ENDOWOZA – Imagination

The Beginning…December 2004

Nestled in a shady matooke grove in Kyabirwa sits ‘Okusoma’ the ‘Learning’ centre, the start of a community education centre. Fourteen local youths rest for lunch in the dappled light under a mango tree. Now in the middle of their apprenticeship, the students arrived here two and a half months ago to an empty field. It is with their hands, the community support and the pro-active fund raising of students from the ‘World Class Kayak Academy’ that this initiative, the building of a pottery, has been possible.

In November 2004 Maddy Leslie received over one hundred and fifty applications from young adults of Kyabirwa village. After painstaking hours of reading and re-reading applications she short-listed thirty possible candidates. A very casual interview later, where she discussed their dreams and aspirations, she came away with fourteen of the least privileged. They were girls and boys that could not afford to continue their education, some that could not even afford to sit their P7 exams. The group were desperate to learn a new skill and support a project that would assist their community. The apprenticeship had started.

The “World Class Kayak Academy” a group of young kayakers in secondary education, tour the globe, chasing their dreams on incredible rivers. During the planning stages of their trans-Africa tour they came across “Soft Power Education” and their work along the banks of the Nile. A sponsored paddle later the kayakers arrived in Uganda with US$5,000 to support this new initiative, rolled their trousers up and got ready to get their hands dirty alongside the apprentices.

With the priceless assistance of Ugandan potters, the apprentice’s skills came on in leaps and bounds. The apprenticeship continued until the end of February. The students learned a myriad of life skills from laying foundations to throwing pots, from sourcing clay to tile making. The quality of the work was incredible and they had managed to grasp the breadth of ceramics – an achievement in itself.

October 2005

The production lines are open and 4 apprentices now run the pottery. We are inviting pupils from the twenty local primary schools for daylong workshops. The pottery is built beside The Education Centre and Soft Power Health’s medical clinic and the workshops will encompass both health education and artistic programs. This site will offer a chance for diverse, extra curricular creative education.

Already the apprentices are advancing into other projects and making beautiful wood print posters and cards. The cards are based on the apprentice’s definition of Happiness. The card is cut in half and folded before the stunning wood print design is glued neatly onto the front. The picture is wiped over with a cloth and the ‘happiness’ phrase stamped beneath. This may be Happiness is a new dress, or Happiness is spending time with friends…whatever the phrase, the accompanying image is simple yet wonderful.

The project is still young and there are still many dreams to be realised but with creative volunteers assisting in the work Soft Power Education is doing at Endowoza, these dreams are gradually being realised.