Ein Freiwilligendienst in Uganda: Moshin Juma - His work, dreams and thoughts

Moshin Ibrahim Juma, Founder and Director of PCCP

It is 13^th 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

pccpuganda@gmail.com

info@peopleconcernchildrensproject.org

Donations: www.peopleconcernchildrensproject.org/donate

Facebook: Moshin Juma