The Passion Newsletter, September Issue, 2019 2The Passion newletter September 2019 | Page 9

THE SALAAMA SCHOOL FOR THE
BLIND- WALKWAYS PROJECT,
BY THE ROTARACT CLUB OF MUKONO.
Thus, with the cost of roofing shooting to a prohibitive 15
S
et in a lush wooded valley, in one of Uganda’s million, we were set to pave 3 courses of the walkways
lake districts, the district of Mukono, one can hardly
that we thought would cost not more than 6 million.
believe that Salaama school for the blind is just about
10 kilometres outside Mukono town, along Katosi b) The search for funds that included several futile
road.
attempts to bring big manufacturing firms on board. (We
wound up resorting to self-funding, where almost all club
The serenity and greenery of expansive tea plantations members came in to fund this project, not forgetting our
atop gently rolling hills must have been a factor in the partner Clubs.) We used approximately Four (4) million
location of this school, that has to many a blind child shillings (3,955,000), as opposed to our earlier estimated
become a sanctuary of hope. As soon as you set foot shillings 4,920,000. As a result, the project wasn’t
on the school premises, you can’t fail to fall in love completed, there was need for more aggregate stones,
with the environment, and the young children, for sand and cement, and there was a need for a phase two.
what God deprived them in sight, he compensated Luckily enough, we got partners from India that helped
in charm.
us to complete it.
It’s this charm and compassion that moved our hearts,
thus the resolve to make the life of these little angels
worthwhile. Although the love story with Salaama
School for the blind goes back to a little more than a
decade, this year was a little more special.
c) The execution phase happened on the 23rd day of
March, 2019. It was a physically straining project, that saw
several Rotaractors handle barrows of dirt and mortar for
the very first time. Some sections had to first be levelled
and the heavy pick axes and hoes came in handy, as we
huffed, puffed and dug away at the rock filled marram.
On the morning of Saturday 23rd March,2019, clad in
overalls, boots and heavy gloves, shovels, hoes and It was quite an experience, especially for the young
barrows in tow, we, together with our partners, the Interactors, and Rotaractors who had never imagined
Rotary Club of Mukono, the Interact Club of Seeta themselves at a construction site before.
High School Mukono, the Rotaract Clubs of Seeta,
UCU and many more, descended on the school to
By
execute this noble project.
The planning had been done in 3 phases,
a) The needs assessment visit to the site, that
helped inform our decision to zero in on a Health
and Sanitation project of paving of walkways in the
stead of re-roofing the dining hall that was earlier on
high on our agenda. We had noted with concern over
the years, the plight of the blind children and their
minders whenever it rained, for the former treaded in
mud and took it right into their dormitories, sometimes
into their beds, simply because being blind, they had
no way of changing course to find a less muddy, or
dry trail.
Gerald Ssesaazi,
Past Community Service director/
Patron Interact Club Seeta High school Mukono.
Rotaract District 9211
District 9211
The Passion
Bulletin
9