The Rubanda Solidarity School – A Community Based Organization

In 2002 the HIV/AIDS epidemic was at its peak in Southwestern Uganda near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo. In the small village of Rubanda three orphans were adopted by a mother who already had 9 children of her own. When asked by one of her sons “how will you take care of them?” she answers “I’m not worried, God will provide.” Soon afterward 5 chickens were donated by neighbors to the family, a chicken house was built and other local women pitched in to help start a soon thriving business. Within a year the chicken farm was providing for the needs of the family and ultimately, the community at large. Out of this humble experience of shared sacrifice and community action the concept of a unified community movement was born. Named the Rubanda Solidarity Development Association (RSDA) a Nursery and Primary school were ultimately opened in 2005 serving 120 children. The goal was to help disadvantaged children in rural Southwestern Uganda achieve a quality education in a safe environment, provide them with adequate food (and clothing if necessary), and at the same time improve the local community’s standard of living.

The program was started by Father Dominic Tumusiime, an ordained priest in the Order of the Apostles of Jesus. He grew up in this community and is the son of the woman who started the community business. He has been giving back to the Rubanda community ever since he left. The program has grown every year and now educated 260 children (190 of which board there) grades kindergarten through sixth. The ultimate goal is to have both primary and secondary schools in the area that up until now has had very poor educational opportunities.

The town of Rubanda is a rural village of approximately 2,000, located in the district of Kabale only a short distance from the Uganda borders with both Rwanda and Congo. The area is primarily agricultural, but despite family owned subsistence farms located on the terraced green hillsides, poverty and hunger and rampant. Tourists do visit the nearby Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park to see gorillas as well as scenic Lake Bunyonyi, but for the most part the area is impoverished and isolated. HIV/AIDS has hit this area particularly hard. The RSDA serves as the guiding influence in the community to focus attention on their needs such as clean water, providing food for their children, solar and generator power, access to health care, as well as community education. Any resources that the Rubanda School develops such as power, water and crops are shared with the local population. Hence, the term “solidarity” is a sign of the mutal dependence between the primary school and the town of Rubanda.

One of the key tenets of the school is to provide food for the students. In 2005-2006 three college students from Roma Tre University in Rome studied the effects of poverty on Rubanda. In an unpublished study they revealed that insufficient food was the major cause for kids dropping out of nursery and primary school. From the time of the school’s founding three meals a day have been provided for all pupils and staff. Leftover food is shared with the community. The school raises much of its own food in adjacent gardens but still needs to purchase large quantities of beans, grains and vegetables.

Another of the key principles or goals of the RSDA program is to provide opportunities for girls and women. It is estimated that 70% of home responsibilities are shouldered by women yet they lack even basic property rights or the ability to handle financial affairs. The Rubanda School makes a concerted effort to assist girls to achieve awareness, equal education, learn income generating skills and to feel empowered.

Problems facing this region include poverty, hunger, AIDS, runaway and orphaned children, and vandalism. The school tries to address all of these problems but is limited by the financial resources they have. They live in the heart of the African equatorial thunderstorm belt and yet they don’t even have lightning rods to protect the children. (Just recently 17 children and a teacher were killed in one storm by a lightning in another school in Uganda.) This area also sits in the sub-Saharan epicenter for malaria and yet the dormitories lack mosquito nets, a proven effective measure for decreasing the impact of the disease. Each year Fr Dominic and the school board hope to add a new class of incoming students yet they lack dormitory space and necessary classrooms. They have rapidly outgrown their present capacity.

All funding for the project including the salaries of the 18 teachers comes from tuition and donations. Many families cannot afford the approximately $400/year that it costs to feed, clothe, house, and educate one child. This is more than most families make in one year. The school gets no funding from the Uganda Ministry of Education nor from any church or religious order. Currently serving 260 children ages 4 through 12 (180 of whom are boarders) they accept students from all cultural and religious backgrounds. Although there is a strong religious influence which provides the moral fiber and context for the education it is considered a private, secular institution.

As the school tries to grow and keep pace with the needs of the children and of the community, adequate and sustainable sources of funding must be found. Tuition and donations to this point meet only a small part of the anticipated budget. The school has immediate needs for a new dormitory to house another 50-60 students, solar panel expansion to meet their energy needs, new and improved means to bring clean water from the nearby mountains for the school as well as the town, mosquito nets for all of the beds, lightning rods for all of the buildings, basic school supplies and books, and adequate and sustainable sources of food. Their task in daunting and seems unachievable at times. Yet, when you look at all that has been accomplished to this point, nothing seems impossible.

Bruce Murray, M.D.

Father Dominic Tumusiime