Dave & Carol Thompson of San Jose have provided sufficient funding for one term of food, to Kahendero Nuersery Humanist School.The amount, $577, will purchase bags of corn meal, beans, and vegetables.
Thank you Dave & Carol, for your kindness in helping these children get enough to eat.
by Bwambale Robert
In our efforts to fight poverty, ignorance,disease and irrational superstitious beliefs, we are extending our services to Kahendero which is opening in a few days from now. Thumbs up to our supporters, sympathizers and enemies.
Some school uniforms destined for the pupils to study at the Bizoha Nursery School-Kahendero is being made by our tailoring tutor at the Bizoha Campus at Muhokya.
The Andrea Vogt Roadside Stand is being used to make the uniforms.
On behalf of Kasese Humanist Primary Schools, i salute and thank the generous donor for caring about Kahendero Children who are going to benefit from the learning we are are going to offer, glory be due to Science.
More about our initiatives, visit our website http://bizoha.org
Photos of Kahendero (on Lake George) and our activities, below.
by Bwambale Robert
Am happy to mention that we have secured two mega donation from the Thompson Family in the USA who have provided funds to cater for meals for the nursery section for a full term.
Also they have donated some funds to put in place an Administrative Block to shelter the School Administration offices for the Head teacher, School Bursar, Director of Studies, School departments etc.
Kahendero children in photo below
Brighter Brains Institute is publishing two new e-books in the near future.
No God, No Savior is a collection of essays by Leo Igwe, the Nigerian journalist, humanist and human rights activist.
The birth and conception of BiZoHa - the world’s first atheist orphanage is by Hank Pellissier, founder of BBI.
The cover design for both these books was generously provided, at a huge discount, by Alex McGilvery, a Vice-President and Board member of BBI. Alex designs, edits, and publishes books through his company, Celtic Frog.
When the books are complete, Alex will post them on Smashwords. They will also be distributed free, to all contributors to BBI.
Alex has been paid $50 per book for his cover design services. Funds for this were paid for by Dave and Carol Thompson, who recently donated $10,000 to BBI.
Thank you Dave, Thank you Carol, and Thank you Alex
Kanyenze Primary School is an off-the-road rural school in the Ruwenzori mountains, accessed via a trail from Kyarumba, five miles away. The school has 116 students, and it is under the administration guidance of the Kayenze Women’s Group.
Brighter Brains Institute is going to assist this school, with funds for health and education projects. In exchange, Kayenze will agree to install a Humanist curriculum. This will be the 5th school that Brighter Brains has “converted” to humanism; the other four are Vision Care Humanist School, Rays of Light Orphanage Humanist School, Mother Givers Humanist School, and Mughete Junior Humanist School.
Kanyenze is also the second women’s collective that Brighter Brains has partnered with. The other is the Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Collective, which administers Mother Givers Humanist School.
photos below depict the school and children, the Kanyenze Women’s Group, and Loice Ngunguro - the director of the Kanyenze Women’s Group.
Vision Care Humanist School has put up a new school sign, to indicate that they are now a humanist school.
They are the fifth school in the Kyarumba area that has agreed to Brighter Brains Institute’s humanist curriculum. The others are Rays of Light Orphanage Humanist School, Mughete Junior Humanist School, Mother Givers Humanist School, and Kayenze Primary Humanist School.
Brighter Brains Institute helps Vision Care in multiple ways. We have provided a clinic, a lunch program, AFRIpads, a new brick classroom, and other benefits in the last two years.
Quick progress is being realized on the Dr. Steven David Pell Classroom, a brick structure donated to Mughete Junior Humanist School, by the honorees son, Aaron-Silver Pell.
The building has only been going on for 2 weeks. Estimated time of completion is just 2 more weeks, to install the roof, doors, windows, and flooring.
The Mughete is one of five schools in the Kyarumba area that have accepted Brighter Brains Institute’s Humanist curriculum.
Thank You Aaron!
Tremendous progress has taken place at Dr. Bruce Chou Classroom #4, a new brick structure being erected at Vision Care Humanist School.
Dr. Bruce Chou donated funds to construct three previous classrooms; two at BizoHa Orphanage Humanist School in Muhokya, and one at Kahendero Nursery Humanist School.
Additional funds for Dr. Bruce Chou Classroom #4 were donated by Henri and Dianne Pellissier.
Vision Care Humanist School is one of 5 schools in Kyarumba that has adopted the Humanist curriculum of Brighter Brains Institute.
Thank you, Dr. Bruce Chou!
Tremendous progress has taken place at a new brick structure being erected at Vision Care School, thanks to support from Henri and Dianne Pellissier.
About 55% of the funding for the classroom came from Dr. Bruce Chou, who was awarded with his name on the structure. Henri and Dianne Pellissier contributed a generous 30% of the necessary funding.
The classroom will be complete in 2 more weeks, it still needs doors, windows, and flooring.
Thank you, Henri and Dianne Pellissier!
Dave and Carol Thompson have donated funds to help launch the newest Brighter Brains Institute project—assisting the newly-renamed “Kanyenze Humanist Primary School.”
The Thompsons are starting a medical clinic at the school that will provide free care and medicine to the Kanyenze children. This clinic will be the 14th clinic that Brighter Brains Institute has launched in the region. The clinic costs only $400 per term, because the school is small - only 116 children. The Thompsons are funding at least three terms, possibly 4-5.
The Thompsons are also purchasing $250 of educational materials - textbooks, charts, posters - for the Kanyenzi children.
Additionally, they are also paying the $50 fee to create the new school sign, that includes the word “humanist.”
Kanyenze is the 5th school in the Kyarumba area to adopt the BBI humanist curriculum.
Thank you, Dave and Carol Thompson!
Photos below depict the school, the Kanyenze Women’s Group (that administers the school), and the room where the clinic will be situated.
Dave and Carol Thompson have contributed funds to aid the administration of BiZoHa Orphanage Humanist School, and to assist the Kasese Sports Academy.
They donated $100 to BiZoHa so that a part-time worker could be hired to assist in the necessary interaction between sponsors and sponsored students. There are more than 80 sponsored students at BiZoHa, who receive financial assistance from sponsors all over the world. The new worker would guarantee that communication between BiZoHa and the sponsors remains strong, by sending the sponsors photos, report cards and thank you notes from the students that sponsor.
Dave and Carol Thompson also donated $80 to the Kasese “Equipment Freethinkers” Sports Academy, to purchase uniforms and supplies.
Thank you!
Future Path Classroom is currently being built at Mother Givers Humanist School, in Buhanga, in western Uganda.
As you can see in the photos below, Buhanga is high up on a mountainside. The range is the Ruwenzori “Mountains of the Moon.” Seven kilometers below is the market town of Kyarumba.
Meredith Newman Debens of Austrailia was the funder for this classroom. The school has 211 children.
Brighter Brains Institute (BBI) recently contributed funds to the Buhanga Thuligahuma Women’s Collective to put in a pipe line (thanks to Darren Muise) that brings fresh water to the village. The faucet is at Mother Givers Humanist School. BBI also provides the students with a daily nutritious lunch (thanks to Davida LeComte) and 100 chickens (provided by Dave and Carol Thompson).
Brighter Brains Institute is establishing a new clinic - its 14th - at Kanyenze Humanist Primary School. The clinic is funded via the generosity of Dave and Carol Thompson.
Kanyenze is a small community about 5 miles away from Kyarumba.
Kabugho Ruth is the new medic. She will provide free medical care and medicine to the 116 students at Kanyenze school.
Diseases prevalent in this area are malaria, peptic ulcer disease (caused by malnutrition), and parasitic worm infection.
Below is a photo of the room where the clinic will be situated, plus a photo of the new medic.
Thank you, Dave and Carol Thompson, for provided this wonderful service to the children of Kanyanze.
Davida LeComte - one of Brighter Brains Institute’s most generous funders - has provided food to the students at Vision Care Humanist School in Kyarumba, Uganda.
Previously, Davida donated sufficient funds to Mother Givers Humanist School, to feed the students there a lunch for an entire school term (76 days)
Thank you, Davida!
Rachel Lyn Edler is the sponsor of the clinic at St. Thomas Nursery School in Kyarumba. She recently received a Thank You card from the students there.
The two other photos below are of the St. Thomas pupils having lunch.
Thank you, Rachel!
BUHANGA THULIBAGHUMA WOMEN’S GROUP
P.O.BOX 517, KASESE UGANDA
Back ground of Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group
Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group is a community Based membership organisation
Registration NO:CBO/325’C operating in Kasese District Western Uganda
Supporting sustainable development at the grass root level.
Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group started in 2009 with the mission of empowering community members to get involved in social development activities for a
poverty free and healthy community.
Since establishment Buhanga women’s Group has established a school with local funds and constructed an immunisation centre at Buhanga high hill with the support of Dutch Albert Schweitzer Foundation (NASF) PO Box 8568,3503 RN Utrecht The Netherlands, e-mail:info@nasf.nl Website: www.nasf.nl
We are also promoting savings and internal lending in the community of Buhanga.
We are currently in partnership with Brighter Brains Institute mainly focussing on developing Mother Givers Humanist School and the community of Buhanga.
About Kyarumba
Kyarumba is one of the sub counties of Kasese district, it is found in Bukonzo East Constituency. Much part of Kyarumba is mountains and it is blessed with many rivers.
Kyarumba has always witnessed wars mainly the NALU and allied Democratic forces (ADF). The ADF ridded Kyarumba from 1996 to 2002, this led to displacing of people in to IDP’s, this caused suffering and loss of wealth leading to poverty.
Secondly, Kyarumba has always witnessed disaster especially River floods, hailstones, mass wasting and alumnal rainfall, this has always led to loss of food and lives leading to poor living conditions.
About Buhanga
Buhanga is a hill and it is where Mother Givers Humanist School and the office of the group is located, if you stand at Buhanga hill you feel as if you are seated in a plane at watching Kyarumba trading Centre.
This hill is commonly known for grasshoppers, people from distant places especially Kyarumba search for grasshoppers from here during season
The place is purely occupied by Bakonzo who are generally” bantu”speaking people.
Community challenges
Environment degradation, soil erosion is the order of the day, the place has bare hills and it is steep. There is cutting of few existing trees to get firewood.
Poverty, most people in this community earn less than 1 USD a day, their main cash crop is coffee and it is seasonal, parents do not pay school fees for their children in time, some children come to school without scholastic materials , barefooted and without school uniforms.
There is high death rates mainly caused by malaria, pneumonia especially among children and during women birthing and hepatitis B
Low levels of education, most people have studded up to P.5
Early marriages especially girls, most of them marry at the age of 15
Domestic violence, this leads to frequent divorce and child headed families
Alcoholism and drug abuse especially among the youth out of school and those who are jobless
High level of malnutrition and the place is food insecure. The place is infertile and mountainous
Overpopulation is another community challenge; this has led to inadequate land.
Use of unclean energy, people still use kerosene candles for lighting and use three stones stoves for cooking food.
GROUP /SCHOOL NEEDS
Need of sustainable income generating projects to help accomplish the planned activities
Need of more classrooms, Kitchen, library, children washroom, dining rooms and more latrines; there is 221 children and we have a three stance latrine.
Need of Furniture, children seat on the floor when attending classes
Buying more school land; our school land is not enough and there is two neighbors who would like to sell land to us, just because they like the school.
Need of a strong motorcycle to help us to quickly move to Kyarumba and other places in the district in case of emergency need; the place is now accessed with strong motorcycles and vehicles, the road has been dag by government of Uganda.
Need of safety stretchers to help us move patients downhill in case of emergency.
Need of top up fund to boost the savings and internal lending project
Need of text books for Uganda curriculum
About Kabugho Victorina
My name is Kabugho Victorina the Chair Person of Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group and chairperson of the school committee of Mother Givers Humanist
School. Am charged with organizing the group members to cause development in the community of Kyarumba.and I act as the liaison between Brighter Brains Institute and Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s group.
Projects that Brighter Brains Institute is funding us
Brighter brains institute has helped us with a clinic that serves 221 children; here is a nurse being paid monthly by Brighter brains. The clinic is handling diseases like Malaria, Diarrhea, flu, cough, wounds and headaches.
BBI donated us with funds to purchase rain rainwater water harvesting tank, the tank holds water to use for washing hands and water to use to cook children’s’ food. It also prevents soil erosion and we are using its water for building the school.
BBI donated to us piped water at 3 mile distance serving Buhanga Community and Mother Givers Humanist School. This has reduced the prevalence of diarrhea diseases at school and in the community. This water is making it easy to engage in other income generating activities like brick making and it is reducing the time that would be spent on fetching water far downhill.
Brighter Brains institute is building for us a class named future Path class; this name is named by the members of Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group to mean that this class if attended a child will have a brighter future.
Providing lunch to all 221 children at Mother Givers Humanist School where children are fed on proteins including beans, rice, maize bread, greens chicken and meat. This has been liked by children; there is no too much absenteeism as children are assured of food while at school.
BBI is sponsoring 13 orphans and are provided with school fees, books, pens, pencils, bags, shoes, sox and school shoes.
BBI is supplying us with Afri pads for our older girls; this is helping girls to stay in school during menstruation periods.
BBI has this year provided us with text books for children to read; children are reading and some watching pictures.
BBI is topping on teachers’ salary especially the month of June 2016; this we are sure will motivate teachers to work hard.
BBI is funding our chicken project; it has so far paid 120 hens that will be looked at by 12 members of Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Group. We hope for more funds to buy chicken for the other 26 members of the group. BBI will fully fund this project, it will provide chicken feeds, drinkers vaccination and veterinarian allowances
BBI is raising funds to build Mother Givers a second classroom - called Piedmont Classroom said Pellisier
Conclusion
The Women of Buhanga are very much happy for supporting them and Mother Givers Humanist School, children are also very happy, the community also appreciates our services, but all in all we say long live brighter Brains Institute.
by Bwambale Robert
Bizoha Humanist School – Kahendero opened its doors to the Kahendero people on 13th June 2016. The school was meant to begin early next year but I thought twice that there was no reason of waiting since we had already put the building structures in time.
We have so far registered 22 children and are very optimistic the number will go up in the course of the year. We are right now in Term 2 as per the school calendar. We expect to get more children in the coming week and then we shall have realized the actual number of children at the school.
We have two nursery teachers so far at the site, a night watchman, Cook and a medic for the Jane Shrimpton Clinic which opened the same day as we were opening the site.
Scholastic items, school furniture and kitchen ware was purchased already with funds from generous donors Kevin Saldanha and Greg Burnett who continue to make monthly donations to the Bizoha Project. The furniture was made at the school vocational workshop at KHPS Rukoki and will be painted soon to protect the wood from pest attack and adding beauty to the appearance of the furniture.
The people of Kahendero are thankful for this project as it is bringing education for their kids at the door steps.
To get involved in BIZOHA, visit our page at http://bizoha.org
With Science, we can progress.
by Bwambale Robert
Progress Report: Dave & Carol Thompson Administration Building in Kahendero
Construction of an Administration Building at the Kahendero site is in progress.
The building is sponsored by Dave & Carol Thompson. This building is a two roomed structure which is very spacious enough to accommodate school offices for the Head teacher, School dept. Offices, Bursars’ office plus any relevant space at the site that needs attention on.
The unit will have two separate from each other rooms, each room with its own door and window and behind will be just a wall. Building materials like bricks, murram, aggregates and sand have been ferried to the site and digging of the foundation is almost complete.
Building works commences tomorrow. Attached are some of the images of the materials and start up work of putting in place an Administration Office space.
A section of builders have been contracted to do the job.
More information about the project and how to get involved is available online at http://bizoha.org
Many thanks to the Thompson family for the donation. Once complete, the building will be named after the Sponsor.
Davida LeComte has donated funds that enable the children at Mother Givers Humanist School in Buhanga to eat a nutritious lunch everyday, for one school term. The lunch is corn meal, beans, and vegetables, with chicken once a week, and goat meat once a week.
The photos below show the cooks preparing the food, and the children eating their meal.
Buhanga is located on a hillside in the Ruwenzori foothills, high above the market town of Buhanga.
Thank you, Davida, for your wonderful gift!
Davida has also instigated another activity - Brighter Brains is currently raising funds to buy Mother Givers 380 chickens, to be raised by the Buhanga Thulibaghuma Women’s Collective. Funds from this business will be used to sustainably provide lunches to the school children.
Brighter Brains Institute (BBI) will soon be helping MUHITO Girls Vocational School, in Mitooma. The school is two hours distance from Kasese and Kyarumba, where the majority of our projects are based.
BBI was recently approached by the Mitooma Women’s Dignity Foundation, (MIWODIF) a women’s group that sponsors the MUHITO girls school. MIWODIF informed us that they would “like to be humanist” because “we support gender equality.”
There are 106 girls attending the school; they are all members of either the BaKiga or the Banyankole tribes. The school will change its name to “MUHITO Humanist Girls Vocational School” and post a sign indicating this.
BBI will provide all the girls with AFRIpads, we will establish a medical clinic there to provide free health care and medicine, and we will give the administration a cell phone and camera. Both gifts are delivered via the generosity of Dave and Carol Thompson.
This project is:
1) The 15th school we help in Uganda
2) The 15th clinic we established.
3) The 9th humanist school we assist.
4) The 6th school we persuaded to adopt our humanist curriculum, in 2016.
5) The 3rd womens collective we partnered with.
