The manifestation of the EarlyBird256 Community Center
On the note of normalizing safe spaces for girls living in rural areas so that they have access to health and wellness education in order to find the power of their voices, we have manifested our first physical safe space in Kamuli. We began our workshops in the Rev. Nayenga Primary School compound during the COVID-19 lockdown and two years later, we have a space where the students and community know how to access the resources we offer outside of school.
The space will be run as a community center so that even the children who are not enrolled in the two schools that we work with in Kamuli can come and learn about our mantra of #doinglittlethingswithpassion. This space is to be an extension of what the schools offer, this is where the students who attend our workshops get the extra help they need to thrive in their lives. We also welcome local teachers in our space to work together to improve the quality of education that our students are getting. It is important to us for the teachers to know that EarlyBird256 is not in competition with the classroom but an extension of it. Since the girls walk many miles to and from school, we keep extra uniforms, as well as sanitation products.
The space also has a kitchen where the earlybird meals are prepared through our Porridge Program which ensures that our students are not learning on empty stomachs. Some of the older students occasionally bring in vegetables from their gardens to contribute to the meals, embodying the spirit of paying it forward.
The students are showing up in numbers whenever we have an event and we are grateful for that. With our mantra of #doinglittlethingswithpassion, we will continue equipping the space with resources that will help our students perform better in schools as well as their communities.
We want this to be a safe space for the children to know that they are supported. A space to laugh, speak their truth, learn their worth, process and understand their feelings. Most importantly, this space serves as a reminder that they are not alone.
The support of the EarlyBird256 squad reminds us that we are not alone. The scholarship opportunity with Busoga High School is really the wind beneath our wings. Thank you for helping us create a better future for Uganda’s future generation.
This is a picture from our first workshop. We are a team that operates on good vibes and prayer.
