It was wonderful having the opportunity to speak with you the other day about Bicycles for Humanity and possible collaboration with Uganda Rural Fund to help communities in rural Uganda in the Masaka region. Below is some background information about me and our work in general. Let me know if I am missing something or need to have a formal proposal. If we get bicycles, they would benefit students commuting long distances to school, women and girls who fetch daily, youth who conduct small businesses using bicycles in rural villages, and many poor adults whose main means of mobility is by bicycles. There are many people who can not afford them. We can provide the bikes on a minimal fee to support the program. We hope to be able to provide training so they can maintain the bicycles well. Our plan is also to set up a workshop for bicycle repair which will create employment for some youth. The workshop who repair bicycles upon arrival and do on going maintenance and training. I would love to know what models of destribution the other recipients have in problem. It can help up plan well.

My name is Br. John Mary Lugemwa, OSB (or just John Mary), 29 and currently in graduate school/seminary here in Latrobe, PA after my undergraduate work in Computer science and Philosophy at St. John's University in MN. I grow up in a rural village of Kyetume in Masaka District, south western Uganda and came to the U.S seven years ago. From my lived experience, I realised that bicycles in rural Uganda are lifeline for majority of us in these communities. Many people in rural Uganda get around on bikes and use them to transport produce to markets. My dad (now deceased) spent his entire life riding bicycles and all his work as a Catechist and farmer was facilitated by a bicycle. I remember growing up, we fetched water for tomato gardens on bicycles almost everyday after school. During my high school, I used to ride about seven miles to school back and forth. There were many other students who couldn't afford a bicycle and had to walk those many miles every single day unless someone gave them a ride.

The farmers use bicycles to transport produce to local markets in the villages and to town stores. Many youth enterprises are powered by bicycles. For instance, there are youth entrepreneurs involved in coffee business. They use bicycles to transport the coffee beans they collect from farmers in the villages. Bicycles help a great deal especially during the dry season when the shallow wells dry out and people have to walk distances to fetch water. Bicycle reduce the pains of carrying jerrycans of water for many miles. It is a very painful experience for women and girls. A lot of time and energy is wasted that would have been invested somewhere else. Bicycles are also used to carry fire wood, bricks, sand for construction, and many other things.

When I was in Uganda in the summer of 2005, I met a child headed family of two boys, Ben 14 and Henry 12, who were living alone in a small grass thatched hut. They had lost both parents to AIDS. The boys had a bicycle which they used to carry water from the well to supply to people in the local town to raise money for basic supplies like soap, paraffin, books, pencils, etc. This one bicycle was a major source of income of these boys. Lives of children in many child headed families would greatly be improved with access to a bicycle. URF supports over a dozen child headed households in the villages of Masaka and Rakai Districts.

As a way of giving back to the community, I am involved with various projects supporting orphan children, underprivileged youth and women in my home village and other rural communities. We formed the Uganda Rural Fund (URF - www.ugandaruralfund.org) when I was in college in Minnesota. URF is registered a community based organization in Uganda and also as 501(c)(3) in the U.S. We also have a new chapter forming in Canada.

One of our major projects is the new Academy for orphans and underprivileged youth. The Hope Integrated Academy (www.hopeacademyuganda.org) opened its doors in May 2008 with nine students and currently enrollment has grown to over 125. We have purchased about a dozen bikes and distributed them to students commuting long distances to school. We give one bike to two students from same or close by villages. One keeps the bike for the night and picks up the other on the way to school in the morning. It's like a park and ride, only that both have only one bike. I remember during 6th grade we used to have like 5 kids pile up on one bike riding to school. You can't believe it but it's so true. I think, at 6th grade, we were all tiny; so I guess we could fit. It's crazy and dangerous but we had to share a ride. I am just laughing loud right now looking back at that life. That was in the '90s but it's still a reality right now for many kids in rural Africa. 

The vision of the Academy, currently operating as a secondary school, is to integrate vocational training in the curriculum. The goal is to equip young people and adults with the practical skills they need to live very productive lives capitalizing on resources within their rich in the local communities. So far, we have started with craft making through a partnership with Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade crafts store. Women learn how to make baskets and other products to be able to earn some income to sustain their families. We also teach entrepreneurship classes and adult literature. We have also established a small community library and a computer center with Internet. The school is also the hub for the women empowerment program. The general seminars and community workshops are conducted at the school. This program is aimed at empowering women through information and small entrepreneurial businesses to enable them support their families. Over 200 women are involved in the chickens, piggery, seed loan, and crafts projects and weekend community seminars. 

Besides the Hope Academy and women empowerment program, we are also involved in other programs such as: supporting an orphanage with 22 children, after school programs, child sponsorship, child headed family outreach, and agricultural projects. A medical clinic is also in its planning phases. Bicycles would a great help to the children at the orphanage as well. We have previously provided one bicycle to the orphanage so the kids can ride to shops to buy groceries. 

We have an on-ground team of three full time staff - Adrian Ssemukasa, Fred Ntale, and Maureen Nakalinzi. Also Scott Andrews from our Canadian team who is staying in Uganda for nine months. I have attached a document with all our board members in Uganda. It shows their roles, qualifications, and contacts. These are people from the community and have strong affinity to the people we are serving. There is a sense of local ownership. I have also included copy of our registration as a community based organization and recommendations from the local leaders at the village and sub county level.

Besides the local staff, we also have a team of international volunteers who help out on short periods of time. They come from all over the world with various backgrounds. Currently, there are 6 from Canada, Netherlands, England, and US. They come on a rolling basis. We have partnered with Engineers Without Boarders at University of Minnesota and Virginia Tech who have designed systems for clean water, sanitation, and solar energy for our school. The teams will be in Uganda this summer to implement the systems. Also, Architecture for Humanity is designing for us buildings for the next phase of expansion to include student dormitories, medical clinic, classrooms, computer center and library.

I will be looking forward to collaborating with Bicycles for Humanity to get bikes to kids and adults in rural Uganda who dread walking miles and miles to get to school, to fetch water, carry produce to the markets, and so forth. If they have bikes, the kids can be more productive. They get to school on time and don't have to miss classes or wake up early in the dark to walk through thick plantations. Some use bicycles to make money by fetching water to sell in town homes. Thanks so much to all of you for taking the initiative to help the people of Uganda. It means a lot to me to see people like you passionate about improving the conditions of life in my home country and Africa as a whole. God bless the work of your hands. 

Thanks again and have a wonderful day,

Br. John Mary

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John Mary Lugemwa, OSB
Executive Vice President
Uganda Rural Fund USA, Inc.
300 Fraser Purchase Road
Latrobe, PA 15650
+1-804-708-5052
jmlugemwa@gmail.com
www.ugandaruralfund.org
www.hopeacademyuganda.org
www.waliggofamily.org

"It's not what you do once in a while, it's what you do day in and day out that makes the difference."-- Jenny Craig