Click to enlarge - photo by Boris

2008 Kyangwali COBURWAS Newsletter

Start an International COBURWAS Club

COBURWAS and PeopleWeaver would like to encourage others to start their own COBURWAS club. It is hoped these international clubs will promote communication and understanding between people. Clubs will organize locally, determining their own club guidelines, goals, and projects. Suggested club projects include support and encouragement for local club members; community improvement projects; support and encouragement by and for refugees who have relocated to other countries; support for the Kyangwali community; Kyangwali student sponsorships; promotion of PeopleWeaver Kyangwali fund raisers, i.e., sales of calendars coffee, etc. Projects can be as varied as the club members' imagination and creativity. International COBURWAS clubs are self-determining and self-directed. If you are interested in starting a COBURWAS club contact PeopleWeaver.

COBURWAS CLUB Kyangwali Constitution - Word format

COBURWAS CLUB Kyangwali Constitution - PDF format

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, Daniel, and Marcel are the first students to be sponsored at the university level by Educate!

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