For the Tomorrow Vijana team it all started under a tree. The group held daily English lessons to help refugees in the settlement integrate better into their lives in Uganda. In partnership with Xavier Project, this passionate team is now teaching in a brand new hub, with three classrooms hosting English For Adults, Functional Adult Literacy and Computer Training courses throughout the week.
Tomorrow Vijana, meaning ‘the youth of tomorrow’, is a team of young Congolese refugees based in Rwamwamja Settlement, Uganda. Xavier Project started working with this passionate group in 2016. Rwamwamja settlement has an estimated refugee population of 80,000, a majority of whom are young people. At first Xavier Project supported the group with teacher training and the purchasing of scholastic materials, and then thanks to a grant from SPICMA in 2017 Xavier Project was able to manage the construction of a community hub for the group in Rwamwanja. The hub was completed in February 2018 and in March a grant from Electric Aid helped us to install solar panels and 12 computers to facilitate ICT classes.
While Xavier Project facilitated the funding of the hub and all of its materials, the community took responsibility for the construction of the building. Even the bricks of the building were made by members of the community. At this moment the community is still fully responsible for running and managing the hub. It’s Xavier Project’s role to give support by capacity building and development.
“We are so thankful to Xavier Project. They’re training us, guiding us, supporting us and providing us with different materials.” says Matthias, the team leader of Tomorrow Vijana. He is responsible for the different programmes in the hub.
Matthias: “We now have the tools that will facilitate us to transform the community. My dream for the people in the hub is to have their lives transformed and that they will be encouraged to transform the lives of others.”