Jjongoza Rotary Community Corps, D-9200 No. 61815 »

By Rtn. Aloysius Lwanga Bukenya (Rev. Fr. Dr.).

This is a narrative of a success story of the people of a rural community of the Jjongoza village (in Rakai District) that is making a positive attempt to transform their lives and those of their neighbourhood without waiting for the intervention of the Uganda Government. The members of the community have learnt that during the time of presidential and local elections they receive many promises from candidates of political posts. Once the elections are done, the residents return to their old states of life which are characterized by poverty, ignorance, disease, hunger and underdevelopment, in a village that does not have an infrastructural formula. In order to survive, the community enveloped itself into cynicism, which is expressed through disbelief and lack of trust of any persons who promise positive contributions to the residents. For example, one old woman, called Namakula (not real name) said, ‘I have been in this village for forty-five years, I have never seen a leader who fulfils his promises. This young man, Bukenya, cannot be different from the rest of the people. I will not put my brains into the pack of lies that he is offloading here.’
Namakula’s comments came as a response to Fr. Bukenya, a Roman Catholic Priest, and a Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Kajjansi, who proposed that the residents had the potential to transform their lives if they came together as a Rotary Community Corp. Fr. Bukenya explained that the goals of a Rotary Community Corps include:

• To encourage individuals to take responsibility for the improvement of their communities;

• To recognize the dignity and value of all useful occupations

• To mobilize self-help activities and collective work to improve the quality of life, and

• To encourage the development of human potential to it’s fullest, within the context of local culture and community.

He explained to them the benefits of coming together as community corps which included:

• Planting seeds of community pride, teamwork and shared responsibility;

• For members to gain access to educational and vocational training from projects, to gain skills and knowledge which they can pass on to future generations;

• Of course, because the Rotary Community Corps was to be sponsored by Rotary Club of Kajjansi, it means that members of the Jjongoza RCC have to work with a professional body of men and women who commit themselves to work for fairness, truthfulness and holistic benefit to all the concerned (see the Four Way Test). This would build confidence in a community who had lost hope in the goodness of humanity, because they had quite often been offered empty promises.

The first offer that came to the village was water, and a toilet, thanks to Mary Tennant, a past president of the Rotary Club of Brunswick Coast, D-7780, in the State of Maine, U.S.A. She partnered with the Rotary Club of Kajjansi,

D9200, to provide three 10,000 litre plastic water tanks, a toilet block to a school and two protected water wells. At that time, water was seen as a major point in the village. When Rtn Theresa Baganja, commissioned the water tanks and the other facilities, the residents celebrated. The cause for joy in the village was for a number of reasons including the fact that all that was promised was delivered, and without any strings attached to the offers. Secondly, the water projects made a remarkable impact in the lives of the communities.

The schools are enabled to harvest and save water, so that children are spared the long distances to the swamps to collect water for drinking and cooking. The toilet facility that was provided to St Gerald’s Kyango Primary School was much awaited, but the local government had not succeeded to provide the funds. The involvement of the Rotary Clubs of Kajjansi and Brunswick Coastal made the contribution that changed the lives of the community.

In March 2008, two Rotarians from D 7780, namely, Mary Tennant Margret Lonsdale visited the village; this was Mary’s second visit. The members of the Rotary Community Corps had gained the confidence to articulate their needs and to contribute to solving them. They identified a need to grow coffee, as a way to eradicate poverty from the village. They proposed the idea to the Rotarians from D 7780, and Mary and Margret readily saw the logic in the request and offered to put their time and energy to fundraise for it.

BACKGROUND OF THE COFFEE GROWING PROJECT

The residents of the village of Jjongoza experience poverty; often they lack funds for basic necessities including school fees for their children. Their poverty is exacerbated by the AIDS epidemic which has had a serious impact on the Rakai District. The residents noted that their history had been characterized by coffee production which was their major source of income in the period from 1960s – 1980s. The income from this crop provided enough income for them to live a modest rural life style. In the late 1980s viruses destroyed the coffee crop, eliminating the village residents’ source of income and resulting in the community experiencing severe poverty. They were unsuccessful in developing alternative crops. Research led to the development of Clonal coffee, a brand of coffee that is resistant to disease and can be successfully grown in the Rakai District of Uganda. Benefit/Cost analysis shows that this crop is one which can greatly benefit the residents of that District. Studies also show that investment in the agricultural sector provides greater economic benefit than investment in other sectors.

Fr. Aloysius Bukenya (RC Kajjansi) and Mary Tennant (Brunswick Coastal, D-7780) designed the Matching Grant. That aimed to provide funding to purchase the necessary items so that the residents could resume growing coffee. The members of the RCC have taken courses on modern methods to manage coffee production and have identified a favorable market to which to sell the coffee. The Jjongoza Rotary Community Corp identified twenty-seven families to participate in this pilot project. The project is to serve as a model for the other families of Jjongoza, with a percentage of the generated income used to add new members to the project. At the moment of writing this article, the money has already been disbursed to the projects account of the Rotary Club of Kajjansi, it is paying for a number of items including: organic manure (cow dung), wheelbarrows, gumboots, herbicides, Clonal coffee seedlings and tarpaulins. The community is very excited by the prospects of renewing the growing of a brand of coffee that is more resistant to disease and whose yields surpass by far the traditional crop.

OTHER PROJECTS EMBARKED ON BY THE RCC

The members of the RCC undertake regular courses into community organization, sanitation, supervision, monitoring

and jointly undertake tasks of constructing structures to improve on cleanliness. Their leader Mrs. Specioza Namatovu Lusiba who is a retired head teacher, brings into her community her professional expertise and advises on major points of improvement. The member of the Jjongoza RCC take time off to clear village paths, construct pit latrines for the needy neighbours, visit the sickly and needy widows and orphans, and work together to support each others good.

One resident commented, ‘It is wonderful to see how Rotary is transforming the lives of the village. For many years Jjongoza was cut off from the rest of the world, with no shops, no Christian Chapel, no Mosque, no health clinic and with no school. Traditionally, Jjongoza was considered a village cursed by a Monsignor, and whose prospects for development were never dreamt of. Thanks to Rotary, thanks to Rotary, we are connected to the world of development. See, how we have friends in America, Mary Tennant and Margret visited our village because they wanted to see our Rotary Community Corps. We shall always support Rotary. Now, Rotary has enabled us to grow Clonal coffee, many residents had given up on any developmental projects. Now, we believe in community action, and believe me this is only a beginning’ This resident, Mrs. Pauline Bbaale is proud to be associated with the International Humanitarian Organization.

There are three major changes that Rotary has brought to the residents of Jjongoza village: 1) It has enabled them to gain confidence in their own powers to transform their lives and those of their neighbours, 2) it has enabled them to dream as community and to come up with community projects that can help them to transform their lives, 3) It has enabled them to inspire the neighbouring village communities. For example, the residents of Kyango village have also come together and have approached the Rotary Club of Kalisizo to support them as a Rotary Community Corps, so that they can be as organized as Jjongoza.

I take this opportunity to thank the Rtn Stephen Mwanje, DGE, who inspired me to start the Rotary Community Corps, the Rotary Club of Kajjansi, the Rotary Club of Brunswick Coastal, the members of the Jjongoza Rotary Community Corps, and the local Jjongoza Village Leadership Team. Rotary is making the desired impact in the communities around the world. It is wonderful to note that the community of Jjongoza village is one key beneficiary of Rotary International.

Menu »