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Supporters working to help the Uganda Buddhist Centre’s efforts to secure threatened wetland on Lake Victoria have cleared a major milestone: the $875,000 deposit needed to secure the land has been paid, campaign organizer Leslie Booker has announced. Lion’s Roar reported on the campaign in September), when organizers were racing to raise the funds by a September 15 deadline.
“Last week, we made the required deposit of $875,000 to secure the land, and to continue with the campaign,” Booker wrote to supporters. “Thank you all sooo much, we could have not done it without our community.”
According to Booker, UBC advanced $29,000 from its own operating budget to help meet the deadline. With the deposit secured, organizers say the seller has granted an extension on the remaining balance: the campaign now aims to raise $1 million more by December 15.
“We’ve also been granted an extension for the balance!” Booker wrote. “So the bites will be big, and we’ll keep taking them — keeping you informed each month with an update and celebration of where we are.”
Bhante Buddharakkhita, UBC’s founder and abbot, traveled to Uganda in early September as the deposit came together. In a message to supporters, he wrote: “The land transaction went well, and the seller allowed our school kids to use the property as a playground, in the meantime.” He added: “Now I am back in the United States and I look forward to being in presence with you. With deepest gratitude and mega Metta.” (Get to better-know Bhante Buddharakkhita through his Lion’s Roar “Meet a Teacher” installment.)
New Ways to Give — and to Connect
The campaign’s organizers are also switching platforms: going forward, they’re directing donations to a new Chuffed campaign page, which they say charges no platform fees. The original GoFundMe page will remain live for anyone who still has that link.
Supporters have two chances to hear directly from Bhante Buddharakkhita in the coming weeks:
September 24: An online gathering with Bhante and campaign organizers, marking the deposit milestone and looking ahead to next steps. Register here. October 5: Bhante will teach on “”Afro-Dhamma” — his term for a teaching approach that blends Buddhist practice with African culture — at Spirit Rock’s Monday Night Live.
Rod Meade Sperry is the editor of Buddhadharma, Lion’s Roar’s online source for committed Buddhists, and the book A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Practical Advice and Inspiration from Contemporary Buddhist Teachers. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with his partner and their tiny pup, Sid.
