The story starts in Mwendo, Ruhango District Ruhango, in the remote village of Dusego. It is here where I grew up as a child and where my parents are living until this day.
Let alone neighboring villages, Dusego has 100 households, but for the young population, there is absolutely nothing: no nursery, no playground for the children to meet, socialize, and learn from each other. In the years of studying and moving abroad I have learned one thing: to develop, one has to be exposed to what life can offer. The children living here are not exposed to anything: not to books, not to toys, not to computers. I had a profound wish to change their situation for the better.
In 2020, I traveled in Dusego with a group of friends, to launch the first ‘A Dreaming Child center’ which was later developed into Dusego Empowerment Hub. I was excited to see it happening. Over 70 children and parents were waiting to meet us and learn about what we were planning for the center. We were also excited to discuss with them what are the pressing issues in their community and exchange insights on children’s rights.
As part of the launch, we visited the building which will house the center. We had donated money and other resources to have it clean and renovate the classroom for children.
We also shared food and drinks with the community as we discussed the projects, under which we hope children and young people will learn life skills and personal development, interpersonal skills, citizenship, and professional skills.
The idea was later to buy the land, and build a new classroom for children, a library and computer lab, as well as a space for recreation. We started the process of building the Dusego Empowerment Hub in 2023 and we are hoping to finish the first part in 2024 and start activities to serve the community.
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