Ogden’s first Subi Market Fair brings hope to children in Uganda
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- Village children the Mukabires met on a visit to Ivvukula.
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- Geofrey and Lisa Mukabire and their children, Esther and Elijah.
Thanks to the community of Ogden, kids in a community in Uganda will soon be able to receive a 21st-century education. The Subi Foundation is holding its first-ever Subi Market Fair on Saturday to raise funds for a new school in the village of Ivuukula.
In 2012, Geofrey Mukabire and Lisa Holliday Mukabire met in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. They had completely opposite childhoods. Lisa Mukabire grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and while her family wasn’t particularly wealthy, they always had everything they wanted. “I even remember my dad having a car phone when I was 10,” she says.
While Lisa Mukabire was enjoying the technology of the early ’90s, Geofrey Mukabire was growing up in Ivuukula, Uganda. Their home had no running water nor electricity and they used an outhouse. When attending school, he and his siblings walked 6 miles. As a teen, his father passed away, and his mother moved her children to the city where they first experienced modern luxuries like electricity and water. All schools, even government-run schools, in Uganda are expensive, and Geofrey Mukabire’s mother worked tirelessly to make sure that her three children graduated high school.
Lisa Mukabire took a teaching opportunity in Abu Dhabi, where she met Geofrey Mukabire who had moved to UAE for better work opportunities.
“On my very first date with Geofrey, I told him about my dream to build a school in Africa. Geofrey promised that night to build me that school,” Lisa Mukabire recalls.
The couple, with their two children, later visited a property that Geofrey Mukabire inherited in the same village he grew up in and decided fate had stepped in. “Standing on the land that my husband inherited from his father, my teacher heart ached because I just knew we could build an amazing school here, if only we could raise the money,” says Lisa Mukabire.
The Subi Foundation was created in January. “Subi” means hope — that’s what the Mukabires hope to bring to the community. The school will have electricity, flushing toilets, internet and a garden where the children can plant the food they will be served. Because they will receive free meals and animal protein with every lunch, many children who suffer from kwashiorkor will be able to get healthy.
The first step will be drilling a well, which will be the water source for the school and the community. Many of the village women are beaten when they take too long to fetch water, and Makubire hopes this will alleviate that suffering.
The Subi Market Fair is designed to resemble a Ugandan marketplace. There will be a rummage sale, a bake sale, Ugandan kid’s games, a raffle, a silent auction, Ugandan storytime, live music and dance performances.
“Going to the market is one of my favorite things to do in Uganda,” says Geofrey Makubire, “At Ugandan markets, the vendors don’t just sell their goods, they actually visit with the customers, many of whom are their neighbors. There is always someone playing music and kids are dancing to attract your attention to their parent’s shop. And most of all is the amazing smell of the food!”
“I am especially looking forward to seeing my husband teaching the kids at the fair to play Eshibobo,” says Lisa Makubire. “It’s probably the most popular game that kids play in Uganda and even American kids love this game once they learn it!”
Lisa Makubire credits the Ogden community for the fair coming together so brilliantly. The people of Ogden have donated everything. “There is an African word ‘Ubuntu’ that means ‘I am because we are.’ Seeing this Subi Market Fair come together has literally been Ubuntu in action!”
The Subi Market Fair will be held at Lorin Farr Park on Saturday, May 28, from 9 a.m. to noon.
Read more about the Subi Foundation and how to get involved: www.subiuganda.org.
