New Kabala Fundraiser

New Kabala, a school outside of Kampala, is one of the Educate! partners. All of the Educate Scholars have started Social Entrepreneurship Clubs, or SECs, at their schools that are open to any student. New Kababla is intending to start up a poultry business in order to raise school fees for students without enough financial resources to pay. Sadly, many kids drop out of school because they cannot afford the $60 in school fees.

However, first, the school must raise enough money to invest in the poulty operation. Where to get the capital? They decided to have a "Welcome Parents Day" where they would sell a Ugandan meal and snacks to raise funds.

This type of initiative is not common in Uganda. Unfortunately, there are some cultural barriers that discourage entrepreurial efforts. Many Ugandans believe that the highest accomplishment for a student is to get a job with the Revenue Authority, where salaries are the highest. Many also believe that starting a business should be left for people of Indian descent, Muslims, and students that didn't complete school. This was a shocking cultural bias to learn.

The students raised about 90,000 Ugandan Shillngs, about $45, which is significant if you consider that most Ugandans in rural areas make about $1 a day. A few more fundraiser and they'll start the poultry business that will provided fees for many students annually.

This is Mugisha. Mugisha is the president of the SEC and a driven, outspoken leader, traits not common in Ugandan Schools. The Ugandan school system is based on rote memorization to prepare the students to pass state tests. Creativity and individuality are not encouraged and even resisted in some cases. Educate works hard to inspire students to embrace their individuality and become leaders in their communities. Mugisha also won second place in an Educate Essay Contest which asked students to express their vision of a better community and future for themselves.

Dawn moonset