Wangwe Rogers

It is true that the way we operate, our approach, is quite unorthodox, to say the least.

We don’t fundraise, we are team of volunteers and we are quite happy to try things, even when we think they have a small chance of succeeding, but feel it’s worth a try anyway.

All of this creates much confusion within the community. When they see a young man, working tirelessly, without pay, often against tough odds, they scratch their heads, or worse, assume that he is getting payment under the table.

Wangwe Rogers first came to our attention when during one of our first community meetings, he stood up and asked some biting questions to the leaders and elders present, such as: “you may be promising all this support to this project right now, but a year down the line, will your commitment still be there?” [paraphrased]. He was not yet twenty at that time.

He soon became one of our volunteers, though he was working fulltime at a nearby clinic. As the clinic closed towards the end of 2008, Rogers became a core volunteer spending more and more time at the computer center and the library.

We can now say that Rogers has single handedly ensured the continuity of our many experiments in Buhugu, during 2009. From liaising with the community members, managing community expectations, improving processes on the ground, taking care of the various assets, and generally being the face of the project in Buhugu, there are not enough words that can be said about how much he has contributed.

What drives him? He will laugh and say that he just wants to help people come up.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Rogers was recently hired by the Sironko District to work as an immunization coordinator at the rural health center at Buteza, some distance from Buhugu. However, Rogers now has a young family in Buhugu and we are happy that he will be near us when not in Buteza.

Thank your Rogers for all you have done, for us and others.