Winter Appeal: how our readers can help to promote reason and hope in Uganda
- Irumba Juma Siriwayo
- Jan 31
- 3 min read
An appeal to our readers to support the printing and distribution of Beyond Blood and Belief: Rwenzori Uprisings, Ignorance, and the Call for Human Reason by Irumba Juma Siriwayo.
Irumba Juma Siriwayo is Managing Director of Katumba Parents Humanist Nursery and Primary School, Co-Director of New Hope Humanist Schools, and a Board Member of the Coalition for Humanist Schools in Uganda. He is a graduate in biological science.
Editor’s note
We are publishing this appeal to highlight a humanist-led educational initiative in the Rwenzori region of Uganda. Readers who choose to contribute do so directly and independently. Humanistically Speaking does not handle or administer third party donations, but offers this space to draw attention to efforts that seek to promote education, critical thinking, and non-violent approaches to community conflict.
Background
The Rwenzori Mountains have witnessed too much blood. For decades, communities across the Rwenzori region have been caught in recurring cycles of violence, often resurfacing during election and post-election periods. The years 2014, 2018 and 2025 are not merely dates in a calendar, but moments of collective trauma – times when families were torn apart, communities destabilised, and hope placed under strain.
Beyond Blood and Belief: Rwenzori Uprisings, Ignorance, and the Call for Human Reason was written in response to this history. Its aim is not to reopen wounds, but to help prevent new ones from forming.
Why this handbook matters
The handbook explores the underlying factors that continue to fuel violence in vulnerable communities, including the replacement of critical thinking with unexamined belief, the use of myth and manipulation to recruit and mobilise young people, the deliberate exploitation of ignorance, and the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and children. It makes a clear and uncompromising case:
“No belief is worth a child’s life.”
At its heart, the book calls on parents, teachers, leaders, and especially young people to question boldly, think critically and place the protection of human life above ideology or ambition. It promotes a humanist ethic in which dignity, reason and compassion take precedence over ritual, dogma or political ends.
Proven impact
Within a short period, the first 100 printed copies have already begun to make a tangible difference, prompting discussion, reflection and critical engagement among readers in local communities. This early response points to a simple but powerful idea: education can interrupt patterns of violence in ways that force alone cannot.
Immediate goals
As schools prepare to open for the first term, the project aims to expand distribution significantly by printing and sharing more than 2,000 copies with:
Schools
Community leaders
Youth groups
Teachers and education professionals
Community libraries and local peace-building initiatives
With sufficient support, production could be scaled from the initial 100 copies to between 1,000 and 10,000, extending the book’s reach into communities most vulnerable to renewed cycles of conflict.
How contributions help
Contributions of any size help place this handbook into the hands of learners and educators and support wider community distribution. Smaller donations assist with individual copies, while larger contributions make it possible to fund bulk printing and regional outreach. At its core, the project rests on a simple conviction: a book in the hands of a questioning young person can be a more powerful tool for change than fear, coercion or violence.
What support makes possible
By supporting the printing and distribution of Beyond Blood and Belief, contributors help to:
Reduce the risk of recurring violence through education and critical thinking
Encourage young people to engage thoughtfully rather than follow destructive ideologies
Support women and children who are often most affected by conflict
Strengthen humanist education in post-conflict communities
Turn painful history into opportunities for learning and awareness
All funds raised are directed solely toward the educational printing and distribution of the book, with an emphasis on transparency and accountability.
How to contribute
Readers who wish to support the printing and educational distribution of Beyond Blood and Belief may do so directly through the project’s local organisers. All contributions are used solely for the production and community distribution of the book.
Bank Transfer
Bank: Stanbic Bank
Branch: Bundibugyo
Account Name: Irumba Juma Siriwayo
Account Number: 9030017530568
SWIFT Code: SBICUGKX
Mobile and International Transfers
Western Union / WorldRemit: +256 782 872 431
Project contact
Irumba Juma Siriwayo
Managing Director, Katumba Parents Humanist Nursery and Primary School (KPHS)
Board Member, Organization of Humanist Schools in Uganda (OHSU)
P.O. Box 1119, Bundibugyo, Uganda
Tel: +256 782 872 431
Closing note
The Rwenzori region does not need another generation shaped by fear, violence or inherited grievance. It needs opportunities for learning, dialogue and critical thought – schools instead of graves, books instead of charms, and communities grounded in human dignity rather than division.
Those who choose to support this initiative help invest in education as a long-term foundation for peace, resilience and shared humanity.
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