and the Batwa pygmies were forced out of their rainforest home, where they had been equatorial hunters and gatherers for more than 60,000 years (they are one of the oldest people groups in Africa). They had no support, no compensation, no housing, limited job skills, and little understanding of how to survive in their new environment. As a result, they were living in extreme poverty and facing extinction.

Thankfully humanitarian groups around the world began to step in to help. We will be volunteering with these groups in Buhoma (Southwest Uganda) with the Batwa people on various projects that help the Batwa to “help themselves”. One task includes building a more stable “interlocking brick” home to replace their current huts made of banana leaves, sticks, and mud. If you would like to partner with us to build a house, we are hoping to raise $3000, which is the cost of housing materials for one home (and includes a mud and stick kitchen and pit latrine enclosure provided by the hospital). All donations are tax-deductible through the Kellermann Foundation (Kellermann Foundation, PO Box 832809, Richardson, TX, 75083; EIN 34-2018044).

Old house:

New house with interlocking bricks:

MORE INFO:

After being evicted from their forest lands, the Batwa were faced with homelessness, starvation, fatal diseases, discrimination, and poverty. They were greatly suffering physically, mentally, and spiritually. As mentioned above, humanitarian groups from around the world began to hear about the Batwa’s plight. In 2004, Dr. Scott Kellermann and Carol Kellmerann began their foundation (The Kellermann Foundation ) and partnered with the Batwa Development Program and the Bwindi Community Hospital to help the Batwa people and provide resources for health, education, outreach, and sustainable economic development. Through these groups, we will assist with various projects, including building a clay “interlocking brick” house. This is a much-improved home compared to the huts made of banana leaves, sticks, and mud (which deteriorate in a short period of time due to weather). The more complex interlocking brick house is created by compressing native soil, cement (from crushed rocks), and water, and then letting the bricks harden by drying in the sun. While there are now some brick houses, many in the community still do not have the more stable brick home.

Other projects will include working on the local schools, reading to the children in the orphanage (where mostly blind children live), helping to weave baskets for them to sell, and assisting in the community hospital and nursing school where doctors and nurses are trained from around the world. We also hope to bring several deflated soccer balls, as the children love playing the game but only have balls made of leaves. In addition, we plan to bring specialized cloth to assist with making reusable feminine products for the girls and women (females tend to miss school while they are menstruating, which can lead to dropping out of school altogether).

Thank you in advance for any donations! All amounts are welcome and helpful. We are very appreciative of your support, and we know the Batwa recipients will immensely enjoy their new home! We will keep you posted and share our work when we are over there in July.