Buyaya

The Meaningful Volunteer programs are based in the parish of Buyaya. 

Lugisu is the main language spoken in Buyaya. A language prime for Lugisu can be found here.

Buyaya is a quiet parish consisting almost exclusively of sustenance farmers.  Meaningful Volunteer conducted a detailed census of Buyaya, the results of which can be found here.

Every house in Buyaya lacks legal electricity (expect for the volunteer guesthouse).  Some locals illegally connect their houses to the electricity lines.  This practise is highly dangerous and has led to many deaths across Uganda.  Almost all houses are made from mud brick.  Water comes from a bore-hole well and two standard wells.

There is a community trading center that sells vegetables and sometimes meat.  The trading center occasionally stocks soft drinks. 

Malaria is a big problem and has hit young children especially hard.  HIV is also very prevalent.  It is hard to know the true extent of HIV as many locals refuse to acknowledge their status due the associated stigma in the community.

The community is “youth heavy” with the 19.5 being the average age of a male, and 20.5 being the average age of a female.  

The level of literacy is very low. Most children finish elementary school, but often leave without being able to read.  Almost all children under 12 struggle to read simple words such as tune, sky, cute and so on.  Almost all children under 9 cannot read a single letter.  Very few students finish high school.  There are 393 children in primary school and only 54 in high school.