In 2011 a Peace Corps 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 helped with a few other projects, and began referring to ourselves as “Friends of Kyarumba”. Since that modest beginning, our involvement with the school 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 January 2024, Omughisa Rwenzori Community Development Society was incorporated in British Columbia. We were granted Charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency in October.
Omughisa, in the Lhukonzo language of the region, has several meanings. In one context it means “blessing”, or “good fortune”; in another, “opportunity”. The word captures our hopes and plans for the future, as our efforts have expanded far beyond the original focus of Musasa Primary School to include projects that are integral to the health and well-being of the entire community.
Rwenzori refers to the Rwenzori Mountains, the “Mountains of the Moon” first written about by Diogenese in 50CE, later by Ptolemy, and, even later, in 1907, by Winston Churchill, when he named Uganda “The Pearl of Africa”. It seems especially appropriate, then, that we can contribute in this small way to enrich education and opportunity for the bright, enthusiastic, and eager children in this historic place.
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