February 2025 Acknowledging, Inspiring, Celebrating Resiliency
Community Awakening
February 2025 Newsletter
Acknowledging
There is so much to celebrate this month, but it’s also important that we pause and acknowledge the serious challenges that we’ve recently overcome.
During our annual site visit to Uganda in December 2023, Sunrise Centre observed some areas of concern around management and began monitoring activities at Buiga Sunrise CBO. We sat with the staff and local board and outlined points that needed to be addressed in order for our partnership to continue. When the CBO failed to make the necessary changes and provide the requested accountability, we halted international funding. In December 2024 we began forming a new partnership with AHI Uganda, an NGO dedicated to education and empowerment.
As we began transitioning management, a local family aligned with the previous management and attempted to collapse the organization and claim ownership of the property, inclusive of all buildings and assets purchased with international donations. They used fraudulent registration documents, imposed an illegal no trespass order and abused their position of influence to intimidate local people and block access to services. Their actions nearly resulted in the loss of Buiga Sunrise School and Grace Family Health Centre.
Fortunately providence brought together the right people at the right time to fight for collective rights, fair treatment under the laws of Uganda and protection of community resources. Our new partnership with AHI connected us with a network of lawyers, human rights activists and government officials who intervened. The community rallied to circulate a petition and register complaints with district officials, and through a collective effort the no trespass order was lifted, the fraudulent documents were exposed and the CBO was registered back with it’s original Founder. We are extremely grateful for everyone who came together to preserve the mission of Sunrise School and Grace Family Clinic. We would like to take this opportunity to extend heartfelt gratitude to
Mr. Isaac Luganda from AHI Uganda for his tireless efforts - he demonstrated a high level of integrity and capability in steering the organization according to it’s vision of equality, inclusion, compassion and empowerment
Mr. Okidi Tom legal counsel for AHI Uganda for his ability to navigate through the maze of registration and paperwork with the District, the DNMC, the Service Bureau and the Ministry of Education - we would have been lost without him
Mr. Jjuuko Joseph Kiyimba independent forensic accountant - his solid legal strategy dissolved the intimidation tactics, enforced the laws of Uganda and ultimately returned services back to the community
Sunrise Community Awakening
Inspiring
Buiga Sunrise CBO opened the new school year, and officially announced it’s partnership with AHI Uganda, with a Community Awakening on February 1. The purpose of the event was to uplift and bring people together in solidarity after the near loss of the school and clinic in January. The Ugandan Peoples Defense Force showed their support and led the awakening with the national military band. Hundreds of people joined in as students, parents, staff and community members marched in support of community rights and equal access to education and healthcare. It was a truly inspiring way to demonstrate the power of unity.
Celebrating Resiliency
The school is open and the children are back in the classroom - we can’t express how happy we are to see their smiling faces!
Sunrise Centre is dedicated to supporting the mission of Buiga Sunrise CBO, however there have been some serious repercussions from the attempted takeover in January and helping hands are needed to help us move forward with love and positivity
The illegal no trespass order prevented boarding students from registering in January for the 2025 school year, which has resulted in a loss of local income - boarding students who pay regular tuition rates subsidize underprivileged day students attending on bursaries - without boarding students the Sunrise model for sustainability has been destabilized
The previous CBO management left a significant debt in unpaid salaries, taxes and food invoices from 2024, which had to be paid off prior to reopening the school in February 2025
The bathrooms, dorms and kitchen had been neglected and required repairs to meet Ministry of Education standards
The clinic was closed in December 2024 with the intention of reopening with a focus on maternal and child health, however the unexpected legal fees, registration costs, debt and repairs have absorbed all available funding, with insufficient money remaining to reopen
We have put all the necessary legal and accounting systems in place and ensured secondary systems are also in place for supervising and reporting. The new Executive Manager of the CBO, Mr. Isaac Luganda, has 15 years experience and has consistent recommendations for a high level of professional integrity and capability. Together we are working on a plan to construct additional dormitories to increase revenue in 2026 to further our vision for 100% local sustainability (ratio will be 50% boarding & 50% subsidized day students). AHI has an extensive network across the country to attract boarding students and they have demonstrated they are qualified, connected, dependable and more than capable of accomplishing their goals. As the CBO stabilizes they need assistance with day-to-day operations to keep our students in school and to re-open the maternity side of the clinic. There are challenges ahead, but we trust in the goodness of people uniting and bringing together the necessary resources to uplift, sustain, empower and educate.