Another school on fire, this time OURS

 

At 2 pm Tuesday afternoon in Bundibugyo, smoke began billowing out of one of our boys' dorms and the two attached staff apartments. The students were in class, but some kitchen workers ran in and saved the lives of two small children napping in the apartments as a major fire gained strength. No one knows how this fire started. An electrical short is suspected, an accident with a cooking device or candle considered likely, but a malicious arsonist can't be ruled out. The context of a boys' dorm in a school SO SIMILAR to and so close to ours being firebombed by ADF rebels to kill students a few days ago (see previous post) had everyone on high alert and feeling anxious already.  It's not surprising that the rumour that rebels had attacked quickly gained momentum. Parents and community members streamed into the school compound looking for their children even as the staff scrambled to respond, to take a roll call, to use any means they could to control the fire. The nearest actual fire brigade is hours away so all they could do was stop anyone from trying to reenter the disaster scene as the roof imploded. It was a terrible day.

Now night has fallen in Uganda. In case you see the story, we wanted you to know what happened. We are very thankful that:

• No child was injured, all 39 dorm boys and both staff families are fully well and accounted for.
• The Serge team and the CSB staff mobilised to control the situation effectively and compassionately. We are so thankful for their tireless work today.
• All the students have gone home for the rest of the week, given the context of the ADF targeting border boarding schools and the trauma of watching a dorm burn, we thought they needed rest and safety.
• The police will investigate the cause. A week or so ago an anonymous letter of threat to burn the school down was received after a kitchen staff worker was fired for theft, so the possibility of intended evil exists even though we think that at 2 pm on a Monday a faulty wire or human error are more likely.
• We will be raising funds to replace the destroyed properties (all those kids lost everything, their clothes, books, money, shoes, sheets, mattresses, towels, papers .. . the metal bunkbed frames may be salvageable but not much else) and to rebuild the dorm.

PLEASE PRAY for the students, staff, and families who lived through the chaos and fear today to find the peace that passes understanding filling their hearts tonight. Pray for wisdom and clarity in the investigation. Pray the we can resume school quickly and safely. And keep praying for the Mpondwe parents who lost so much more.

Evil will not have the final word but it is shouting a lot of painful horrors this week. It's why we need to hold onto our witness and live by Romans 12: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."