Help us Improve School Bridges in Rural Uganda
Greetings, my name is Douglas Cruickshank. I'm a writer, editor and photographer from the USA. From 2009 to 2012 I lived and worked in a small, rural community, Kyarumba, in the exquisitely beautiful Rwenzori Mountains (the fabled Mountains of the Moon) located in western Uganda, where I was a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. I was engaged in business development work for a farmer-owned coffee cooperative that comprised 85% women farmers, many single mothers. One of their concerns, not surprisingly, was their children's education and the quality of the area's schools, most of which needed major repairs and improvements.
Over the last several years, with money contributed by generous friends in the USA, we have been able to build new latrines, a new library/classroom/office building and acquire essential books, charts and sporting equipment for two of the area's primary schools. Now, with this campaign, we are seeking adequate funds to build safe, strong bridges to these two schools -- Musasa and Bughungu. The current bridges (the one that leads to Bughungu School is in the photo) are picturesque, but rickety, precarious and very unsafe. Many hundreds of children must cross the bridges twice a day, at least, and this presents a real danger to kids that are simply trying to get an education. One child I know of has fallen from the Bughungu bridge where you see the girls standing. Sadly, she drowned. And the bridge itself frequently must be rebuilt after floods and storms.
The funds raised through this campaign will build two strong, permanent bridges constructed of steel, wood and concrete. They will have railings and strong walkways and be safe for even quite young children to cross. I invite you to participate in this important project. Throughout the construction, you can get in touch with me directly as well as my friends in Uganda who live in the area where the bridges will be built and are managing both projects. We'll be happy to answer your questions or provide additional information. In addition, we'll be regularly posting photographs and videos documenting the project's progress. We are working with an engineer and crew who are experienced in doing construction work of all sorts in this area and we are confident in doing a quick, efficient job of getting these bridges built.
Please join us in building the Musasa and Bughungu school bridges!
What We Need & What You Get
We are seeking a total of $45,000. This will pay for the construction of two bridges and help complete a building project at Bughungu school. In the unlikely event that there are funds remaining after construction is complete, the money will be spent on acquiring books and other school supplies. We will regularly report on the project's progress and give an accounting of how the money is being spent. And there will be an online photo album, that will also feature short videos, that will show the construction progress and be available for viewing to all contributors and the general public.
In addition to the satisfaction of being involved in this terrific and important project that will save children's lives and advance their education, you will get a gift for your kind contribution. All donors who give $100 or more will receive a signed, limited edition, archival quality, large format color print of the girls on the Bughungu bridge photo (above). Donors giving $250 or more will receive the print, plus an inscribed copy of "Somehow: Living on Uganda Time," the book I wrote and photographed about my life in Uganda (http://douglascruickshank.com/somehow). And those donors who give $500 or more will receive the book, the photo, and two more photos from the book, as well as a phone call during which I'll tell you more about Kyarumba, life there, and the other projects we are involved in.
These two bridges will be built, for sure -- the people of Kyarumba are determined to see it happen, and so am I. If we do not raise the total needed with this funding campaign, it will simply take longer (we will also be applying for grant support). No matter how long it takes, we'll keep all contributors informed of the project's progress and expected completion date.
The Impact
When completed, Musasa and Bughungu school bridges will save lives of school children, parents, teachers and school staff every day. The bridges will improve education by making it safe for kids to go to school, and increase attendance. This is a good thing for the area and its people, for Uganda, and for the world.
The bridge projects and school improvements are being managed and built by local, experienced, skilled people who have experience with developing and finishing these type of projects in this environment, and on time. The entire group -- funders, management, engineer and builders has a proven track record working on complex construction projects together.
Risks & Challenges
Certainly, over the long term, the daily risk to the area's children and adults by not building the bridges is greater than building them. However, there is some risk inherent in constructing these two spans -- especially to the building crew. They will need to work in a dangerous area and though safety measures will be taken to the degree possible and practical, 100 percent safety during construction will not be possible. Both bridges are in a rugged, mountainous area where flooding is common, and weather can be severe. This may cause schedule delays and cost increases. Good, experienced project management will be in place and the budget allows for a contingency. Still, it can't be guaranteed that the project construction will be problem free. However, we assure all contributors that we will not hold back on information and we will communicate any and all problems and assess their impact on the schedule as quickly as possible.
Thanks to our experienced construction and management personnel, we don't foresee any problems that cannot be resolved in a reasonable period of time.
Other Ways You Can Help
We understand that everyone is not able to contribute funds to a project like this. But even if you can't afford to be a donor, you can still participate and help in very meaningful effective ways -- by posting links to this campaign on your Facebook page (and encouraging others to do the same), by letting your Twitter friends know about it (and encouraging others to do the same), by sending out email or regular mail alerts to friends and others you think may be interested (and encouraging others to do the same), and by talking to people you meet about the project and encouraging them to contribute.
If you wish to make a tax deductible contribution, please contact me directly at douglas@douglascruickshank.com
For simple instructions on how to share this campaign online, click here: http://support.indiegogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/...
