Bududa Learning Center

Among the numerous charity groups working in Africa, there is a special grassroots endeavour which has its roots in eastern Canada and the US. It is called the Bududa Learning Center (BLC). The BLC started in 2008. It was founded by a native born Montrealer, Barbara Wybar, and is located in the lush green mountains of eastern Uganda, a subsistence agricultural district where the majority of people live in extreme poverty. There is a lack of clean running water and electricity, insufficient land to grow enough food to feed the local population and an underfunded public education system. Although the AIDS epidemic is coming under control in Uganda, there remain huge numbers of orphans as well as widows with no income and up to ten children to support. Our threefold program at the Bududa Learning Center addresses some of the most urgent needs of the community. Sitting on its own, newly built campus the Bududa Learning Center includes three main programs.

• The Bududa Vocational Academy (BVA) offers vocational training in tailoring, computer skills, carpentry, nursery teacher training and bricklaying.
• The Children of Bududa (COB) program supports 135 orphans and vulnerable children and their families by providing daily school lunches, assistance with school fees, medical support, counselling and academic support during our Saturday program.
• The Women’s Microfinance Initiative (WMI) teaches women how to run a small business and provides short term group loans.

The Bududa Learning Center is governed by the Bududa Canada Foundation and the funding of the center comes from individuals, foundations and organizations in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.