Esubikids are a registered community project in the village of Kyabirwa, right on the banks of the Nile river in Uganda. Sugarloaf Lions are proud to be involved with this wonderful organisation and to have provided financial help over the past couple of years. Our link is via Lion Tom O’Sullivan whose son and daughter in law Jamie and Ellie O’Sullivan volunteered to work at Esubi for several weeks as they travelled the world. They have kept in touch with the people there and actively help and support them to this day including creating the link between Sugarloaf Lions and Esubikids.
In the words of Esubikids this is what they do….
“ We are a boarding house, a school and a women’s and community empowerment group all rolled into one, we do this in three ways:
Kids House – We directly house, feed, educate, provide health care & support for up to 16 kids in our love filled home with the kids ranging in age from 3 to 14
School – As the closest primary school was a 30 minute walk away we set up a school where all of our kids in addition to those from the surrounding area attend
Women’s and community empowerment – We work with local women supplying them with seeds and teaching them about farming practices so they can grow crops and earn an income.”
Esubikids is run by a wonderful lady by the name of Happy. She and a fantastic group of women, pictured below far right, live and work full time in the home, teaching the children and also making jewellery from strips of paper and nail polish which they then sell and if possible return a percentage of any income to Esubi. At every turn Esubi is looking to empower local women, as most women will not receive a full education, will never own a home (property usually belongs to men) and will never have a self-sufficient means of income-generation. By helping them learn skills in crafts and farming, and assisting them in finding access to the market, Esubi ensures that, in addition to meeting the needs of children who don’t have families to support them, they are also helping local families to better provide for their children on a wider basis.
The kids range in age from 3 to 14. The hope is that every child who passes through the doors of Esubi will leave having received an education and a loving childhood and will always have a home to return to if needed. Happy aspires to having Esubi being run entirely by kids who have progressed through its services in time to come.
The children each have their own bed and mosquito net to reduce the risk of malaria. They all eat together at school and are provided with a nutritious meal at lunch and dinner (usually chapattis or Nsema (corneal bread) and vegetables).
The school was built in 2018 and at present has 40 pupils. (Home schooling at the moment due to Covid-19)
Sugarloaf Lions became involved with Esubi in 2018. Happy had bought a hectare of land at a discounted price, on the street where they are based in 2017, and had one year to pay off the mortgage. We were able to cover approx 35% of the mortgage and this land now has the children’s home built on it and is also used for growing food and the demonstration farm.
This year we have sent funds to assist with the operating needs of the project during Covid. We are covering the equivalent of the salaries of 2 home-school teachers. The pandemic has meant that the project can’t attract visitors which was an important source of income. The cost of food has also risen substantially during the pandemic due to scarcity. We are helping to ensure that the project can keep functioning effectively despite the challenged posed by COVID.
The kids have a graduation ceremony at the end of each school year. They are pictured here standing in front of a sign made by Jamie and Ellie in 2017, and a building painted and decorated by them at the same time. What a wonderful achievement for each and every one of them!
Sugarloaf Lions are proud to have supported this wonderful project and intend to build on this relationship in years to come. To learn moe about this inspiring project click below.