Directing the scenic route

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The driving force behind UYWEFA is Ronald Bagenda. Ronald wakes at 4am to go to Kampala to buy meat for his butcher business. In Uganda most butchers only sell one type of meat, so he sells beef from a little glass cabinet next sharing his licence with another butcher’s next door. He works until he has sold his day’s stock (usually until around 12), making around 4,000-5,000 day (a little over £1) and then devotes his afternoons to directing UYWEFA.

His passion for helping the community is outstanding and I am occasionally sceptical of his motivations such is the sacrifice he makes. He is currently trying to build his own house and has taken out a loan to finance it, as he struggles to repay he is having his assets repossessed. I wonder if he would be better served devoting his efforts to his business and forgetting about UYWEFA but I think a genuine desire to help people and a common Ugandan trait of wanting status in the community drives him on.

With limited formal education, management skills or support from anyone else he can be incredibly frustrating to work with. Frequently we will agree to concentrate on a specific programme only for Ronald to become involved in organising the president’s visit, political campaigning for himself or others or embroiled in other UYWEFA work like acting as a mediator between a foreign sponsor and a Ugandan lady living in Kampala. He also lacks that crucial ability to persuade people to part with their money and has been jaded by broken promises of donations from politicians and the local council.

This is also one of his endearing qualities as he does not seem to be interested in making money for himself or be interested in playing the corrupt game necessary to raise money from Ugandan politicians. He is, like many Ugandans, a fantastic orator and can be an excellent community mobiliser when he dedicates his time to it, bringing people together with frustrating ease. When he is steered in the right direction, and more crucially is around, UYWEFA feels like it has massive potential.

In other (related) news we were due to begin construction of the nursery on Monday. The labourer we hired turned up in a suit jacket (albeit late) and I enjoyed the sight of him bowling around the timber yard in his suit jacket, trousers and sandals. We have been delayed by political and business wrangling as, despite constant pestering, Ronald had not gained signed approval from the Local Council committee and one member decided that she was going to be obstructive. Having got the go-ahead, we then had a struggle secure reduced price building materials from a disused school that had been ‘promised’. Finally, we started today with a less well-turned out but more reliable and punctual labourer. I am trying to get Ronald to start working on fundraising the rest of the money and get our volunteer teachers (they have apparently been recruited) together so that we can start training them. We will see how it goes…..

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Photos

The beginnings of a new education
Working on the 'education centre', the plan is that it will house a nursery in the morning and adult literacy, training etc. in the afternoon. Our master plan has been to build half of it now in the hope that we will attract more community interest, and funding, later.