F is for Friends who Fundraise Together

Woah, another blog post?  Keep em coming, Drummond.

So let’s have an update on what’s going on.

Peace Corps emphasizes primary and secondary projects.  You know, the stuff we’re supposed to be doing to make a difference at our sites.  Well since my health center pretty much has its act together, I’ve been seeing less and less of a need for me there.  I mean sure, I give HIV Prevention and Positive Living Talks in Luganda (toot tooting my horn) during the week, and I’m teaching computer lessons to the staff.  We just moved the new computer up to the ART clinic in a locked caged desk thing and it has a solar battery so we don’t have to worry about the power being on to enter data.  And those are going well, don’t get me wrong.  But I didn’t feel like those were big enough projects.  So since I’ve been working with Biikira Girls Primary School lately, I’ve been making this library renovation into my primary project.  My champion said I could, so that’s what I’m doing.

A committee has been formed.  Meetings have been had (with flipcharts!).  The budget has been planned.  Fundraising has commenced, as of today!  Here’s the low down:  the total budget we’ve calculated with shelves, tables and stools, paint and cleaning supplies, getting electricity installed, etc, comes to about 2.8 million shillings.  I applied for a grant (fingers crossed it works out) and the grant needs a 25% contribution from the community (approx. 750k shillings).  That’s a little over a PCVs monthly stipend.  So the committee and I have been brainstorming on some fundraising ideas, and I couldn’t be more impressed.  These teachers I work with are passionate about making this happen; they’ve been shooting great ideas back and forth, and I think we can actually do this.

Friday evening Brother Patrick, the Head Teacher, and I went to meet with the PP, the parish priest.  This is step one in our fundraising planning, the church.  We told him our predicament, and he allowed us to address the congregation on Sunday morning (today!).  He also offered to donate some timber that had fallen on church property to offset the cost of the bookshelves and tables.  This was all fantastic.  I went out and bought envelopes for people to pledge money into, and this morning, we stamped them with the school’s seal, and passed them around to the congregation.  The three of us who met with the parish priest also went in front of the congregation (around 400 people woosh) and talked about the library project.  No pressure, right?  Here’s the funny part.  Remember how I said the grant was 2.8 million?  Well some of my committee members thought that was kind of a low number and instead told everyone that we need 4 million shillings, 1 million of that coming from the community.  They’re really shooting high on that one.  So I thought that was kind of ironic:  Get in front of an entire church and lie.  They assured me we’d get more donations this way, so ok.  Anyway.  Some of the girls from the school were also standing up with us in their uniforms and they held the collection plate as donors came to give what they could.  It was amazing!  I was so proud of the team for being so committed and putting this plan into action.  At the end of the service we raised about 73k shillings, not including envelopes, those will come later.  So it’s a small start, but it’s a start!

The committee and I also planned to get the students involved.  We want them to feel like it’s their library space that they’ve contributed to and helped to make a reality.  So tomorrow morning, I’m addressing the girls about a competition.  I have 7 tins each with a class number painted on it (1-7), and I’ll be coming by once a week starting next term (this term’s almost over) for them to donate pocket change into.  100, 200, 500 shilling coins, whatever they can.  Once the term is up, whichever class has raised the most money will win a super awesome ice cream party!  Weeeee!   I’ll rent out the annoying ice cream man guy on his bike with the cooler tied to the back and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” playing over and over on it for the day and get a couple containers of ice cream from the Total in town.  It’s gonna rock.

We’re also asking other schools and health centers around the area to pledge money, too.  I’m sure my health center will help me out.

So that’s my life currently.  Short post, but I thought I’d give an update.  If you’re reading this, did the conversion, realized that 750k shillings is around 220 bucks and thought “That’s not too much, I can help with the contribution,” then that’s very sweet (if you didn’t think this at all then, woops, sorry, disregard).  But the thing is, I’m really pushing for the community to come up with this money.  I want them to feel responsible for the rise and fall of this project, instead of relying on foreign aid to swoop in again and do it for them.  Allison, an RPCV who used to live here in Biikira, told me about when she had to buy her first cell phone with her own money.  She took such good care of that thing that it lasted well beyond what it should’ve.  She said it was because she had to work for the money to buy it and was now responsible for it (she also put in a kick-ass library at Biikira Boys Primary School and I'm trying to channel her work effort into my project).  That’s the same attitude I want with this library project.  If the community donates, if the students contribute, I hope they’ll feel a sense of ownership with the library.  And if there’s ownership, the library will most likely be maintained for years to come.  So maybe I’m going into this too blindly and maybe this will crash and burn at my feet, but at least I’m trying, at least I have a project, at least I get to work with and mobilize a great team and community.  Even if this project fails miserably, it won’t be for nothing.  I hope.

That’s all the goings on in the kyalo.  If you like my post, definitely check out the ever witty Katie Jones’ blog.  She gave me the inspiration to write today instead of sitting on my ass and watching the fifth season of west wing…again.

https://unitedstatesofuganda.wordpress.com/2016/04/29/no-place-id-rather-be/

And as always, enjoy the cat tax.

Bisous,
Kelly