The Ignatian - December 2016 Vol 26 December 2017 Vol 28 | Page 37

Nick Harrington and the Manjeri Project
In 2008, just one year out of College, Nick Harrington (OR2007)
gathered together some mates and began the Manjeri Project. For
nearly a decade, they worked together with a local community
organisation in Uganda to provide education for the orphans and
families of the poverty-afflicted Buikwe community.
Now at the tail-end of this partnership, Manjeri has begun
transitioning the financial and governance responsibility to the
Ugandan team to begin their road to sustainability. We spoke to
Nick about his experience over the past decade.
What prompted you to begin the Manjeri Project?
The Manjeri idea was born during my first trip to Uganda in 2008
where I saw first-hand the pitfalls of unreliable foreign funding for
schools. I learned how important it is for schools to be in control
of their own sustainable finances, especially in a region where
there is little to no government support and where the community
cannot cover tuition fees. In partnership with the school
community in Buikwe, we developed the school’s first business, a
chicken farm. This first experience of using business to support a
community good lay the foundations for the Manjeri Model and
catalysed the growth of Manjeri. Together with Andrew Thomas
(OR2007) and Patrick Stokes, we formalised an organisation in
2010/11 to build on this sustainable school model.
During some of the most difficult times, what
kept you going?
Throughout the Manjeri experience there have been many
challenges and things haven’t always gone to plan. We have had
to make significant and, at times, tough decisions throughout
the experience. During these moments, having a great team
in Australia has helped keep me motivated. In the moments
of adversity, I have always returned to the ultimate purpose of
Manjeri, to build sustainable schools that provide education to
disadvantaged children, and this has kept me and the team going.
Knowing that each incremental effort we make can have a lasting
positive impact on hundreds of children’s lives is very motivating.
What have you learned through this experience and
what advice would you give to someone considering
undertaking a similar project?
The greatest lesson for me has been the importance of genuine
partnership and the need to revisit and openly discuss that
partnership. This is especially important given the way we
worked with our Ugandan team, whereby they ran the day to
day operations and we provided resources, strategic guidance,
oversight and capacity building. There were times where we
should have focused more intently on our partnership and my
advice would be to take the time to develop the relationship to
make sure everyone is on the same page.
The second big lesson and most important piece of advice is the
crucial importance of community in the development process.
There needs to be mutual respect with the community in which
you work and the project needs to be driven and owned by the
community.
Over the past decade, the Manjeri Project has:
⁄ ⁄ Helped educate over 600 children
⁄ ⁄ Installed a 100,000L underground water tank to ensure
access to fresh water
⁄ ⁄ Installed solar panels to provide electricity to the school
⁄ ⁄ Established a school feeding program
⁄ ⁄ Set up a health program, ensuring students receive
regular medical check ups
In addition, they have also:
⁄ ⁄ Created over 35 jobs in the community
⁄ ⁄ Established a productive 15 acre farm that produces
fresh local fruit and vegetables, as well as housing a
multi pond fish farm
⁄ ⁄ Set up a profitable matutu business including a fleet
of five vehicles
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