UK's Lord Verjee visits Kiboga school

Sep 12, 2014

Lord Rumi Verjee, a Ugandan-born British businessman, is a member of the House of Lords in the United Kingdom.


By Nigel M. Nassar
 
KIBOGA – Lord Rumi Verjee, a Ugandan-born British businessman and member of the House of Lords in the UK, visited Building Tomorrow Academy of Kyeitabya in Kiboga recently.

Lord Verjee, a successful business magnate in the UK and philanthropist whose helping hand has traversed the world, was in Uganda on a mission to explore investment opportunities and ways he can help the youth through charity.
 
His visit to the school in Kiboga district was a follow-up on an ambitious project being funded by, among others, his charity organization The Rumi Foundation, and Clinton Foundation, run by former American President Bill Clinton.
 
Under the project tagged Building Tomorrow, 20 primary schools have so far been built in rural Uganda, 15 of which are already operational, including Kyeitabya, which Lord Verjee visited.
 
Addressing pupils and their parents at the school, Lord Verjee, who was one of the Indians expelled from Uganda by the late president Idi Amin in 1972, said he felt privileged to take part in educating children from the same roots as he.
 
“I was born in Uganda just like you, so my roots are here,” he said to the children in attendance.
 
“As a tree, I must not forget my roots. That is why my partners and I will continue devoting moneys to build schools in Uganda so that all of you can study and become resourceful citizens of the country,” he added.
 
“I want tomorrow’s MPs and presidents to come from this school. With education you can do anything in the world. That is why I support schools like these.”
 
 
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Rumi (blue cap) at the school with the school administrators, pupils and other guests. PHOTO/Nigel M. Nassar
 
 
Lord Verjee thanked Building Tomorrow’s country manager Joseph Kaliisa for his devotion in running the schools, as well as ensuring that the disbursed moneys do the intended job. He also thanked engineer Emmanuel Gasana, a local resident who donated the land on which the school was built.
 
Kaliisa said with such support, Building Tomorrow, which was founded in 2006 by George Srour, intends to have built 60 schools by the end of 2016. At the schools, pupils study free of charge, but only contribute a minimal fee for meals. 
 
Lord Verjee donated a water tank and borehole to enable the school and local community solve the problem of lack of water. 
 
Lord Verjee, whose net worth in 2013 was estimated at 125m pounds (sh541b), made a big chunk of his wealth from his very first business venture as a franchisee of Domino’s Pizza in the United Kingdom, having won the rights from the brand’s American owner Tom Monaghan out of sheer shrewdness.
 
The owner of Thomas Goode, a chain of upmarket china, glass and silverware retailers in Mayfair, London, Lord Verjee and his family believe in giving back as a legacy and responsibility towards other humans.
 
 As part of this legacy, they intend to build a satellite city in Uganda, which will be the biggest in East Africa. His meeting earlier with the First Lady, Janet Museveni, and Kampala Capital City executive director Jennifer Musisi, was about this prospect that Verjee deems will go a great deal towards solving the problem of brain drain in Uganda.

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