Bugaba Island Kids

Rebuilding of the school and residential building

Bugaba Island. Home for the orphans of the Ssese Islands.

The Ssese Islands are an archipelago of 84 islands in Lake Victoria, 38 kilometres from the Ugandan mainland. One of the islands is Bugaba Island, where the school and residential building are run by Emily Nalukwago. Around 60 orphaned, abandoned and poor children find shelter, food and medical care. They live together like a big family, care for each other, cultivate the country and attend school.

First steps

Violent storms and floods severely destroyed the existing infrastructure at the end of 2019. Due to the alarming conditions, we had to act quickly. Our first step was to ensure basic supplies (food and medical care) for the orphans. By means of sponsorships, we want to ensure the education and care of the orphans in the long term. Furthermore, the construction of a new residential building has already started and the foundation of the new school building has been erected.

Reconstruction milestones

Building on our previous measures to ensure the sustainable provision of basic supplies, we are working on the ongoing improvement of the infrastructure. Our planned next steps include the construction of sanitary facilities and a system for drinking water treatment. Moreover, the renovation of the residential building and the construction of a kitchen building are urgently needed. The final important milestone is the completion of the new school building.

The old residential building on Bugaba. Heavy rain has now made the house uninhabitable.

Sleeping mats and the floor laid out with straw were no problem before the storm, but are now completely wet.

The roof of the school was leaking and so the lessons now take place outdoors.

“I took over the education of these children to show them what it means to love and be loved. Teaching them to care for each other and to show them how it is to be a family they never had.”

Emily Nalukwago | Foster mother “Island Kids Uganda”

Education is a Luxury on the island:  We want to change that.

Many parents in Uganda – and especially on the Ssese Islands cannot afford to educate their children. Most children spend their time on the streets or work to provide for their parents when they are young. As a result, they fall into a vicious cycle of poverty, from which they can hardly free themselves without help. There are only 21 primary schools and 3 secondary schools on the 84 islands.

In addition there are other reasons that make it difficult for children to attend school: Forced work with their parents, schools are too far away, high costs of transportation, materials and fees costs and seasonal relocation due to fishing. The drop-out rate is also particularly high here 75% – the statistics include only those who were ever registered for school to begin with.

The only source of income for the local population is fishing in Lake Victoria.

Typical fishing village on the Ssese Islands: improvised with simple materials. The aim is to put this on an ecological basis.

Swimming lessons for the children on Banda Island. Frighteningly many of the fisherman and their children cannot swim. These classes literally save lives.

Expertise and a lot of experiences – Our competent partner on site.

Our cooperation partner Andrew Smith has already successfully implemented a project on Banda Island, a neighboring island. A local school was built there and the infrastructure was provided with eco-friendly water treatment and a toilet compost system.

 

His tireless commitment and hands-on mentality make him the ideal partner for Stream of Life. Andrew has lived in Africa for 25 years and pitched his tents directly on Bugaba Island in 2019 to efficiently implement the planned measures.

Donations for the rebuilding of the school and orphanage

We are kindly asking for financial support to rebuild the infrastructure on Bugaba Island.