6
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Fundraiser benefits Ugandan school
By Jodi Schneider McNamee
Correspondent
On April 5 the Project
Uganda Team, seven adults
and seven students from
the Sisters School District,
returned from their 10-day
journey in Uganda, Africa.
And on Friday evening at The
Belfry, folks got a chance to
listen to a presentation about
personal experiences dur-
ing their stay in the small,
remote village of Kiwangala.
Folks also had the opportu-
nity to buy authentic Ugandan
goods, and meet Osborn
Muyanja, the director of the
Good Samaritan School in
Kiwangala.
One side of The Belfry
was transformed into a small
marketplace with fine African
arts and crafts for sale that
the team brought back from
Uganda. There were numer-
ous tables set up that held
their own important campaign
for the students of the Good
Samarian School, from an
indestructible soccer ball that
holds up through the rocky
dirt-covered ground that the
students play football on, to
sturdy shoes that can grow
five sizes and last five years.
Many of the 1,200 stu-
dents have no shoes at all, and
Project Uganda’s goal is to
collect 500 pairs of shoes to
send to the students of Good
Samaritan School. Folks
learned how anyone can assist
in supporting the Project
Uganda campaign in multi-
fold ways.
Sister Middle School
social studies teacher Casey
Pallister shared his thoughts
with The Nugget about what
this multifaceted event was
all about.
“Our purpose tonight is
to raise awareness about our
sister-school in Uganda, and
our second purpose isn’t just
to raise funds to support the
school, but to establish con-
nections with the people in
[the] Sisters community. We
have signup sheets so people
can join us on our second trip
next year. We need all the
support possible.”
Some of the students
from the Sisters High School
Interact Club were on hand
to lend a hand to the purchas-
ing of Ugandan goods, and
Sisters High School student
Nila Lukens opened up about
her experience in Uganda.
“The best part of the trip
for me was meeting all the
kids and to see how genuine
they are and how kind, open,
and ready to learn,” she said.
“It was an amazing experi-
ence to meet all the students;
they are very easy to become
friends with and to see how
happy they all are in such a
different culture, it’s a dif-
ferent way of life. It was eye
opening and yet very inspir-
ing. I came back with a sur-
real sense of gratitude.”
Pallister introduced a brief
history of Uganda during a
slide show presentation on the
big screen near center stage.
“Uganda is a country
roughly the size of Oregon,
but with more than 10 times
its population, which is about
32 million people. It was
dubbed the Pearl of Africa
by future prime minister
Winston Churchill in 1907.
But I couldn’t help but feel
that the beauty Churchill saw
was isolated to a few special
places. It didn’t take long
after arriving in Kampala for
us to see the rampant poverty
that grips this country, or the
lack of necessities we take
for granted,” Pallister told the
audience.
Pallister was eager to
share his experiences with the
guests.
“Our destination and rea-
son for our trip lay in the
small village of Kiwangala,
some four-and-a-half hours
photo provided
angeline Rhett with director of the good Samaritan School, Osborn
Muyanja, and project uganda organizer, heather Johnson.
drive from Kampala. Our
goal was to visit the Good
Samaritan School for several
days. We had prepared cur-
riculum to offer the students
and teachers during our stay
— health education, medical
knowledge, and we also came
with many supplies.”
The school was established
in 1989 by Osborn Muyanja,
a pastor who had come to the
region to help with the grow-
ing AIDS crisis. Through hard
work, patience, and an ever-
increasing demand for both
the education of the local chil-
dren and homes for orphans,
Osborn gradually expanded
BIKES, BEER, FOOD CARTS, FUN!
CYCLING
Saturday 10 a.m.
Road Bike Rides
Sales & Rentals
Repair | Maps
Parts & Accessories
Clothing
Join us!
Weight loss
informational meeting
Friday, May 29 • 6:30 pm.
Craft Beer
on Tap!
Hair
H
i |N
Nails
il | Facials
F i l |M
Makeup
k
|M
Massage
541-549-1784
541-549-2471
www.eurosports.us
Open 7 days a week
Corner of Hood & Fir in Sisters
161-C N. Elm St.
Offering Aveda™ products and haircolor.
RSVP to celebrate@
threecreeksbrewing.com
the school.
“I will never forget when I
first saw the group of orphans
when I was in Kiwangala as a
young pastor. I asked the chief
of the village what happened
to their parents, and he told
me they were all dead from
AIDS. That’s when I started
educating those children and
my first classroom was under
a tree,” Muyanja said to the
listeners.
To get involved with the
Project Uganda Campaign or
for more information contact
Heather Johnson, 541-639-
2969 or heather.johnson@
sisters.k12.us.