Kwa Moyo Magazine-english

We are building our „Kwa Moyo Children´s Village and Education Center“
in the Mbale Region in Eastern Uganda.

Africa

Uganda

„Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world“
Nelson Mandela said... we have chosen this citation as our motto.
„Kwa Moyo“ is a term in Swahili Language. Swahili is the language which is connecting all East
Africa. "Kwa Moyo" means "with heart". Thus it cannot be translated verbally, as the word
"Moyo" also stands for "soul/spirit" and for "feeling".
We have started our project with all our hearts, souls and feelings. On January 13 th 2013 we
have founded our German organisation „Kwa Moyo – Hilfe mit -Herz für Kinder in Uganda“
and on April 13 th the Ugandan organisation „Kwa Moyo – Empowering children with help from
the heart“ was founded.
Now we are moving forward by taking one small step after the other.
„Kwa Moyo – empowering children with help from the heart“ is taking care of orphans and
street children in the Mbale region.
Uganda is a republic of children – more than half of the population is younger than 14 years
of age. In Uganda there is an incredible number of orphans – more than 2 millions of them
are AIDS orphans. Many of those children are living in purely child-conducted households
where, for instance, a twelve year old boy is taking care of his siblings as the head of the
household.
We are building the „Kwa Moyo Children´s Village & Education Center“ which will comprise a
nursery, a school, a training center for skilled manual and commercial professions, 6 homes
in each of which 16 orphans can live together with a „Mummy“ in a family-like structure and a
health post.
We were able to purchase a plot of about 25 000 square meters for this purpose. and have
meanwhile passed the long procedure of land registration. By now we also have all of the
necessary permissions: the consent of the land committe as well as the approvals of the subcounty
and the local council.
The conclusive meeting regarding the project approval and the surveying took place on our
premises on July 11 th 2014.
Our Ugandan architect has finished working on the construction plans for the „Kwa Moyo
Primary School“, for the foster homes and for some annexes.
Some preliminary building measures – such as a shelter with the very important cistern and
some provisional toilets – are completed.

After the closure of the bidding procedure we will start with the construction of the first
section – the school – in September. For financial reasons the school will be built bit by bit .
This is a cost-intensive endeavour because the mere fundament will cost about 16 000 Euros.
We intent to have the fundament and the first two classrooms completed by January 2015,
so that classes can start on commencement of the new school year in February 2015.
A single class room will cost about 7 500 Euros.
In „Kwa Moyo Children´s Village an Education Center“children will be able to grow up in a
loving custodial care and at the same time they will have access to solid education and
vocational training.
Support for AIDS widows
We are supporting a group of young AIDS widows who are providing for a total of 16
children. The children concerned are not only their own children, but a majority of survivors
of late relatives. The young widows are producing the paperbead jewellery which has become
so typical for Uganda. Each of their artifacts is unique and every single piece of jewellery is
an expression of absolute lust for life. Necklaces come in different lengths and in designs of
bright colours. Bracelets come in different widths and in wonderfully combined colours. By
cooperating with us those 5 young ladies are able to send all of their children to school and
still have the means to make a living.
Education is connecting continents – our cooperation with schools
Cross-cultural communication – especially, but not only – between children and youth is
another important facet of our work. Obtaining cross-cultural competence may be a boring
term but it actually is a really exciting thing to do.
Cross-cultural means an exchange of views amongst different cultures. We want the children
and youth, here as well as in Uganda, to develop appreciation for each other´s culture and to
comprehend why the other country´s people think or act differently. We particularly want to
learn altogether how to deal with the different behaviour and to accept it in showing
openness and tolerance. Communicating at eye level can only occur by taking up a stance on
mutual appreciation.
The following pages will deliver a small insight into the situation on the ground.

Here is where our „Kwa Moyo Children´s Village and Education Center“ will arise.
We were able to purchase almost 25 000 square meters of ground

The shelter is completed – the cistern is put up and the provisional toilet
is also completed.

July 11 th 2014... Meeting with Local Council and Sub-
County Officials and Lands Committee
The poles for the fence are set.

Inspection of the grounds with Land Registry Officer, Sub-County Officials
and Local Council

Ladies´ Power – the strong team of Kwa Moyo Uganda – the board

elow: Haji, the man who sold the land to us, addressing the attendees asking
them to support the project

This is what our Foster Homes will look like
This is what our Foster Homes will look like
The cost of construction will be about 37 000 Euros
(130 million Ugs) per home.

This is what the „Kwa Moyo Primary School“ will look like.
The mere cost of construction will be about 96 000 Euros –
that’s about 330 million Ugs
We will build the school bit by bit according to our financial means.
By January 2015 two class rooms should be completed so that classes
can start on commencement of the new school year in February 2015.

Our support for AIDS widows
We are obtaining our beautiful paperbead-jewellery from women´s groups that are
coached by NACWOLA.
NACWOLA is the
National Community of
Women Living with
AIDS/HIV. We are
buying the colourful
necklaces and bracelets
from different women´s
groups. All of them are
AIDS widows. At the
moment we are mostly
buying from the young
women in the picture
below. Altogether they are 5 young widows providing for 16 children, not only their
own kids, but also children of late relatives.
Our business relation works like this: we are sending money for the ladies to buy
material. Then they produce the jewellery and we buy it from them by paying a much
better price than they would achieve at the market. The ladies are very proud about
earning enough money to make a living and for paying the school fees.
We have been supporting Rachel and Hope for several years now. Rachel is an AIDS
widow, being HIV positive
herself and heavily suffering
from Asthma. Very often she is
lacking the strength to manage
the daily routine. Nevertheless
she is doing her utmost to make
enough money for her daughter
Hope to attend a Secondary
School

Another issue that is very close to our hearts:
We are advocating for girls to have the chance to attend school on ALL DAYS
of the month
On April 18 th 2013 we visited „Afripads“ in Kampala. Afripads is having women
in rural areas of Uganda produce washable sanitary pads.
The sewers are generating an income an Afripads is selling the sets that come
in different sizes to ONGs and NGOs which are distributing them to girls.
In 2010 I (Mara) visited a market with „my“ girls aged from 15 to 17 years and
I gave each of them 20 Euros. Instead of spending the money on some nice
clothes or some „luxury items“ girls stocked up on a huge quantity of sanitary
pads.
Since that day I have been thinking about a solution for this problem. No girl in
which ever developing country can afford to buy those sanitary products. They,

therefore, often have to miss classes and not a few of them even have to quit
school because they cannot comprehend the lessons due to their times absent.
This is why we wish to start an own project for this matter in the foreseeable
future. Meaning we want to collect donations specifically for this project. We
want to achieve that all of the girls in our project area are supplied with those
washable sanitary pads so that they can steadily attend school.
Our plan is to hire some women who will visit secondary schools to instruct girls
in using those sets and also to spread them there. Each set will last for about
one year.

Here is a picture that shows almost the whole team as well as the vendor of the
plot and some neighbours
After joint debate of the Ugandan team and the German team we will
henceforth build and run :
1. A Nursery and a Primary school in the Mbale region
2. About 5 to 6 „small“ homes in each of which about 16 orphans can live
together with a „Mummy“ in a family-like structure
3. A training center for skilled manual and commercial professions
4. A farm to safeguard the demand for food of the education center´s
children on one hand and on the other hand for training young people as
farmers, and last but not least for creating an income by selling the excess
goods.

5. Support for some women´s groups – especially for AIDS widows coached
by NACWOLA
6. A small health center... this can only be implemented at a much later date
Please do support us in funding the construct in costs for the
„Kwa Moyo Children´s Village and Education center“.
Each donation – no matter how small – will help a lot!
The Kwa Moyo teams Uganda and Germany are telling you :
Webale nnyo... thank you very much
www.kwa-moyo.de