One Door Closes and Another Opens

In July 2008 I was there for the grand opening of the Eva Ruf Resoure Centre on Kalinabiri Road in Ntinda, Uganda. My role in getting the centre ready for opening was a minor one (there was an amazing team of volunteers that created the centre while the rest of us worked in the schools) but I remember my face hurting from smiling so much as the children laughed and played with all the resources now available to them.

Since then, the centre welcomed close to 1,000 visitors each month. Primary school children came to play and read, secondary school children studied quietly in the garden, and adults used the internet cafe or used the resources to increase their knowledge. Between 7:30am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday, the ERRC was a hub of activity.

Here we are at the end of July 2012 and here we are at the end of the existence of the Eva Ruf Resource Centre. Financial constraints and an inability to become self-sustaining has forced the difficult decision to close the centre at its current location. Unfortunately I was there to arrange the end as well.

But as always, when one door closes, another opens. The resources are still there and are now moving to a new home.

When the resources travel to Uganda, they make the journey in a 20' big steel container. These containers are now slated to become literacy centres that can be "easily" set up anywhere there is a desire and commitment to have one. This is what is happening to the ERRC.

I have worked with the staff at Kawanda Secondary School since July 2008. The teachers, administrators and students are committed to literacy and so it is a perfect for the first mobile literacy centre. A beautiful spot has been selected under a big tree, near the entrance to the school. There is a grassy area where the students will be able to sit and enjoy the books. A side gate will be create so that other school groups can come to use the centre and so that members of the community can utilize it as well.

 For Kawanda it will hopefully be a win-win situation as the students will have access to thousands of books and the school will be 'advertised' within the community. As a private boarding school, this is important.


I am sad and sorry that the community of Ntinda is losing the centre. The neighbours were all dismayed when they heard that the centre was closing. They wanted to try to find solutions to keep the centre open or to move the container to the local secondary school instead. Unfortunately that wasn't possible.

 It was a difficult situation to be in as I had to answer many questions from the community. But even more difficult was having to share the news with the staff that has been employed there for the past 4 years. In a country where the unemployment rate is 62%, jobs are few and far between unless a person has a specific skill set. I hope I will be able to keep in contact with the amazing people I have met and worked with. I wish them all the best and thank them for their dedication to the project.

The doors to the ERRC will be closed on July 31st, 2012.
It will be a very quiet place until the end of October when Niteo finally vacates the property.