Situated 1km from the Paraa ferry crossing, the Murchison Falls Education Centre is ideally situated in the heart of the park. Its purpose is to bring students from local communities and all over Uganda to a facility where they can spend two or three days experiencing the wonders of the National Park, and where they can be taught the importance of conservation in all its aspects, for generations to come.
The centre comprises of the conference/education hall, a canteen, a library and several dormitory blocks and attendant facilities. Unfortunately its location north of the Nile has lead to its demise as it suffered at the hands of Amin’s men and later, was left to decay while the Lord’s Resistance Army still posed a threat. Now secure, Soft Power Education has renovated the library, canteen and education hall together with two dormitory blocks.
Together with the Ugandan Wildife Authority (UWA), we aim to turn the centre into the leading conservation education centre in East Africa, but there is still much to be done. Besides completing the structural renovations, the Murchison Project is planning to add nature walks and night time activities as well as creating an exciting and interactive learning environment. We will install an exhibition on the history and importance of the Park and its people, which will not only engage students but will provide a tourist facility not currently present. The Project aim is to be able to subsidise Ugandan school visits through this tourist income, making it both affordable and entirely self sustaining. At the same time, we will be able to provide employment opportunities to local people where few exist at present. There is considerable capital expenditure required before we reach this stage and we are currently working very hard with UWA to formalise our agreement and raise the necessary capital.
The refurbishment of the centre has included extending the building to allow more space for exhibitions and conservation education lessons.
Also on the Education Centre site there are 8 dormitory blocks. Below are pictures of before and after refurbishment which is still ongoing.
In addition to all that, there is also a newly refurbished Library and Resource Room and a Dining Hall complete with brand new kitchen area. The whole site will run off solar power which has been possible thanks to donations from SolarAid and The Canning Trust.
Whilst an incredible amount of work has been achieved, there is still a lot to do to enable us to welcome children to the centre. Another 6 dormitory blocks and numerous pit latrines are in need of major refurbishment work.
