Speaking during the donation, Associate Professor Innocent Kafodya, Head of Department said community outreach is a key component of the university’s strategic pillars.

‘’ Apart from teaching students, one of our mandates is to reach out to communities that are in need. This place here houses orphans and other vulnerable children who need our support, hence our decision to donate these items and also to interact with them and offer our moral support’’ he said.

He added that Civil Engineering is a field that is directly attached to the public so community engagement is critical to the department’s activities.

‘’ Civil engineering offers services to the public such as construction of roads, buildings and other infrastructure. Our coming here is also to inspire these young children to consider pursuing careers in civil engineering in future,’’ Kafodya further said.

In his remarks, Deputy Director of BAHASI, Jacob Hongsing said the donation will alleviate some of the challenges the facility is facing.

‘’ As an institution we are very grateful for this donation and we hope this is the beginning of a strong relationship between MUBAS and our institution as we strive to provide a conducive living and learning environment for these vulnerable children,’’ Hongsing said.

He further appealed for more support to cater for the ever-increasing population of vulnerable children at the facility.

‘’ We need support to complete a girl’s hostel project which has stalled due to financial constraints, we also require a school bus so we are seeking support from more partners such as MUBAS,’’ said Hongsing.

Among the items Civil Engineering Department donated include soap, sugar, flour, soya pieces, exercise books, footballs, netballs and other items. Apart from the donation, staff and students from the department also offered career guidance to the children.

BAHASI offers education to over 150 vulnerable children. Over 50 children are housed at the facility and others commute from the surrounding communities to the center.