Canada Newsletter, March
Developing a Site Master Plan for Bless The Children Ministries
“Train Children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray;” ~ Proverbs 22:6 NRSV
In February 2025, EMI Canada sent a project team to Uganda for the second time in less than a year to work on a school campus masterplan.
International Projects Manager, Ryan Williams led a team of nine design professionals, including EMI Canada’s two Term 2 interns, Naomi Bouter and Sarah Kassulke to Mabale, Uganda to serve with Bless The Children Ministries (BTCM) to develop a master plan for a proposed secondary school campus.
Bless the Children Ministries believes that “education serves as the door to a child’s future.” Currently, BTCM runs Canaan Primary School for children aged four to 12. The curriculum is Christ-centered and focused on equipping the students mentally, spiritually and emotionally to hope for the future. BTCM believes that God is calling them to do even more to equip these students as the next generation of followers of Christ.
In Mabale and the surrounding region, only about six per cent of students graduate from high school. BTCM’s vision is to see the graduation rate improve with the creation of a secondary school allowing them to continue training and equipping students for another six years, further developing each child’s unique abilities and passions.
Located near Canaan Primary School, BTCM has purchased about 30 acres of land for this new secondary school campus that is envisioned to one day be home to a campus population of about 500 which includes students, teachers, social workers, administration and facility staff.
On arriving for the first site visit, Naomi was struck by the challenge of developing a school on such a steep parcel of land.
“It’s a very steep site, I couldn’t imagine having any kind of buildings there,” she said.
As a civil engineering intern, Naomi enjoyed the experience of seeing how the architects on the team were able to take BTCM’s vision for the campus and start putting buildings onto the site plan.
The steep grade of the site wasn’t the only challenge the team faced. The land that BTCM was able to purchase surrounds a piece of property that the team came to call the donut hole. BTCM is in negotiations to purchase the land but so far has been unable to reach a deal with the owner.
“It's a piece of property located in the middle of the land and it's prime location for expanding the site, giving the school a bit more space,” said Ryan.
While BTCM still hopes to acquire the land, with no timeline on when that may happen, the decision was made to develop the master plan on the existing land BTCM owns.
“If in the future, Lord willing, BTCM was able to purchase this additional land, the master plan would have more land to work with to place buildings. So that’s our approach,” said Ryan.
In developing the design for the master plan, the team made the decision to involve the current school staff and students as much as possible. Instead of only asking what students wanted, they were able to sit down and draw sketches of what they wanted and where on the site they thought it could go.
“I think that's very important too because as engineers we can fall into the trap of thinking that we have all the answers,” said Ryan.
“It’s important to make sure that the people who actually are going to live in our designs and use these facilities, that they have the opportunity to give input on the master plan and feel heard,” he said.
A good example of this is the location of the main hall. The project team, students, and staff all placed the building in the same location on the site, which confirmed for the team that they were on the right track with the design.
Connecting with the students and Christians in a different part of the world was a highlight of the trip for both Naomi and Sarah.
“We went to their school assembly. They sang some English songs and some in Luganda.
“And again, on Sunday afternoon, we spent time with the kids and sang songs, that was fun,” said Naomi, “that's an experience you wouldn't get in another internship.”
For Sarah, the experience of being part of the global Church stood out while visiting Watotos Church on her first day in Uganda.
“It was really cool to have communion with the body of Christ, I was like, wow here is the redemptive work of Jesus and the cross and because of that, we can be one with people that are so different from us.
“I felt at home in the church and with the community,” she said.
Now that the team has returned home, they are working to bring everything they learned in Mabale together into the master plan to deliver to BTCM by the end of April 2025.
Successful projects like the BTCM secondary school campus design is a testament to the dedication and support of the ministries we serve, EMI’s staff, design volunteers, and the greater EMI Community. Together, we are building hope for the future, one project at a time. Your involvement is crucial in making these visions a reality. Whether through volunteering, donating, or spreading the word, every contribution helps us create lasting change. Find out how you can help design a world of hope here.