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| Moshin Ibrahim Juma, Founder and Director of PCCP |
It is 13th May, Moshin and Leo are sitting next to the stove for cooking, right below a nice and shady tree. The yellow weaver birds above us are continously building their nests into the branches (video on instagram). As it's break time during mid-day, we could find some time to do a general interview for the people who don't know the People Concern Childrens Project yet. Enjoy.
I:
How did the project in Kampala start and how did you get the idea?
M:
The reason why I started the People Concern Childrens project is
because. The People Concern Children's Project is located in the
biggest slum in Kampala. Where there is a lot of people doing jobs in
the city and they can not take their children to school. So I decided
to start a small literacy centre, so that when their parents go to
work, at least the children have somewhere to stay and get some
education. And I just thought it is a great thing to give back to my
community, because that is the community where I was born.
I:
How did you make contact with VIA e.V.?
M:
Oh, it's a great thing. I got contact with VIA e.V. through a VIA
volunteer. She came to the school as a visitor and saw all the work I
was doing and she asked me if I had heard about the volunteers from
VIA. And then I told her I did not know anything about VIA, and she's
like: „I can talk to some people and you really can get volunteers
from Germany.“ Then she talked to a guy called Leonard Kawuma, he
came and visited me. Later a gentleman called Peter R. came. The
process was a bit slow, but when Elke came, everything was done fast.
So Elke is the reason why we have VIA volunteers.
I:
How have the pioneers of the project continued their school-career?
M:
Most of the pioneers of the centre stayed at our literacy centre.
First it was only meant to teach children how to read and write, but
eventually we realised that some of these children were bright and
that they should stay in school. We decided to break our room into
four spaces, we had level 1 to level 4. After they finished level 4,
they were ready to be integrated into Primary 5. That's where they
continued until Primary 7. That's the minimum level of education in
Uganda. After finishing the primary levels, five of them decided to
continue with highschool. They also finished Senior 4. And then one
went to mechanics. I still work with the pioneers until now.
I:
What career opportunities do they have?
M:
Among the pioneers, one went into mechanics, but he did not feel
respected and he dropped. Later, he went into video editing and
DJ-ing. He also did a bit of gold-mining, but currently he does
general business with a merchandise company in Kampala. The rest of
the Pioneers, for example Odong Felix is a builder, Rama is running
our small greenhouse in our new project in Mpigi. They are really
doing well.
I:
I am glad you brought up Mpigi. What is happening in Mpigi, how did
you get the idea, how did you find the place?
M:
The idea of Mpigi came about as a result of wanting to be sustainable
at some point. I was thinking about a medium of sustainability in the
project.I was tired of asking money from people. I though about
gatherig 154 000 USD. I wanted to build a one-stop centre where the
children come and do everything. They do nursery, primary, secondary
and technical school. When they leave, they are ready for the labor
market. Nobody of the people I worked with believed in my plan,
because they thought it could never work. So it was a single handed
plan. I got 5 acres of land later and it is how you see it now.
I:
How has the construction been going on and how did it get funded?
M:
Mpigi is funded by an organisation in Germany called „Aktion
Canchanabury“ (canchanabury.de). It is a small organisation in
Bochum that I have visited. They were so excited about the plan, but
they did not have the money. They had somebody who had 34 000 Euros.
That's what they gave me, that's the money I used to buy the land and
start on the structure. Along the way a friend of mine called Mark
Courtney also helped fund the toilets, another friend of mine, who is
also the director of „Seeds for Enrichment“, Elizabeth, funded
the borehole and the greenhouse. And then I have a friend called
Barbara, who got us the cement and a few of the doors. A friend of
mine from the US called Paul Sutherland helped us with some of the
furniture and putting in electric wires and the generator. So you
see, it's been a pool of a lot of people. It is not a big fund. Until
now, we have people who want to do a few funds. For example the
kitchen with the help of a school in Netherlands. Also volunteers
from Germany come and we do some work together. All these people are
making this dream come true.
I:
What is your long-term vision for Mpigi?
M:
My long-term vision is to have a model school: The greenest school in
the world, but also a one-stop centre, where they get all the
education in the same space. And when they leave, they'll be ready
for the labour market. Most importantly, the greenest school in the
world. We plant our own food, we eat from our school, but also sell
food, so we can obtain selfsustainability.
I:
How is the PCCP in Kampala funded?
M:
It does not have funding. Actually, none of our projects have
funding, it's a day-to-day activity, where we have people donate. We
run on a plan and on a budget, but nobody funds the budget. We do one
day at a time. It's a principle that I work with: If you want to go a
hundred kilometres, take the first step. The project has run for the
last 12 years, but I run the programs one day at a time. I run Monday
and it ushers into Tuesday, then into Wednesday,.. Just like that.
One month goes, two months go. If I really had funding for this, I
think it would be much swifter that the way I run it now.
I:
What are your difficulties?
M:
The difficulties I encounter are funding and some people, who take
the work for granted, mostly the people on the teams i work with.
They think it's a joke. We just try to keep it together, because we
are dealing with the lives of poor children. I try to be as
admistrative as possible, so I say everything and I try to protect
the rights of children the best way i can possible. The rest of the
things will come in the longrun.
I:
You are planting a forest-garden. Was it planned from the beginning?
M:
It wasn't a plan from the beginning. I have been teaching „Conflict
and Disaster-risk Management“, mainly on climate change. That's
where I got the inspiration. I thought: If everybody is cutting down
their trees, I could just create a green environment. Alongside that
I am working with Leonard, who is also researching a lot. We want to
create a green space, where, even when it's shiny, it's green, cool
and chilly.
I:
What are your thoughts towards permaculture and ecological
sustainability?
M:
Permaculture is a great thing we can work on, because it gives us all
we might need: shade, food. Everything stays in its natural setup,
whichs helps us improve on the environment, it gives us fresh air
that we breathe. I think it's a great thing and I would love to
practice it. Maybe people can also see the model from us.
I:
Would you see permaculture, something that upholds itself, as a
principle that can be seen in society and as a system that can be
integrated into the lessons on your school?
M:
Permaculture itself is a great ideology and I would really love to
teach that and integrate it into the curriculum. It's unfortunate
that I do not write the curriculum, but can just patch it in, for
example in science. Maybe we can run it as a program, so the students
get the gist of it. Maybe they would also want to be the pioneers of
it in the country.
I:
Could you tell us more about your biography?
M:
That sounds good. I was born of the late Ibrahim Juma, my mother is
Amina Ibrahim in 1980. I was born in a family of 23 children. My
mother gave birth to 12 children, my father already had children. She
was his youngest wife. I had a very humble background. My dad was a
salesperson, but I did not see myself doing that. He played golf. As
I grew up, I ran a lot, I played a lot of sports, I played rugby, I
boxed, I kicked, I played a lot of football, which I do until now. I
went to a humble school, not the greatest, but a humble school in the
middle of town. I just thought about being the change I really wanted
to see. Everytime I was in school, for me, it was not about passing
exams, it was about effecting change in the community and Africa as
a whole. So at least people have a life to live. When I look at
things, I don't look at it from my perspective, I look at it from the
perspective of society and community. I am not the first
beneficiaries in most cases, I am actually the last. It is one of the
greatest strengths I have about myself. It kept me strong and going.
I do not give myself priorities, I give it to the work I am doing. I
only give myself priority in terms of physical health, because I
really try to run and train, I try to eat well and sleep well. I have
not been able to sleep enough for the last 13 years. But I try to
keep up with my fitness and health. Not-being selfsufficient has kept
me going, because I rarely think about myself. I think about the
bigger picture of everything that I am doing.
I:
What gives you the strength to keep going?
M:
It is the change I see in the work everyday. It is the people I meet
everyday. It is the people who come and appreciate what I think is
really small. I really derive energy from people who tell me: „You're
doing great. We love what you do!“ I am even being followed by
people I have never met. They really want to see my work and see it
evolve. This is what inspires me and it is what keeps me going.
I:
How can people support your work or contact you?
E-Mail:
moshinjuma@yahoo.com
Donations:
www.peopleconcernchildrensproject.org/donate
Facebook:
Moshin Juma
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| Area in front of the school's building: recently planted trees with a German fence around them. |
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| Our duck comes to the kitchen every day at around 6 pm and disappears at 7 pm. |
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| The birds making all the noise during the interview. |
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| Our current kitchen. |
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| Osman and Leo next to a guave tree. |
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| Rainy season is here. The water tank is watering the greenhouse. |
