A group of 17 volunteers from Treasure vally Church of Christ in Boise Idaho USA blessed our Chidren's Sure House project in Ssese Island, Maboga Village, Kalangala district when they came to voluntalily construct construct a modern 4 classroom block at our CSH project.
When children graduated from top class, nursery or pre-primary, they could not walk a 5 KM distance through the forest and palm trees to a government school. This problem hindered Maboga fishing village from acquiring education to a high school level.
At 8years, most of the kids resorted to fishing, encouraged by their parents in order to support the family income, thus a vicious circle of poverty and iliteracy. It is against this background that CSH agreed to come to this community in 2009 to participate in the development of this community.
AMORUSO HOUSE
Amoruso house was donated by a brave, good hearted young girl called Danielle Amoruso.
Introduced to CSH by disciples in Potamack Church of Christ in Virginia USA in 2011, Danielle contributed money through her community and came herself to participate in building this house. Today, the house is used as a dormitory for volunteers and classroom for kids in Primary One. Thank you Danielle!!!
With funds donated by volunteers from Treasure Valley Church of Christ in Boise Idaho, we were able to construct a dinning hall, School toilets, volunteers showers and toilets, two wooden houses used as staff houses and stores, volunteer's Model house and cleared/sprayed the dense forest.
CSH is therfore appealing to volunteers to come and support us in building this school, teach in classrooms and engage in other community development works.
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This is a one bedroom house with a sitting room ideal for long term volunteers.
This house is called WEIDNER
The school project is seperated from the volunteer's accommodation. However, kids use some of those rooms as classrooms until the 4 classroom school block is finished.
The dinning hall is finished and volunteers use it. Our CSH cheff is educated well to prepare good food. However, long term volunteers cook for themselves.
Fish is always on the menue since this project is located on the island. Talapia and Nile Patch fish are more common.
However, if you do not eat fish, there is much vegitables and meet is slaughtered only on Saturday unless if you slaughter for your self
Cooking is done by firewood, gass cooker and chacoal. Other foods are purchase from the mainland, Masaka town or Kampala. Transport to and from the island is by ferry freely donated by government.
Short-term volunteers are working hand in hand with our local experienced builders in the picture below. They organize money for the buildings before they come. They come with money to cater for themselves with the help of CSH/Flamart both for Project and their Upkeep. It is always fun serving God's children in this way.
Kalangala district has a total area of 9,066.8 sq. km of which the land area covers 432 sq. Kms or 4.8 per cent while open water covers 8,604.9 Sq. kms or 94.91 per cent. The rest of the surface is occupied by wetlands. The district is administratively divided into 2 counties, 6 sub-counties and one urban centre, Kalangala Town Council.The sub-counties and Town Council are further sub-divided into a total of seventeen parishes. Bugala Island, commonly known as Kalangala, is the largest among all the 84 islands that are surrounded by the waters of Lake Victoria. The island is gifted with most of the beautiful beaches in the country.
Population.
According to the 2002 population census, there were 34,766 people in the district, but this figure increased to more than 50,000 people in 2007 with population growth rate now estimated at 8.5% and the increase is attributed to the high net rate of Immigration as many people have migrated to Kalangala in search for jobs at the BIDCO oil palm project.
Life on Ssese island.
The sudden population explosion in Kalangala district has sparked off fears, because of the limited resources in the district. Fishing is the main economic activity in the islands complemented by trading, farming, timber sawing, services and tourism. Poor childcare, zero access to education for illegal immigrants and locals, poor transport links between the mainland and the district headquarters as well as between islands that makes the whole area very isolated from the rest of the country, the migratory tendencies of the fishermen, in search of better fish catch, deter and complicate the provision of social services. BIDCO, a private palm oil processor based in Jinja, maintains a 15,000 acres (6,100 ha) palm oil plantation in the district. In addition, out grower farmers grow palm oil on contract with BIDCO and sell their produce to the processor.
Other peculiarities on the island include prostitution that has greatly increased the risk of HIV, constant deaths of people as they go fishing either by the boats capsizing due to heavy waves, crocodile attacks which has increased the number of orphans and besides, the island has got many species of monkeys that damage their crops and so most of the children miss school to go to gardens so that they can scare away monkeys increasing the levels of illiteracy.people live in small villages called fishing villages with houses congested in a small areas
Education.
The status and quality of Education in Kalangala is highly lagging behind to a point that in 1997 the district ranked last in the Primary Leaving Examinations with none of P.7 leavers scoring a first grade and it is attributed to the general lack of education facilities and qualified staff in the district. The district is known to have the lowest number of schools in the country estimated at 17, nine of which are non-permanent. All the schools are poorly equipped and facilitated in terms of qualified teachers, scholastic materials and structures. It was reported that eight schools are located on the main island, Buggala, while the rest are poorly distributed in the remaining 83 islands. It was further reported that in the whole of Kalangala District, there is only one secondary school located in the Town Council, whose standard is considered to be very low compared to similar schools elsewhere.
CSH Ssese Island project
Ssese Island project is our newest initiative that was started by Martin and Flavia Mpanga of Children’s Sure House in 2009. The truth is that HIV/AIDS has claimed many people because of their life style and characterized by prostitution. Many parents or caretakers do not see the need of their kids going to school when they can bring money through fishing in a short-run whereas education brings money in a long-run culminating into a vicious circle of poverty and iliteracy, not to mention the long distance and a need to sensitize them. It is agains this background that CSH came to Maboga village to innitiate the construction of a modern Primary School for the community.
Participation
Children’s Sure House appeals to you to sign up for voluntary service to participate in the development process of this project and the country at large.
Number of children at the school
The need is very enormous but we are currently focusing our attention on 70 children who are sofar attaining education in nursery section.
Project and Volunteers
Day to day activities.
You will be working at the school project in the morning and the afternoon you will be visiting community members in the company of the project officials. Among the afternoon activities will include games with kids, interaction with local fishermen, pool table tenements fishing and resting.
Transportation
Ssese Island is located in Lake Victoria in the south western part of Uganda. It is accessible by road through Bukakata (an inland port in Masaka district) to Bugoma, (an inland port in Kalangala district) using the Bukakata- Bugoma Ferry. A new ferry has been brought for easy access.
Accommodation
All volunteers will be accommodated in our Flamart volunteers camp. The is so far no running water BUT with God's grace,nwe may have it soon.
Food and Beverages
Food will be prepared and served at the project. There will be a special team of caterers to cook and serve for big groups NOT long term-volunteers.
At all times, volunteers will choose with in them a pair that will help in the preparations (cooking, washing the dishes). There will be breakfast, lunch and dinner which will be served at the dinning table.
On all occasions, the team will have enough beverages (water) needed for the volunteers at the project stores.
Transportation All volunteers will be picked from the airport and dropped back to the airport on their return dates. There is a budget for that program which is catered for by the volunteers.
Hospital
The major hospitals are in Masaka Town which is a one hour drive, we have a Health 5 in Kalangala town on the island which is a 30minutes drive from the project. Otherwise, there is also a clinic in the neighborhood for simple ilinesses.