It is a sunny afternoon when thunderous applause sprouts out of the broad-leaved candle-nut tree enclave where the school community of Butoole Primary School is gathered. The pupils stand smartly clad in their green-striped shirts and pleated blue skirts and shorts packed close to each other on the brown desks. The nursery learners sit down on an orange tarpaulin laid out for them. The teachers form a security barricade around the learners at the back and the sides. A handful of guests sit at the side at the front looking on lovingly at the children. Excitement is in the air as they turn their heads to welcome the arriving guests as they drive through the school gate past the classroom blocks towards the open netball court astride the candle-nut trees where the school is jubilantly holding fort clapping their hearts out. The order and calm in the air show they have been waiting for this moment for a long time. As the team from the BRO Group disembarks from their cars, the applause grows tearing through the bright sky of a full sun.
The guests sit and the deputy head teacher who doubles as the day’s master of ceremonies a one Richard Kasangaki takes to the podium to read out the day’s agenda.
Being a catholic founded school, activities at Butoole Primary School begin with a prayer led by the catechist. The prayers conducted in Runyoro, the mother tongue, start and end with making the sign of the cross, an act done in uniformity by the entire school.
The community proudly speaks to each other in Runyoro. It is the way of life and not a performance tool. While opening the session, Tr. Kasangaki enchanted the learners asking them how they were feeling.
Tr. Kasangaki Richard: Mukwehura muta? (How do you feel?)
Pupils: Kurungi! (Very good)
Like someone once said, home is where the heart is at peace. Looking at the Butoole community, one gets the feeling this is home. The hearts of the pupils are at home. The innocence on their faces confirms children that are happy to be home. They are at ease raising their heads over each other to keep up with what is going on at the front. They follow instructions in unison a clear sign that they have done this over and over.
When they are called upon to sing the Bunyoro Kitara Anthem, their sweet melodious voices proudly pour out word for word through the three stanzas.
However, the tone lowers and the younger ones go quieter as the national anthem is sung. It is in English, a language that they are picking up along the education journey. As they struggle through the words of the first stanza, you can tell there is more work to be done.
This is why the Bro-Group decided to visit. The group is on a mission to walking this journey with this community of 500 learners in the Butoole community whose home pride should not be lost. As children grow through school, they tend to lose their confidence when they do not measure up. Having a support system that can enable them to grow is something that should not be taken lightly.
In his address to the guests, the head teacher was concerned by the continued absenteeism among learners. “One day, I found two siblings who had not come to school because they did not have pencils to write with,” said the perturbed headteacher.
Whereas this may look like a small problem, it must be addressed before it compounds. Children should never lose interest in education because they do not have scholastic materials. Butoole Primary School serves the communities of Butoole West, Kasambya, Rwengabi, Mburara, and Nyabunende villages. The school administration is concerned about the passive participation of parents for not fully supporting the children in staying in school.
“Absteesim is big here. Parents do not value education that much. Our biggest work now is sensitizing them to come to school. Learners drop out for lack of basic scholarly materials,” cried out the headteacher.
The government-aided school established in 1990 is located in Kyangwali sub-county, Kikuube district stands by the roadside on the road to the Kingfisher Oil Field.
The Kingfisher Project is run by CNOOC in Kyangwali, Kikuube district. The Bro-Group through its logistics arm offers logistics services to the project. And every time the trucks are on their way to the fields, the children light up with excitement, an act that touched the heart of the company to visit the school. This visit is what led to the events today.
According to Jonan Atuhuura, the community liaison officer for BRO Group in Bunyoro, “There was a need to stand with the school. Children should be given an opportunity to study and that is why we are here.”
Lorna Nankya, the head of human resources at Bro-Group and the leader of the visiting delegation said, “One day while coming from the CNOOC plant in Kyangwali, we saw Butoole primary school and we fell in love. We decided to start a partnership with the school. We decided to begin with scholastic materials but with time we shall do more.”
34 years later, the school has come so far and yet so much is to be achieved. In the absence of a main hall, they gather under the candle-nut trees, a luxury in the dry season and a burden when it rains. But the administration is committed to keeping the children in school a commitment that the BRO Group identifies with.
During this visit, the group donated scholastic materials ranging from books, textbooks, pens, pencils, and rulers among other details to aid in the process of learning, a gesture that was very well received.
The hope planted by this new partnership between Bro-Group and Butoole Primary School is what every community needs. Ms. Nankya promised to return with bursaries for the best students.
Children are a big deal in the Bunyoro Kingdom. This is emphasised in the chorus of the Bunyoro Kitara anthem which says “…nitwe abaana beihanga abakutamu ekitiniisa.” Loosely translated to ‘us the children of this land that respect you.’ For this commitment to be fulfilled, the children of Bunyoro must attain an education. The land must protect them and guide them to become responsible citizens who will take the kingdom to better horizons.
As the day’s events came to a landing, the jovial school community broke into the traditional dance of Runyege through resounding drum beats and foot stamps echoing through the ground. It was a great moment of gratitude.
