ARISE AND SHINE
UGANDA
Arise and Shine is a non-profit organization working in Mbrizi village in Central Uganda, whose main goal is to improve the livelihoods of the community through education, community life, and productive economy.
The initiative of improving the village came from the community itself, and until today, there has been very little outside involvement.
What makes Arise and Shine unique and different from other organizations, is the fact that the desire for change was born in the locals' minds, looking for a better life and beleiving that in order to make change in their lives, they need to do the first step themselves.
Village Background
Mbirizi village is located in Central Uganda, approximantly 120km north of Kampala. The village fell victim of war and conflict for five years (1981-1985) by the National Resistance Army (NRA), guerillas that used it as a base for their armed campaign. The war paralyzed the demographic set up, disorganized the economic and social trends leaving the area a total waste land. The village was since then abandoned and currently has a lot of challenges that need to be urgently addressed.
Mbirizi village has approximately 2,478 people, 275 households and the average of 9 people per household. 65% of the people make their living from cattle-keeping, while the rest grow crops. Due to the fact that the village is located in a very dry area which suffers from lack of water, the locals have a hard time making a living as farmers. All of this leads to extreme poverty, absence of safe drinking water, poor sanitation, and great exposure to diseases.
In addition, Mbrizi village suffers from a great lack of educaion sources. For many years, the closest school was a 8km walk from the village, a distance that was too great for many of the young children, and became impossible during the rainy season. This created a situation where most kids in the village recieved no education at all, and suffered from great degree of illiteracy.
Therefore, the organization works mainly in 2 fields:
1. Improvement of living conditions by providing clean water, health and improved sanitary conditions, as well as creating good animal farming practices.
2. Creating accessable quality education, by building a school in the village and teaching the locals different life skills that will enable them to fit in society and make for themsleves a better living.
Fulgensio Katoche
the founder tells how it all began
I was born in Mbrizi village to a family of 10 children. Since my parents did not have the means to send all of us to school, only my sister and I were chosen to go. When I was 10, my father died of Cholera after being sick for only three days, and my mother died of heart failure three months later. My siblings and I were left all alone to take care of ourselves, and work hard in order to stay in school. I worked in different jobs- cook, porter, farm boy, guard- anything I could find, in order to pay my school fees. I would work during holidays, sometimes from sunrise to sunset. Many times during my studies, I dropped out of school because I did not find a job to pay the fees. But I never gave up. I kept reminding myself that the only way to change my life is through education, and I did not want to disappoint my parents.
When I finished high school, I could not proceed to further studies, because this time my casual labor earnings could not pay the high fees of university. Having no other option, I found a job at a farm that was newly opened by German missioners. After working there for 6 months, I got an opportunity that changed the rest of my life. My boss, a German missioner, found me very devoted and hard-working, and decided to send me to India to study leadership and management. After a few months of studies, I returned to Uganda and was asked to join the management team of Emmaus Center, where I have worked in various leadership positions for 16 years. Until today I am so great-full to that generous man.
Finally, I felt I reached the life I always worked so hard for- a happy family, a fulfilling job, and a great community that surround me- all of that despite, or because, all that I have been through.
And then it was time to give back to the one place I came from, the place that more than anything, made me who I am. I looked back on my village, saw the people I grew up with, how they still live their ___ lives, and felt it could be different. Life taught me that with hard work, ambitions and belief in yourself, you could achieve almost anything. I wanted to go back to my childhood community, and aspire my friends and family not to sit around for someone to come rescue them, but to take their future in their own hands. To decide what they want their lives to look like, and start moving towards that place.
These thoughts led to the formation of "Arise and Shine Community Development Association". I see our organization as one that gives people opportunities, and helps them to learn how to use their resources and talents to succeed in life. We have been working in Mbrizi village for over 8 years, educating kids and adults, improving the village infrastructures and teaching the people how to work as a community. All of this work is done by people from the community itself, that decided to make a change in their lives, with very little outside intervention. Great things have been achieved so far, and there is much more to be done. We are looking forward to many more years of hard work!
