A Miami student club’s fundraisers support a public school in northern Uganda with over 1,000 students. Ox-Wee is the “sole supporter” of the Otwee school, according to Eli Thorpe, the current president of the Ox-Wee club.
Ox-Wee, previously Oxfam Miami, supports the Otwee-Miami School of Hope, a public school in northern Uganda, in the district of Amaru. Last year, the club sent around $1,800 to Otwee. This semester alone, the club has raised close to $1,000 for the school.
Otwee was built in 2011. The school has about 1,200 students, ages ranging from three to 17, and it grows annually, according to Thorpe. Before Otwee, there was no other school in the region.
In the Ugandan education system, education beyond primary school costs more. Marketing chair of Ox-Wee Emilia Lloyd said that Otwee provides schooling for a large age range of students.
“Another thing that sets Otwee apart as a school is that they serve more students in the community,” she said.
The Otwee school building is incomplete and the teachers and staff are underpaid. In the Abongodyang Village in northern Amuru, children travel up to two hours to attend the school.
The school decides what funds from the club go towards, according to Sarah Meaney, current advisor of Ox-Wee. The community dug a well for the school’s only water source in 2019, and desks were built in 2020. Families struggle to pay the school’s yearly tuition of $10, so many children are unable to attend Otwee, according to Meaney.
Ox-Wee’s fundraising has purchased “school supplies, books, and has gone toward the construction of new rooms for the school,” Meaney said in an email. “We fundraise and send the money to the school. They have full autonomy over how the funds are used.”
Meaney became involved with Ox-Wee after a trip to Uganda in 2009 with a friend in the Peace Corps. After she began at Miami in 2011 she connected with Ox-Wee and created fundraising for Otwee by bringing the Children of Uganda Tour of Light to Miami’s campus in 2012 and 2014.
The campus club now fundraises mainly on their own, through hosting grilled cheese sales outside of Memorial Park or partnering with local Oxford businesses.
The name change from Oxfam to Ox-Wee occurred when the focus of the organization became funding the Otwee school. Oxfam’s mission was raising awareness to global humanitarian issues.
The previous club president visited Uganda last summer, with help from Associated Student Government funding through Miami. The rest of the trip’s expenses were paid out-of-pocket. The club is trying to figure out how to make the trip more consistent for members without using the funding for Otwee.
Ten to 15 members frequently come to club meetings, according to Mason Fields, the club’s treasurer. Heading these meetings are Thorpe, Fields, and Lloyd. Thorpe said she receives three to four emails a week from David Komakech, the school’s principal and liaison. Komakech communicates about any need for funding as well as the day-to-day life at the school, including events like student graduation.
“With continued support from our organization [Otwee] can grow in capacity,” said Thorpe. “Our funding allows the school to remain open and at a low cost for parents. Everyone deserves the opportunity to pursue their education and Ox-Wee is helping to support that cause.”
