COBURWAS Club
On December 5, 2005 three students at the Kyangwali refugee settlement in western Uganda, Daniel Muhwezi, Bahati Kanyamanza, and Benson Wereje, started their own educational club in the camp. The club is called COBURWAS, short for Congo-Burundi-Rwanda-Sudan, a name chosen to represent unity among the different nationalities at the camp. The COBURWAS club used the Educate! organization as a model, but modified their club to meet the local needs of their community.
To join COBURWAS each person must agree to adhere to club rules, participate in club activities, pay a nominal fee, and be approved by COBURWAS members.
Club members patch holes in the roads and hack through fields to raise money to pay for other members' uniforms and books. Members also raise money by digging (farming with hand tools), earning about 33 cents for an intensive day-long labor. Many of these club members are not yet sponsored to continue their education and cannot afford to put themselves through school.
Club members act as role models for others in the community. COBURWAS members encourage parents to provide for their children’s education; usually this involves great and sometimes impossible sacrifices for the families. The club also organizes community projects and programs a few of which include:
- Programs that promote personal responsibility for self, family, and the community at large.
- Programs which provide AIDS education, and promote responsible and safe sex.
- Community participation in malaria reduction by removing mosquito infested brush.
- Distribution of malaria nets and medication provided by Project Meds and Nets.
COBURWAS Board Members are:
- Benson Wereje, President*
- Janet Chimpaye, Vice President
- Daniel Muhwezi, Secretary General*
- Jean Paul Amani, Organizing Secretary
- Bahati Marcel Kanyamanza Treasurer*
- Ndeze Mahirwe, Vice Treasurer
*Benson, Daniel, and Marcel are the first students to be sponsored at the university level by Educate!