Written by Simon Musasizi-Uganda Observer     
Sunday, 30 May 2010 16:59
“Please give us education. We are tired of tending to goats;” reads a pinup on the school notice board that welcomes you at Buhoma Community Primary School.
The school located two kilometres from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Kayonza Sub-county, Kanungu District survives on tourism.
“Everything you see here is because of tourists. When tourists visit our school, they leave us some money,” said Adams Agaba, the head teacher, before adding: “If it wasn’t for tourism, this school wouldn’t be here.”
He was speaking during a recent visit to the school by US actor and singer-songwriter Simon Curtis who was accompanied by Corey Gibson of MOJO Entertainment of UK and local celebrities Isaiah Katumwa, Maurice Kirya, GNL Zamba and Cindy. Simon Curtis (born March 18, 1986) is an American actor and singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma. He gained fame for playing Royce Du Lac in the film Spectacular!
“We get our financial support from tourists who pick interest in supporting our pupils by paying their fees. They come to school, pick children they love and go back to their countries and mobilize their fees,” Agaba said.
Joy Howell, a veterinary nurse from the UK, for example, sponsors 50 pupils. Nicole Mayar, from Germany sponsors 58 pupils while one Catherine from Czech Republic sponsors 62 pupils.
“I first visited Uganda back in July 2003 to trek mountain gorillas in the wild and fell in love with the Bwindi region of Western Uganda. On my return trip to Bwindi in March 2004, I also learnt more about the community initiatives, including the orphans’ group and school and I decided that I should not only support the wildlife of the region but also its wonderful children and this is where the story really begins,” Howell writes in the project brochure.
She adds: “I worked closely with the previous headmaster, James Musinguzi and my latrine appeal of 2005 raised £1,000, which built full toilet facilities for the 240-pupil school.”
“The school was under threat of closure before we completed the latrine project; so, it was very rewarding to see both the boys’ and girls’ toilets completed.”
And she did not stop at that. Once the toilets were completed, she began fundraising for a three-classroom block.
“By the end of 2006, generous friends in the UK had donated £7,000 [towards] the project.  Included in this amount was £1,000 from the Brierley Hill Rotary Club, which was used to make 50 double-desks [for] the classrooms and a wonderful donation of £1,500 from St. Bede’s Preparatory School,” she says.
Buhoma Community Primary School started in 1996 as an orphans’ school under the name Bwindi Orphans Primary School. In 2007, the school decided to change its name to Buhoma Community Primary School following a growth in the number of non-orphans. The school has a population of 350 pupils, half of them orphans.
The school is also establishing a boarding section. A two-roomed dormitory to accommodate 100 pupils is under construction, courtesy of Hinkboss, a tourist from the Netherlands who last year paid for the dormitory’s foundation. However, the school needs Shs 7 million to complete the building.
“We need a dormitory because most of the children come from far. At least more than half the school population comes from as far as 10 kilometres. This affects their performance as they reach home late, worn out and hungry and find no food at home, no paraffin for lighting and hence no time to read and revise. A dormitory will improve the academic standards, health status as there is also an infirmary, and increase the children’s love to study,” Agaba said.
Agaba said four of the school staff have received sponsorship for further studies from tourists. One is pursuing a master’s degree while three are on diploma programmes.

smusasizi@observer.ug