Your donation will help create the first Batwa-owned and led cultural center in the Kanungu district, Uganda.
Greetings from Kokunda Sylvia, founder and CEO ABEG
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Since the eviction of our Indigenous Batwa community members on the peripheries of our former home – the forests – which we are not allowed to enter, we are gradually losing our cultural identity. Practicing and preserving our culture is a human right. Even Uganda’s constitution recognizes this. But we are being denied this right. We know that our culture is worthy of practicing, and our heritage is worth preserving. We want to keep it alive.
Since founding ABEG, I have travelled to many places talking about my community’s story. Many people ask me afterwards how they can help. We are currently developing a Batwa Cultural Centre, and we have set up a fundraiser to support it.
Caption: Batwa community members performing a traditional dance in Kanungu, Uganda. Credit: Thomas Alboth
​“Our ambition is that this center will create a space where we can practice and celebrate our culture on our own terms. Where we can grow plants we used to access in the forest, and use them for our traditional medicines and crafts like basket weaving. It will be a place of togetherness, where our elders can teach our youth our language and traditional knowledge gained over generations from living in the forest. A place where we can dance our traditional dances and sing our songs not because a tourist paid us to, but because it brings us joy”
This center will serve as a vital source of income and cultural preservation, providing our community with a sustainable means to cultivate plants that are essential for our traditional medicines and crafts. Batwa heritage is vital for our sense of identity, mental health, and well-being. Donate today to let the community know they are not alone in their efforts to protect it for future generations. We are not asking for charity. We are asking for solidarity. Please spread the word and let us tell the world, together, that Batwa culture matters.