In 1999 an ex overland driver had seen there was room for a charity in Uganda involved in enhancing the quality of children's education through refurbishing and maintaining their schools. It was in this moment that Hannah Small set about creating Soft Power Education.
So where does the name "Soft Power" come from? It has nothing to do with electricity, power systems or software!
The moving force of history was, in the past, "hard power"- in the form of military might, political authority and wealth. What we have seen in recent years, however, is a decrease in the relative importance of this factor, and in its stead a remarkable increase in the importance of "soft power"- factors such as knowledge and information, culture, ideas and systems.
Daisaku Ikeda at Harvard University, Boston, USA on September 26, 1991
Based at Bujagali Falls, Hannah used the help, dedication and generosity of tourists and independent travellers to assist in the building of Buwenda Pre-School for Orphans. The land was a gift from the community and after twelve months of hard work, assisted by local builders, a pre-school appeared on the landscape. To the delight of 120 orphans the pre-school was officially opened in March 2003. Three qualified Ugandan teachers and one cleaner/teacher assistant staff the school.
The community of Kyabirwa looked on with interest and gifted more land to Soft Power Education requesting a similar school be built for their children. Kyabirwa Children's Centre opened in the spring of 2004 to the sound of 100 AIDS orphans and children from desperately poor families. We employ the same staff numbers as at Buwenda - teachers who are determined to encourage these little ones to learn English, play games, write, sing and dance.
Since then, Soft Power has gone from strength to strength. What seemed like an ambitious five year plan to renovate and refurbish the 20 Government Primary Schools in the area was achieved two years ahead of schedule. We continue to work on this project in a wider area and have to date worked at 28 schools.
In February 2007 Soft Power opened the doors to The Amagezi Education Centre which welcomes several thousand children each year into a unique learning environment aimed at involving them in their education and active participation. The centre also works closely with the local community offering courses in Sustainable Agriculture, ICT, Health and Sanitation, Drama and English.
In addition 2007 also saw the commencement of a new and exciting project in the north west of Uganda in the Murchison Falls Conservation Area, again working on the renovation of primary schools but also working in close partnership with the UWA to improve conservation education within the local communities and schools.
Our funding comes from overland groups, independent travellers and sponsors around the world. Every single penny donated to Soft Power Education goes towards refurbishing and upgrading the schools involved in the program; the running costs of the two pre-schools and the Education Centre; continuing the work in Murchison; buying building materials and paying for Ugandan labour and staff.
It is only through the ongoing support of funders and volunteers that we have been able to achieve so much in such a short space of time.