Fellows solve the water crises of a village!

Handover ceremony at Lwatama P/S
About 2,000 people surround Lwatama Primary, a government aided school located in Lwatama, Nawamsimbi Village, Nangonde Sub County of Namutumba District. Our school also is popular for its low performance District and Countrywide, receiving its over 500 learners from peasant parents whose entire livelihood is dependent on subsistence agriculture, if the gods are good and the harvest is large – the excess are sold off to meet other household demands.

When we were first posted as fellows of Teach for Uganda in this community of amazing people, we did not know anyone, where to access water, or the direction to any market, among other pressing things we needed for function as humans. The following day, we set off to survey the area and find where those amenities where situated and other important places such as the church and the local councilors’ abode. In so doing, we were briefed about the pressing factors that affect the Education of the children of Lwatama community. Following results of our simple survey, we found out that the most pressing problem was inadequate water sources.

“My co-fellow and I sat together, laid strategies and the way forward of getting a new borehole at school.”

The whole village relied on one borehole for both domestic and business needs. I held my chin and shook my head when I first saw the queue at the borehole. This partly contributed to the high rate of absenteeism at school since some parents would refrain their children from attending in order to watch over the jerrycans in a long queue - long as it could get, early as 4AM in the morning. Teachers lacked water for usage, the school couldn’t afford to water its gardens, preparing meals for both its students and teachers, cleaning classrooms and toilets. They needed a new borehole as soon as yesteryears to reduce the competition for water and meet the demand of the village.

First users  excited to drink of the borehole
My co-fellow and I sat together, laid strategies and the way forward of getting a new borehole at the school. We called for a staff meeting and shared our ambitious idea, the reception it garnered motivated us to organize another meeting involving most of the stakeholders including but not limited to the school management committees (SMCs) and the church leadership. A new borehole costed Ugx shillings four million, and we couldn’t wait any longer - resource mobilization started shortly thereafter. It took us time but by August, 2022, we were about ready. We welcomed donations from anyone who was willing to give it, one generous donor footed more than half the cost; the parents contributed 1000 bricks, a trip of sand, sand gravels, my co-fellow and I contributed the rest. On 9th October, we launched the borehole construction project and by 25th of the same month, we officially handed over the project to the school and the community.

Though the school and its surrounding community are able to access fresh and clean water from its new borehole, it is far from sufficient, yet we are not where we started.


Kitaire Andrew

LinkedIn:        https://www.linkedin.com/in/kitaire-andrew-864b38182/

and

Chelangat Winny

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winny-chelangat-b53735253/

Cohort 4 Fellows

Lwatama Primary School

Namutumba District

Comments

Post a Comment

Leave a comment to help us improve the user experiences at the Fellows' Newsletter: Impact Stories!

Popular posts from this blog

A FELLOW'S LEADERSHIP SKILLS ARE IMPARTED TO STUDENTS!!!!

Image
Right from primary, I yearned to be a leader so that I could enjoy prefectorial privileges like being driven in the school shuttle on special days and eat great meals, among others of course. I exhibited proactivity and enthusiasm for being a prefect even in secondary level, but I failed consistently that I often considered myself hated by other students. However, my passion for leadership didn't wane, so while at Kyambogo University, I managed to lead a number of group works/activities and also captained the football team. Those experiences restored my hope and confidence to be the leader that I had always craved to be. In my final year at campus while pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Development Studies, I applied for the Teach for Uganda fellowship - captivated by the organization's statement, "… to nurture leaders who are committed to advancing equitable education in low-income communities...." Given the fact that I am ambitious, I passed the interviews de...
Read more

A Fellow Builds Rapport and Manages a Classroom!!!!

Image
My primary one classroom is big but has 34 girls and 24 boys. The first time I entered it one Monday morning in October, I didn't see a single chart on its beautiful walls. The class has a blackboard and the teachers' table. The learners were noisy and pieces of papers and soil were all over the floor and the desks. However, I was super excited because the learners had given me a warm welcome. I had not taken long inside there when I saw a tall, decently dressed lady with a nice hairstyle, walk in. After introducing herself as Madam Oliver, the class teacher for P1, she told me that she was looking forward to working with me. Two days later, I organized to teach the learners Mathematics that seems easy for them to understand but very complicated when I explain the content in English. Oh, God! How can I manage this classroom? This was running on my mind as the learners were shouting and screaming, fighting and reporting to me whomever was doing something wrong. I tried to ca...
Read more

Students are inspired to act on Waste Management!

Image
  A tidy classroom is conducive for teaching and learning. A school environment free from litter, amazes visitors, and that means that every school is obliged to devise sustainable ways of managing waste within classrooms and around the compound. Since the first week of stepping in my school of placement, I have been, and still is, endeavoring to change how certain things are done but with minimal results. For the first two days on reporting, I swept my P1 classroom and asked some learners from P4 to collect the rubbish since my P1 learners couldn't think of looking for brooms to sweep the classroom, they themselves being oriented. When the SEA found me sweeping on the third day, he told me to let the pupils sweep and learn on the job. So, later, the learners took over from me. I must say that before I had written and pinned any class values or norms on the walls, I had already made it clear that I hate seeing litter or untidiness within the classroom or outside. To my amazemen...
Read more