The Barbara project was started in 2011. It came about following a visit by two health professionals from UK, Penny and Katy, who visited the parish of Bupadhengo in Busoga linked to their church, Shirley Parish Church, in Southampton. They named the project ‘The Barbara Project’ in loving memory of Katy’s Sister Barbara who died in 2006 aged 50 from cancer. She had worked devotedly most of her life with children with profound physical and learning disabilities.

Funds have been raised to complete building work for staff accommodation, school classrooms, school books and water sources in order to improve the standards of village schools. Funding for this work is largely carried out from UK. Construction work is usually carried out by a third party organisation The Henry Van-Straubenzie Memorial Fund (HVSMF). Occasional visits are made to schools in Busoga by visitors from the UK. Teachers’ accommodation at Itakulu school in Bupadhengo parish was renovated in 2019 by HVSMF funded by Enable Busoga.

Investment from the UK has been made into a number of small businesses: growing and drying local fruit such as Mango and Pineapple for sale in schools and colleges and for export; a commercial nursery growing fruit and timber tree seedlings for sale to local farmers; a village-based solar energy enterprise charging mobile phones and powering barber shops using energy stored from solar panels together with an initiative to encourage regenerative agriculture with fodder crops such as Elephant Grass and Calliandra.