Sweet house becomes the ACT Resource Center

In 2006, when John and I travelled to Uganda for the first time, our friends there had prepared what was once a home in Muko Marketplace into a space for ACT and for us to stay in for our visit. It was a 5-room house with concrete floors and stone walls. And, something unusual about it for Muko, they had created a stone driveway up to the house where we parked the van/ambulance! 

Muko Marketplace

There was a small room (now our locked storage room) that we set up our REI cots and sleeping bags. The "kitchen" was outside over open fire to prepare meals as in the case of most homes in Muko. This home was owned by a former teacher of Generous' in the village and ACT was renting it from him.

In 2010, when the travel team went to Muko, I negotiated a price with Mr. Stanley for ACT to purchase the building to be used for our Center. I remember the conversation was mostly in Rukiga so I had Generous helping me understand. We have a handwritten "deed" to the property. 

The Deed

Since that time, we have added on to the building several times; built a guard shade (guard house), motorcycle storage room, and, out back alongside the demonstration garden, built a potato shed, mushroom house and mushroom prep shed. Plus there is a 2 stall latrine. Today, we have six staff members (Generous lives in Kampala) who work at the Center. In addition, we built a Community Library there with 2 desktop computers for the community members, a handcraft storage room, a training room and a porch for meetings and trainings in the back. There is solar power (aging) as well as public electricity from a pole. There is an "apartment" (bedroom and shower with sink) that our interns have stayed in. For security we have a new fence all around the compound but most importantly, it is guarded by Herbert and Vianney, the ACT guards. We are grateful to Alexander Gumoshabe's (Guma) leadership in all these projects!

Guard Shade behind the sign at the entrance

Community Library with desktop computers

Motorcycle storage

Apartment

                        Our first Internet connection: Colander with dongle inside covered by a peanut butter jar to keep it dry high atop the pole above the water tank!

One of our favorite stories, shortly after our renovation, we took a Peace Pole to Muko to install in front of our Center. As staff began this work, a village woman and her child came by and expressed her desire to install the pole. She was very excited about her part in this.

This building, now an important destination within the 74 villages of Muko Sub County, has served us well for 20 years. We are grateful for its presence and all it implies in Muko - a place of service to transform the community. 

Agape Community Transformation (ACT)

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