Why Uganda? Why Rushaga?
In the remote mountains of southwestern Uganda, near the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, our lives intersected at one small school. And that changed everything.
A letter from Cristy, Founder of Mi Bella Mondo
I have traveled to many places in my life. Ancient temples. Desert dunes. Mountain ranges that took my breath away. Travel has always been my way of understanding the world and my place in it.
But nothing prepared me for Rushaga.
I went to southwestern Uganda with a purpose: to meet with the founders of the Bwindi Conservation for Generations Foundation, to explore a partnership, and to determine whether this remote corner of the world, near the edge of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, could become part of what Mi Bella Mondo offers. I came back as someone who could not look away.
The man who built a school and never told anyone.
Mr. Silver built Rushaga Community School with his own money for children who had no other chance.
When I sat with him, I expected him to tell me about what he had built. Instead, he talked only about what still needed to be done.
He never mentioned the school fees he had personally covered, the seeds he gave to women, or the children he had fed when there was nothing at home. Other people told me those stories. Mr. Silver never would.
That is the kind of man who made me want to be better.
The principal who shows up anyway.
Mr. Godfried is the principal of Rushaga Community School.
He walked me through every room, classrooms too small and too dark, floors hiding broken glass that cuts children’s bare feet, a teacher’s office so cramped that educators can barely move, six donated laptops crowded into a space built for two.
He showed me all of it without apology and without despair.
He comes back every morning and does what he can with what he has. Not because the conditions are acceptable.
But because he believes these children deserve someone who shows up for them every single day.
Watching him, I thought: “This man should not be doing this alone.”
The young woman who took care of her family and cared for the community.
Gloria’s path could have been defined by hardship. Her father left. Then her mother left, taking some of the younger children with her. Gloria stayed, caring for her siblings and grandparents, with no reason to believe the world would give her a fair chance.
But she was brilliant. And a sponsor named Happy believed in her enough to fund her education. That belief, and Gloria’s extraordinary determination, changed everything. She finished school. She built a life. She never left Rushaga.
Today, she works at Nshongi Camp as a guide and assistant, supports the children at Rushaga Community School, and carries her community with her in everything she does. She is multi-faceted, deeply rooted, and full of potential.
With the right mentorship, there is no limit to what she will achieve.
I am honored to be that mentor.
The boy who sold bricks.
Benny grew up in Rushaga, raised by a single mother with limited resources.
A teacher at Rushaga Community School told him one day, “If you want to get out of poverty, be a doctor or a chef.“
He chose the kitchen.
When his mother did not have enough money for books and supplies, he sold bricks with his own hands until he had enough to keep going.
He earned his degree, worked his way to head chef, and then cooked me the best meal of my entire trip. I thought about that on the flight home, a boy who sold bricks to survive, who became a man who made sure a visitor from California never went hungry.
That generosity came from somewhere. It came from a school that gave him just enough of a foundation to build something extraordinary on.
That school is falling apart and needs your help.
Why can't I look away?
I came to Uganda with no idea that four people would change the direction of my life. I left with a burning desire to be better, to show up, to do something worthy of what I had witnessed.
Mr. Silver built it because children deserved a chance. Mr. Godfried shows up for it every single day because he believes they still do. Gloria came back to it because it shaped who she became. Benny carries it with him in everything he does.
Our lives intersected at one small, crumbling school at the edge of the world’s most impenetrable forest. And that changed everything.
And now 250 more children are sitting in those same classrooms, including 80 children from the Batwa community, an indigenous people displaced when Bwindi became a protected park, for whom this school is their only access to education, meals, and the possibility of a different future.
They deserve better floors. Better roofs. Enough desks to sit at. Doors that close against the weather. A computer lab that can actually hold their ambitions.
They deserve what Benny had, just enough of a foundation to build something extraordinary on.
That is why I started the Rushaga Community School Initiative. That is why I am asking for your help. And that is why, when we raise these funds, I will go back to Uganda myself to stand in those rebuilt classrooms alongside Mr. Silver, Mr. Godfried, Gloria, and Benny, and the 250 children who deserve to know that the world showed up for them.
“This is not a one-time act of charity. Mi Bella Mondo is committed to the long-term future of Rushaga Community School. Every Uganda journey we offer includes a $500 contribution directly to the school, so that what Mr. Silver built, what Mr. Godfried shows up for every morning, and what gave Gloria and Benny their foundation, continues to grow for generations to come.
One day, there will be a library in Rushaga named Mi Bella Mondo. My Beautiful World. Because that is what this place is. And the children who learn inside it will know that the world saw them, believed in them, and showed up.”
Our goal is $50,000. We have raised $1,000. Will you help us close the gap?
All donations are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Global Peace Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
— Cristy, Founder, Mi Bella Mondo
