A total of 250 fishermen from both upstream and downstream of the Bujagali dam were in attendance. At the end of the sensitization campaign, each fisherman received fishing hooks, life jackets and fish nets.

In addition, farmers have been trained on sustainable farming practices through the provision of advisory services such as training of farmers on soil conservation and management, use of organic compost and compost making and crop pest and disease management.

Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) has always acknowledged its role to contribute to the growth of society, particularly its host communities, by empowering them through outreach programs in every sphere including education.

Students in the BEL region have enjoyed golden opportunities thanks to these initiatives. The company’s education initiative includes ongoing programs for tertiary education scholarships, graduate trainees, mentoring, and environmental projects for students in the community.

Scholarship: The BEL scholarship programme has supported over 20 students pursuing various tertiary courses including Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

Graduate Trainee programme: The first ever graduate trainee programme provided opportunities for graduates to further their qualification at Bujagali Hydroelectric plant to supplement their course work.  This trend has continued annually as a way of nurturing the younger generation in the engineering and electrical field.

Mentorship programme: With about 478 students from various schools benefiting from the mentorship programs in 2021, BEL ensured that the students are aware of the scholarship program applications and assisted them with information on college application and admissions processes.

The company also extended its support to post primary schools. It constructed a nursery school for children in 2011, within its region, with the view of accommodating children from the village who could not travel to other schools due to their age group (3-6) years.

In March 2021, BEL delivered a project to construct sustainable kitchens for schools. In Naminya Church of Uganda primary school the company introduced modern energy saving stoves that are affordable to use and environmentally friendly, benefiting about 600 students and 15 teachers.

As part of the school’s initiative, they further started a vegetable project in April 2021. With the distribution of garden tools such as hoes, watering cans, trawel knives, seeds, fertilizers, sprayers, and pesticides. The project which is being carried out in 2 Government primary project aims to supplement school meals. In addition, the school vegetable project will enable pupils acquire knowledge and skills to grow vegetables at school and even in their homes.

This year, a total of 165 students in both schools have been trained by the BEL team on seed bed preparation, planting, compost making, watering, and spraying among others and vegetables such as African egg plants, kales, carrots, onions, tomatoes, garden egg plants and Amaranthus are produced to supplement the children’s diet.

BEL commissioned the fruit tree project in the East Bank region in 2008 which greatly flourished. After more than a decade of monitoring and nurturing the fruit trees, community members are now benefiting from this great endeavor.

‘’Fruit trees compliments the feeding program in the community as well as generate a source of income.’’

The success of the initial projects has motivated BEL to continue planting more fruit trees. In 2021, BEL distributed fruit tree seedlings across the various communities. Over 2,350 fruit trees of Annona Muricata, Oranges, guavas, tangerines and Vangueria apiculate, were distributed to over 800 households in 4 villages and 5 schools.

The company has also been training the community members in the villages through community meetings on the benefits of tree growing and particularly, the benefits of growing fruit trees.

Eradicating Malaria is still a key aspect especially during this time where a lot of attention is centered towards curbing the global pandemic. As the world celebrates the achievements of countries that are approaching and achieving malaria elimination for World Malaria Day, Bujagali Energy Limited (BEL) is at the forefront to help Uganda reach the zero malaria target.

It was a new dawn for Bujagali residents after BEL initiated a mosquito net distribution project in February 2021 to help mitigate the malaria menace in the region.

‘’Currently, the community is struggling with a lot of mosquitos, and quite a number of them especially the elderly who are most vulnerable are suffering from Malaria.’’ Says Maasa Yafesi the local council chairman of Bulooba.

Project implementation

With the help of the company’s staff and community members data was collected on elderly persons between the ages of 60- 97 within the project area. The data enabled them to identify 9 villages: Namizzi west, Kyabirwa, Ivunamba, Bujagali, Kikubamutwe, Malindi, Buloba, Naminya Kiira and Naminya Resettlement as the most affected villages by the menace.

During the net distribution event, the company staff in attendance, 9 local councilmen representing the 9 villages and two village health teams were dressed in t-shirts with the message “Zero malaria starts with me and my net”. They educated the members of the community on the benefits of adhering to malaria prevention measures including sleeping under the net. The BEL team ensured that all the concerns regarding mosquito net usage had been addressed and questions answered before handing over the nets.

A total of 326 insecticide-treated bed nets were distributed to various households in the villages.  However, a reasonable number of elderly persons could not make it to the distribution points due to immobility factors. The BEL team ensured that their nets were received by the next of kin.

This initiative by BEL is in line with the WHO goal of achieving a world free of Malaria.