The Tekera Resource Centre in Uganda is on the road to self-sustainability thanks to the efforts and generosity of many South Deltans.
Established in 2009, the centre is overseen by the International Community Empowerment Foundation, which was formed by Tsawwassen sisters Bridget and Sonya Sangster in 2008.
The centre provides heath care, primary education, clean water, sanitation and economic empowerment to Tekera Village and its surrounding area of almost 8,000 citizens.
Project coordinator Daniel Ahimbisibwe visited Tsawwassen last week while he was in the Lower Mainland presenting at a conference at Simon Fraser University.
He said it was great the trip afforded him an opportunity to meet with local foundation members and see first-hand how money given to the centre is raised.
"It has been an eyeopening experience for me," he said. "When I contact Bridget and Sonya and other ICEF members saying we need money for this school project, or to fix a truck, I had no idea what went into the fundraising effort."
There are several components to the Tekera Resource Centre: the Tekera Primary School and Tekara Vocational School, the women's craft club and micro-finance group, the medical clinic and medical outreach and co-operative, and the demonstration and community farms.
The school has more than 300 students from nursery to Grade 7 and a vocational school offering four trades. Students walk up to 10 kilometres to attend what has become the number one primary school in the sub-county. A library, reading group and organized sports provide education/social opportunities to all members of the community.
The craft club has more than 50 members, many of them single mothers or grandmothers. Income from the crafts empowers the members to pay for their children's schooling, medicine and food.
The medical clinic has been a Godsend, according to Ahimbisibwe, providing treatment that was previously not accessible to most in the community.
"The biggest target for us is that right now we are on the road to self-sustainability," he said. "The goal for Tekera and other donors is to push us to the point where we don't have to rely on the donations of others. Everything we need is in the pipeline. The income of Tekera is going up, so I'm very confident within the next three years we will reach this goal."
He said the generosity of the foundation and the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, which over the years has donated more than $60,000, has made life-changing impacts on Tekera Village and its people.
To learn more about the centre, visit www.icefcanada.org.
