History

I first went to Ruhanga in south-west Uganda in 2006 when I was invited by my safari driver Mr Denis Aheirwe. He took me to see his compound – the family land given by his father – and I immediately saw its potential. It is right on the  main road that runs from Kampala to Rwanda and the home of the mountain gorillas,  but it was in a rural  area where passing visitors had no reason to stop. Denis’s dream was to build a Guest House so tourists would stay awhile and thus he could provide employment for his local village people.

He was already employing men to make bricks, as the clay there is very good quality. Some bricks he sold and some he used to begin building his house. He introduced me to his family and friends in the village and I found them all so friendly and welcoming despite their poverty, that I was bowled over – all the rest of my spending money was soon gone in the local hardware shop buying cement, nails and iron sheets.

Denis and I talked over new ideas of how together we could even further help to raise the income levels of some of these impoverished farmers and the many orphans in the area. I came back to the UK, did some fund-raising, and put in money of my own and was out there again after a few months.

Getting Started

After completing the main rooms in the house  – now the lounge, the bar and two staff rooms -  we concentrated on getting four bedrooms built at the back. This started to generate a small income as it was adequate for local guests, although not of a standard suitable to invite volunteers. We needed to clean the whole place up and build better toilets and washrooms if we wanted to attract Mzungus (white people).

I discovered that I could pay local men the equivalent of a pound a day for labouring and they would be queuing up for work,  so we got them filling in the holes left behind from making bricks, levelling out the land and generally getting  it looking less like a building site.

As I raised more money here in the UK  from giving talks about Uganda and running raffles and sales, I sent it out to Denis and each time I went back I found many improvements. We built four individual African Bandas and a new toilet block nearby.

We put in an electricity supply and TV was a novelty for a long time especially with the teenage boys.  We are one of the few places around that has power. Now that we are getting some more visitors and volunteers we have been able to build another two guest rooms  at the far end of the compound.

Community Hall

I met with the local chairmen and leaders of the women’s groups and we formed and registered a CBO (Community Based Organisation) I asked questions to discover what facilities they wanted so the villagers would get some more direct benefit from me being there – at that stage they could not see how the Lodge would be to their benefit in the long-term!

The result was a large hall that they could use for meetings and training sessions and also hire for parties and concerts.  After travelling out there with me, my daughter Tracie came home and together with her friend did a Bungee Jump; they collected  almost £1,000 and that paid for iron sheets on the roof of the hall.

Craft Centre/Workshop

An Aunt from Australia sent some money and we began to build a craft centre/workshop. This remained partly built for almost a year but in October 2008 with the help of a UK friend Ida Horner,  I  held an African themed auction and dinner  and we raised about £1,500. This I took out with me in January and we completed the walls with a reinforced concrete  band and many air bricks, got the roofing timbers up and fixed the iron sheets on the roof.

The exchange rate had dropped considerably and all building materials had gone up in price. So now we need about £2,000 to get it completed, and ready to start vocational training classes

The Nursery School

This building started out in life as a chicken house and we did raise nearly 1000 chickens, but found it cost more to feed them than the income we got from them, so we left it empty for awhile. The parents were asking us to start a Nursery School as primary does not start until they are seven so I suggested we utilise the ex-chicken house.

After much discussion it was thoroughly cleaned and painted and with pictures on the wall, mats on the floor, and a blackboard it already puts many government schools to shame. Volunteers have taken out crayons and colouring books, pens & pencils, clipboards, plastic bricks, dolls and toy cars, and many small reading books.

Eventually we plan to replace the chicken wire with proper glass windows, concrete the floors to stop the dust, and have benches and desks made – maybe in our own workshop?  We currently have over 40 students and they look so sweet in their new school uniforms .

Toilets in the Nursery Compound

Currently (April 2009) we have dug and part-bricked  a large hole for a septic tank so we can have some permanent toilets but this is proving costly due to the high water levels.  When it is completed the Education Officer has said he will sign the papers for our school to become registered.

Further Classrooms

Foundations for a new classroom and teachers office have begun, as we have found parents of many of the oldest nursery children are reluctant to send them to the government schools. The standards are poor and private primary schools are far away as well as being very expensive. We do charge fees at our nursery but only enough to cover expenses and make it self-funding , as so many of the families are in a very low income bracket.

Overview

The main building is set well back from the front gates and there a couple of round African shelters with chairs and tables set in the front where guests can enjoy a cold drink and  have their lunch served. A large covered area has recently been completed and there is a TV, pool table, darts and seating areas

There are four bandas of different designs down the left-hand side of the compound with two toilets just to the rear. Another four bedrooms are at the rear of the main house and the kitchen is across to the right hand side.

Behind this is a large hall that is used by the local community for meetings, trainings, seminars and the occasional party. We have over 100 plastic chairs and a few tables. The roof is constructed of iron sheets and the walls are papyrus matting.  Eventually we hope to brick the walls up at least to half-way.  

           Further down are   three new individual houses, making this a very quiet area for guests, especially backpackers and volunteers . On the left hand side of the compound, past the bandas is the large craft centre/workshop that we are trying to raise enough money to get completed  (April 2009 - about  £2,000 is still needed)

  Banana plantations flank either side of the compound and hills are seen rising above both sides of the valley a few hundred metres away from the lodge behind the villages.

The Nursery School  is a short walk through the plantation on an adjoining compound, and it is here that we can offer guests an area to camp if they wish to be away from the main complex. We are currently striving to complete a septic tank and new toilet/shower block.

We have put in the foundations for additional classrooms for older children  – particularly orphans and others who may need to board.

Set amongst rolling hills in the south-west of Uganda our hotel/guest house is easily reached from Kampala in a few hours.   Although in a rural village setting it is on the main Kabale Road, and buses coming from Kampala will drop you off at the gates. There is a small town (Ntungamo) about 10 kms away and Mbarara, the provincial capital, is about 50 kms back towards Kampala. We can arrange for a pick-up by car from Entebbe (Kampala) airport to either the correct bus station or right down to Ruhanga and the Centre itself

Accommodation

The Lodge offers  budget rooms and African style bandas that are ideal for visitors, backpackers and volunteers. They have comfortable beds with mosquito nets, and there are manually filled  showers in each room. Hot water can be supplied in a jerrycan.

A good mains power supply  allows for  lighting, electric kettles and the recharging of phones. laptops, cameras etc. The rooms each have either two single or one double bed  and an extra bed can be added if required.

We have a total of 11 guest rooms, some adjoining the main house and some standing alone. We also have an area suitable for camping & if all the rooms are full we can supply tents.

Our toilets are nearby but not in the rooms as we do not have running water. However they are kept clean and fresh and you have a choice of sitting or squatting!

Bar and Lounge

There is a comfortable lounge with satellite television and DVD, and the adjoining bar bar serves  a variety of sodas, beers and spirits. There is an annexe with a pool table, darts board, a second TV, and covered restaurant area.

Meals can be served in your own room,  in the lounge, in the annexe or outside under one of the thatched shelters.

Breakfast, lunch and supper plus the accommodation is included in our daily tariff of 30,000 ugx per day and these meals will consist of local types of food except by prior arrangement with our manager

We offer  budget priced rooms both adjoining the main building or African style bandas that are ideal for visitors, backpackers and volunteers. They all have comfortable beds with mosquito nets, and there are manually filled  showers in each room. Hot water can be supplied in a jerrycan.

A good mains power supply  allows for  lighting, electric kettles and the recharging of phones. laptops, cameras etc. The rooms each have either two single or one double bed  and an extra bed can be added if required.

We have a total of 11 guest rooms, some adjoining the main house and some standing alone.  We also have a quiet  area suitable for camping & if all the rooms are full we can supply tents.

Our toilets are nearby but not in the rooms as we do not have running water. However they are kept clean and fresh and you have a choice of sitting or squatting!