Birth Day with Heavy Rains

 God Speaks through nature

Rubanda Solidarity made it eight years old on 9th June.The celebration that always occurs in the month of June each year, is always done with the summer's dust to the hips and thirsty to the throats. But this year the story has been different.

Just after the celebration of the Holy Mass, unexpected and uncommon torrential rains filled all pots available in the school compound saving the kids from their laborious work of trekking for drinking water each day for weeks. " God has spoken to us today", one of the kids was heard whispering to her friend as rain drops started falling on their foreheads.

Throughout their  celebration, these kids sang joyfully and praised the wonder of God and his special love for kids. " He has given us Rubanda Solidarity, our school, we have knowledge and the future",they sang the verse.

Since the schools foundation, things have become different for these kids and the community. There is hope, smile and joy on their faces. They learn and play, regularly eat and sleep. They have time for God too as they sing and pray every day before they go to bed or rise. At this school, they have something unique, they have an opportunity to read the Word of God as well. "Oh we kids need to pray with God, he is our Father", one of them exclaimed playing. 

 " We are joyful and glad to God for Rubanda Solidarity for our future it constructs and our angelic voices and smiles it creates. It builds our hopes", their song continues.

However, they still have to struggle for safe and drinking water.

Parading God's Wisdom and Beauty

May 30^th was a parade day. It was amazing to see Grants Passers including visitors streaming from all  corners of the city just to converge along the Sixth Street to parade or watch the parade.

Fr. Dominic Tumusiime, AJ.from Uganda and currently the parochial vicar at St Anne’s Catholic Church too was very enthusiastic when invited by his friends and St Anne’s Catholic school kids to the parade and he has this to share with you.

Hearing of the “parade day”, I though of a match full of fun, jokes and music. On the contrary, it was a parade of “God’s Wisdom and Successes”. I may be wrong but that was my profound experience of the event and the day.

Arriving an hour and a half before the commencing time, we sat a long the street in front of a mini shop which later was said to be a bar. We eventually crossed over to the other side to find a more convenient and suitable place to watch the parade.

We sat down as we watched people move about: young kids as well as old folks, short and tall, small and big all dressed for the parade. I was amused by the styles, colors, postures and moods that shook the whole street as I eagerly waited for what would come next.

At exactly 10:00am, a salute by the police motor cycles’ match opened the parade, it was superb but short. Then a fleet of long trucks and others passed by to my endless excitement.  As time went on, my concept of the parade as fun changed. It became instead, that the Wisdom and Beauty of God was being paraded. Wow, I exclaimed within myself because this event clearly revealed to me why this country is a great nation.

Still speechless, a friend passing by said to me “Do you have such parades in Africa?” “Oh yes, but of a different nature”, I quietly replied. It was at this moment that the long awaited St Anne’s School of Angels approached and I could not bear their angelic voices and match but joined them in the parade.

Later on, I revisited the question, “Do you have such parades in Africa?” Yes, we do, but poor populations have more sufferings to parade than successes. “Each day has its own troubles”, an African saying goes. The poor believes that it’s God who gives the key to go through the odds of daily life out of his mercy and love”. Poor people, therefore, parade a litany of their daily sufferings to God who provides bread to the hungry, nurses the poor patients, educates the orphans, instructs the hearts of the poor, consoles widows and widowers, shepherds the nations, strengthens the immunity against a hip of diseases,  disinfects sick waters and foods and provides mosquito nets to this endless parade

Hence, no matter what kind of parade one is in, what’s important is God’s common Wisdom and Providence. He provides rain and sun to all for a purpose: To live, Love and Share; to seek and to defend the poor. All parades are dependent on Him, and can only find true meaning in Him.

Please, to read more about African parades post a comments in the window provided below, click enter and we will be right there to attend to you.

Fr Dominic Tumusiime, AJ

Visionary Staff Teams go soccer

Teachers are Parents, they teach by their own example

Rubanda Solidarit (R) Vs Bright Future(L)

A few days a go the two staff teams of Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/Primary School  and Bright Future primary school  had a staff football fun in Kandihe community stadium.

What's common about these two young institutions of education is that they are all found in the same community/environment, began almost at the time and have the same target of quality education for kids to make life better.

Rubanda Solidarity Staff team 2011

Until 2004, when Rubanda Solidarity Development Association initiated the birth of Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/Primary School, there was no private school for kids in Rubanda community at all. Shortly after the beginning of Rubanda Solidarity school, Bright Future was born too. These two private institutions have brought new hope to the whole community and more so to the young generation. They are transforming the community through the provision of quality education, employment opportunities to community members, education support through bursaries, payments of fees in kind, extra.
Rubanda Solidarity administration is totally  convinced that this is the only way to change society. A society disparately fighting to make both ends meet can only be assisted by offring quality education so that through it they are empowered to look for their own bread. Education does not only create new attitudes but liberates the mind.
 
Sports in general and Football in particular is another wonderful means to change negative attitudes in community, because it bridges two souls together. And indeed Rubanda Solidarity and Bright Future are succeeding in this. The two institutions are developing mechanisms to keep this vision sustainable and clear to the point. For we believe that through sports we can reach the emotions of our young people and learn how to tame ours as well.And if education means anything at all, its to equip the mind and body for the life ahead of us. It provides life skills for a better future.

Our Kids' new home @ a glance

Long range view of Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/Primary school

Could you imagine that this home was non existent a few years a go?

Its origin and existence is the growing concern of our kids in Rubanda community.
Between November 2005 and February 2006 a team of three students, Morgan, Valentina and Dominic from the Roma Tre University in Rome conducted an unpublished research in Rubanda community. The research focused on finding out levels of human development in areas of ; Health, Education, household incomes, maternal and child care, Why kids resent school and youth drop out soon, sanitation, water and environment , extra.

It was amazing to discover the hips of untold stories.The most fascinating story is of why kids continuously resented school. The findings of this research identified lack of food the major factor.  Children do not eat enough dinner and if they do, they have nothing left to pack for lunch at school.

As if this was not enough reason, schools are miles away from most of the households. Many kids have to wake up so early, before parents could prepare anything they can afford for breakfast to go to school. Kids are very sharp, they know quite well that if they do go to school then the little food prepared during their absence will be eaten by their little brothers and sisters at home who haven't reached the age of school.  

This finding prompted Fr Dominic Tumusiime in 2004 to initiate a study class at St. Andrews primary school, a government school program that didn't provide school meals to kids either. The only request for the enrollment of kids to parents and guardians was 5,000 Ugandan Shillings equivalent to 2 US$  then, for providing to offer a mag of porridge for the kid each morning. We got 90 kids enrolled and I remember requesting for a community volunteer as a teacher. A tree became our first classroom and kids loved it for fresh air and natural grass carpet.

At the end of the year 2004, and evaluation was conducted by Fr. Dominic Tumusiime and Sr.Stellamaris Kyasiimire together with the kids' parents and guardians. The results were unbelievable. I remember one mother narrating that she no longer had morning wars with her kids as she used to have in the past year. "Now our kids wake us up to go to school and when we ask them why, " we do not want to find breakfast over, they say", she narrated.

However, they observed other two issues. The issue of congestion having meals infront of other kids who had none. And I remember another lady saying, " now the year is getting over, where are we going to put our kids, return them where they were resenting?".
With these ideas among others, the study project proved successful and a resolution to unite as a community and begin a private Rubanda Solidarity nursery and Primary School was finally carved and concluded.

In 2005, amidst the lack of funds and any infrastructure, 120 kids were enrolled. A house of one of the community member was hired and from scratch, the school started its official journey as "a new home for our kids" in the spirit of Solidarity. The more time passed, the more it came to be known near and far. Friends from the community and outside started to stream to this little mustard seed bed. Today come and see, we  have a new outlook. Things have since changed and on June 9th our new home marked its 7th anniversary. Many things, all in the interests of our kids and the community have been achieved but a lot still remains to be done.

Just look at the picture above and have your say. Most of our structures are temporal and our nursery section needs a separate location to facilitate administration and services to little kids. Remember, where there is the will, there is the heart.With you joining our efforts many more miracles can be done for our kids.

If you feel interested to know more about our "new home for kids", just send s a post on the space provided for you below and then click enter, we will be with you shortly.

Sick Water Sick Population

Our Kids need Safe Drinking Water

Look at this Unsafe Drinking Water for our kid's!,

Sick water like this infects many kids in Rubanda

If there is any horrifying story in Rubanda  is the sick water and its scarcity.

Rubanda has a hilly landscape which means one finds households scattered all over in the valleys as well as on top and on the hilly slopes.
 

Kids scramble for the only available water source

Like a duty ordained, its mostly mothers and children who spend daily long hours tracking for drinking water. Its incredible.

However, Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/Primary School is working hard to make a difference by applying a manageable technique of water harvesting in spite of its meager finances.

It's the organization's priority and mission to improve the life situation of which provision of healthy water is just one ingredient of basic needs for our kids. But its a slow process due to limited resources.

Development shock for kids:  Children at Rubanda Solidarity School like in their home are forced to pick up their little containers(jerrycans) every early morning and first rush to the well to fetch water before they can enter their class . Otherwise they would not have their meal when out of class.

Kids spend most of their childhood tracking for water.

Other times, children spend a day or so without drinking water because it's not available or is too sick that the child can't withstand it.Water that is described as "life" is precious even before its claimed "safe" in Rubanda.
Many times we see the situation and just close our eyes. To see people literary searching and scrambling  for drinking water as in a hunting game is absurd and is pushed to question why such suffering.

Women and children bear the harsh situation finding safe and drinking water. Many times they wake up in the middle of the night only  to walk and converge at the only well in the village. This may take them hours to get their containers filled depending on the size of the line and the pressure of the dripping water.


Its a drama of water. We always educate our kids that water is life and if you have safe drinking water you have a health stomach and a healthy mind. Our struggle is how to improve the quality of life for our kids by providing them with access to safe drinking water.

To know more about life without safe drinking water in Rubanda please just post a comment to Rubanda Solidarity through the space provided below and soon we will connect you.

"Two Doves" is Our Logo

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

You are most welcome to our "Rubanda "Community Blogger

We do many things human beings need but most of all for our little children.

We care 4Kids like Two Doves do! 

We have kids languishing out there as Orphans or vulnerable, Youths dropped out of school, widowed ladies and mothers who are so overburdened by poverty and disease that they can hardily think of tomorrow's burdens.They just want to survive today.

The founding of Rubanda Solidarity Development Association (RSDA), in 2002 was in answer to this missery that needed urgent Solidarity.
And today, just to mention, we have Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/Primary school started  in 2004.

Our main mission with this school is to improve children's livelihoods through provision of quality education that stems from the provision of basic needs like better shelter, regular and nutritious meals, clean and safe drinking water, light and more to these less fortunate kids. Many times life is horrible 4kids even in their homes.

They go through the whole day without a meal or have it but not enough or enough but not nutritious or nutritious but not adequate . Its unimaginable.   With RSDA school, things are different though still limited.

At the beginning of this association, I couldn't think of a proper and good name, enough to portray my vision, mission and objectives. However, poverty and HIV/AIDS were a vicious circle on which all inspiration came from. Then one night, like a dream a vision of two doves strenuously working to provide for the future life of their siblings, came clear to me. What was left was to interpret it in relevancy to the situation at hand.  Without hesitation, two doves represented "Peace" which is a responsibility of both father and mother (two doves again), two ages or siblings are their kids under their guard.

That's our Logo. We work hard to improve the livelihoods of the community but remember it wouldn't be possible to move a finger without 'Solidarity".

 To know more about our solidarity initiatives just post a comment in the space provided below, click send and soon you will get us ready for you.

God bless

"Life is like a Flower"

l

Like a flower that  flowers in the morning and withers away by evening, so is life. Live it profitably when you can.

Walking together through the jungles of Mugahinga Mts.-Uganda

This is not to echo hopelessness in life but offer a trick to a wisdom that strengthens life instead.

A flower from the southern highlands of  Ethiopia.

Once faced with bitter realities of life, remember that everything has its time line. Like a flower that flowers in the early mornings and fades away by evening so is our life. If its good give glory to God and enjoy it and when bitter with courage and confidence pray and remember that it will soon pass by  because all has its time. Have a hope filled journey.

This is what RSDA is about: Fighting poverty together is the key to success. The wisdom here is "Solidarity". For Life Shared, is Life Lived. Making life shared makes it possible to walk through the jungles of life contrary to life alone that would breed poverty into eternity.

"Solidarity" staff walk through the jungles of life! 

The top photo is the supporting staff of volunteers of Rubanda Solidarity Nursery/primary school who are dedicated to make a difference in changing the life conditions of the community through children quality education support program.
They are courageously walking together through the jungles of life to find new life for orphans and less fortunate kids of Rubanda community.  They do a good deal  and are all anxious to see what stands in the future for their 260 kids under their care. They also working hard for their first 24 candidates who are due to sit for their grade seven Uganda  Primary Leaving  Examination (UPLE) next year 2012. They are confident that their journey too will be approaching the end of the jungle with excellent results. Please, keep them in your heart and prayers.

And if you feel attracted to join our solidarity journey all for the interest of our little kids, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Just scroll down, post a comment in the window provided below and click enter. There you're and we shall perfectly satisfy your quest.

God bless you