In 2011 a Peace Corp worker in western Uganda asked his friends for funds to purchase some books and sports equipment for Musasa Primary School. Over the years, this informal group of friends helped with a few other projects, calling ourselves “Friends of Kyarumba”. Since that modest beginning, our involvement with the school has continued to expand in many unexpected directions. The projects the community would like to accomplish now are more ambitious, so it became obvious that a charitable organization was the next step. In 2024, Omughisa Rwenzori Community Development Society was incorporated in British Columbia. Application to become a recognized charity has been made to Revenue Canada, and we await their decision.
Omughisa, in the Lhukonzo language of the region, has several meanings. In one context it means “blessing”; in another, “opportunity”, or “good fortune”. However it may be interpreted, the word captures our hopes and plans for the future, as our small efforts have expanded beyond Musasa Primary School to include large projects that will benefit the young people of Kyarumba and Muhokya. These projects are integral to the health and prosperity of the communities they serve.
Rwenzori refers to the Rwenzori Mountains, the fabled “Mountains of the Moon” first written about by Diogenese in 50CE, later by Ptolemy and, even later, in 1907, by Winston Churchill. It seems especially appropriate, then, that we can contribute in some small way to enrich education and opportunity for the bright, enthusiastic, and eager children in this beautiful, historic place where there is enormous need and a profound hunger for learning.
