The Lake Bunyonyi Christian Community Vocational and Secondary School (LBCCVSS), was set up in 2006 due to high demand for education and vocational skills in the local area. The school is located on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi in the far south west corner of Uganda, close to Rwanda. In this rural community the majority of pupils live too far from the school to travel in every day, so most board and many are orphans.

 

The school charges very low fees with around 40% of pupils who are unable to pay admitted for free. It is funded by its sister charity the Lake Bunyonyi Development Company, which runs a tourist camp on Bushara Island. Both organisations were set up and are run entirely by Ugandans from the local area, with no state funding.

 

We have worked alongside Engineers from Buro Happold from 2008-2014 to develop and support this school. It has increased in size almost every year and due to the recent work that has been completed, having expanded from originally just 30 children to over 350 today.

 

Together the Richard Feilden Foundation and the Happold Trust donated £25,000 for the first phase, which included engineering works (to secure the school grounds due to the very steep nature of the site and heavy rainfall in the wet season), an open dining hall structure, classrooms, new kitchen and latrines. A similar amount has been contributed for the second phase which includes a 2-storey dormitory with classrooms and workspaces, completed in 2014.

 

Alongside the built infrastructure, we have helped support income-generating activities for the school to be financially self-sustainable. These include a bee-keeping project to sell honey in local markets, rabbit and goat farming, and a government subsidised tea plantation on the school grounds. It is anticipated that the school will eventually be able to self-fund future plans for the site envisaged in the long-term masterplan, including a staff accommodation block, new classroom block and a ‘Welcome’ Building.’

 

The project received a Commendation in an international competition to design the 'Classroom of the Future', run by Architecture for Humanity and was shortlisted as one of eight finalists.

 

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