Update from BHW Uganda Partnership Facilitator

Key People: Timothy and Jennifer Kakooza

This report has been compiled following a lengthy discussion with Timothy on 30th April. 

Current Situation

Timothy says that he is doing very well and that the schools are moving forward, although there are some significant challenges there. 

1) The government has raised teachers' salaries in the government schools and the challenge that was faced by both Katosi and Mbale Schools was the loss of teachers to government schools as they were being paid more. They lost William and James from Katosi but still have 38 teachers there and nine at Mbale.

2) There is an ongoing issue with water production. The well that provides water for the Katosi school is not producing good quality water and there is a need for a water purification system. He is also wanting to install tanks to harvest rainwater from the roofs of the school.

3) Five to seven years ago a donor provided mattresses for the boarding part of the school. Those mattresses are now very old, and they are keen to replace these.

4) There is an ongoing issue imposed by the government that all teachers must have degrees by 2029. In addition, the government has closed the Uganda teacher training college insisting that teacher trainees go to university to get their degree. This poses a big challenge as most teachers are simply not in a position to do this.

5) The economic situation improved slightly after the COVID pandemic was over but there has now been an extremely big decline. Some of those reasons relate, in the Katosi area, to poor fishing methods which have resulted in a decline in fishing stocks and output. The government has also wanted to control the situation and has stopped “illegal” fishing. The government wanted to restore the fish stocks in the lake, which is reasonable, but many people are suffering as a result due to loss of income. A similar thing has happened with the timber business. Until recently there were timber businesses around Katosi but now almost all of the firewood forests have been cut down. It has also become very expensive to cook food at the school. This is a flow on effect from the loss of firewood and also national issues around the use of charcoal for cooking which the government is opposed to notwithstanding that the vast majority of the country uses charcoal for cooking. 

Schools

At Katosi Secondary School (Winners School) there are 224 students. At Katosi Community School there are 514. Timothy tells me that Mbale school currently has 138 students enrolled although there have always seemed to me to be many more children there. At Katosi there are approximately 300 boarders, needing to be fed and looked after every day. 

Mbale Church Plant

There has been a church planted in Mbale. In Timothy's words it is struggling but it is moving forward. The fellowship attracts approximately 30 people every Sunday. Given the extremely poor and deprived nature of the Mbale area this is very encouraging. 

Babies' Home

Timothy also continues to be concerned about the babies' home which has significant financial challenges. He raises this with me in almost every discussion. From my perspective, and having visited it on two occasions, it looks to be a very well-run home and nursery school. Because Timothy has started this without reference to Bright Hope World, I do not see that we would have a role with it, but it does point to the compassion and care shown by Timothy and Janepher and their commitment to those who have nothing.

Ideas for the Future

Timothy is actively looking for land to grow food and produce to assist in feeding the children in the school. They have located some land and are in the process of raising funds to purchase it to grow food.

A maize mill is still a realistic possibility. They are in the process of getting land to grow maize and beans, and there is room on it for a mill. They are putting together a funding budget for the mill. This might be something for Bright Hope World to consider assisting with in the future.

The other idea that Timothy raised was some form of microfinance loan programme. I have been very clear with him over the years that, if he had appropriate leadership to manage the programme, I would be willing to recommend to the Bright Hope World Executive that we consider supporting some form of microloan or table banking programme. I have let Timothy know that our process is to start small and grow the fund over time. Timothy has always proven to be a reliable and faithful partner and I certainly see that seeding some form of table banking programme, if it were well run, would be a wonderful idea. 

Comments

Timothy remains really appreciative of the support that has been provided by Bright Hope World so consistently over the years. He does not take the fact that we have a long-term relationship lightly. He is really appreciative of what has been achieved with Bright Hope World’s and the donors’ support.

He is going to provide me with a proposed budget for both the grinding mill and also potentially for the microloan programme. I have provided him with a copy of Jacklyne Ogutu's booklet, Foundations for Finance, as this shows our direction for table banking and microfinance. 

Janepher is doing extremely well. In addition to all her other responsibilities she is continuing on with the farming on the small piece of land that they have. 

In summary, we had a great discussion. It is wonderful to hear how people like Timothy and Janepher are proceeding, and also the aspects of the ministry and vision that Bright Hope World might be able to come alongside and support.