Some people think it’s spelled Mombasa, which is actually a well-known coastal port in Kenya. Others hear the word and believe it’s spelled Mumbaza, Mwabaza, or Mambazo. It’s totally ok! For some pronunciation help, here’s a short video of Mwebaza Infant Primary School students in Kyengera, Uganda showing us how to pronounce it.

It’s easy to give to a nonprofit with recognizable names like The Red Cross, CARE, and Amnesty International. These nonprofits carry huge overhead expenses, like salaries for C-suite executives, massive travel budgets, and staff housing for those employed internationally. By giving to a hyper-local nonprofit, you can have a better understanding of where your donation will go.

The white savior mentality is hard to eradicate. It’s a mindset that white people are taught in schools, in religious organizations, in film, in books, and even at home. It’s a mindset that we are not often encouraged to question or examine.

Our shared goals with our Ugandan partner communities have always been self-sufficiency and sustainability. However, we couldn’t focus on the future of attaining these goals until basic needs for students and their families were met. Here’s how we are laying a foundation for education for all by first collaborating with Ugandan community members on sustainable solutions that secure access to water, food, shelter, and electricity.

Ugandan builders know how to work with materials from the earth. They have a long history of making bricks out of mud and clay. This hyperadobe build employed the same mentality but used a different method that didn’t require drying or baking bricks.