HIV testing

In collaboration with the  The AIDS Service Organization (TASO), URF organized a day of free HIV Screening and Counselling  on  March 30th, 2012 at Hope Academy in Kyetume, Masaka, Uganda.

The team facilitated an awareness session to sensitize students, the teachers, URF staff and the entire community on issues related to HIV and AIDS.

The students had a chance to ask all that they wanted to know about sex education, the dangers of early pregnancies and how to live positively if one found out that they had the virus.

Counseling and testing for everyone interested was among the many services they gave.

TASO provides free ARVs to HIV patients. These drugs provide some resistance to the virus to help the person to live a normal life for an extended period of time.

An estimated 940,000 people are living with HIV, with the national HIV prevalence rate of 6.4%. Over 2.0 million children in Uganda are orphan children due HIV/AIDS and other causes.

The turn up was magnificent.  Special thanks to the TASO team from Masaka and Uganda Empower. We look forward to hosting you next time.

HIV sensitization

Hope Library Update

A definite sense of accomplishment was felt when we officially launched our new borrowing system, and held library orientation for all 4 classes of Hope Academy.  We now have school borrowing cards and borrowing lists, library markers, a returns box! There are subject categories which follow a basic dewey system, and better still – students know how to use it!

Prior to this, lending books was a haphazard activity involving a dilapidated exercise book which had no easy way of finding a student or book on loan. Students came in wanting a “book” but with no concept of what information they were searching for or question they were trying to answer. This made assisting students and borrowing books a very long, and cumbersome activity, and it was hard not to let out a little groan each time a student walked into the library!

But now things are much rosier! We can find students and books at ease and each student has received a 1 hour orientation where they have learnt about the different parts of the book, the dewey system and the rules of the library. And we have managed to rearrange the library so there is space for the students to actually sit down and read or complete school work.

Session on how to use the new library borrowing system

Now that these changes are a reality, it is so nice to see the library reach a point where it is working! work. And better still, it’s a system that will be easily carried on by the next librarian and live on beyond our departure!

–Jehan and Jessica

Stamping and recording new books

This report below was written by Jehan Locke, a volunteer from Australia who has been training the kids on the soccer team for the past few months. Thanks Jehan for your tireless efforts.

Hope Academy Football Cup

I have coordinated a new school sports program for the boys at Hope Academy.  I have tried to address certain issues that previously existed such as playing equipment and equal participation.

The New Competition

I spent one week registering students for the new competition.  There were 51 names in total.  Students were divided into three teams of 17 players – to make things interesting I named the teams after English Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.  The new competition consists of 8 matches and makes use of the weeks remaining in Term 1.  I will also draft a list of fixtures for Terms 2 and 3 for students to follow if they wish (since I will no longer be around).

We purchased for the team:

1)      Two sets of training bibs – previously it was “any shirt” versus “no shirts”.

2)      Three goal keeper jerseys – one for each team in the school.  They are the Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United jerseys.

3)

Jehan handing ball to a student

Four good quality footballs – the school only had some tattered and torn (semi-deflated) footballs remaining.

4)      Two “Captain” armbands – to create some team pride and promote leadership.

The opening match was a success.  Stay posted for the match report… Jehan

Referees Report

Round 1

Arsenal Vs Chelsea (Monday 19^th March 2012)

With the start of the new and exciting competition, the match began at a frantic pace.  Both teams were playing with a lot of determination and desire, however they also found it difficult to keep the ball under control.  As the initial excitement subsided and the game settled down, we saw some great football played by both teams.  Chelsea played the first 15 minutes without their influential captain Ssebukyu Henry, however with Walukagga Denis wearing the captain’s armband in his absence, the Chelsea team arguably dominated the preceedings.  However, it was Arsenal who opened the scoring against the run of play.  An unfortunate fumble by Chelsea goalkeeper Atwine Joab was pounced on by Arsenal forward Muhire Andrew who catapulted himself – and the ball – over the goal line to open Arsenal’s account.

With the Chelsea team stunned at finding themselves behind on the scoresheet, it didn’t take them long to find an equaliser.  From the restart, a sweeping move by the Chelsea attack saw a lofted ball played over the top for the flying Buyondo Isma. Isma’s electrifying pace saw him beat his defender to the ball, and from an acute angle he fired home from the right-hand side of the 18-yard box.  His thunderous right-footed shot found the bottom left corner of the goal, leaving Arsenal keeper Kigozi Isaac helpless.

Half-time score:  Arsenal 1 – Chelsea 1

The second-half resumed where the first had left off with much attacking football played by both teams.  Both teams squandered a few good early chances, and the contest was even until Arsenal broke the deadlock with 15 minutes left remaining in the match.  An attacking raid by Arsenal saw a searching through-ball played to striker Sseremba Ben – the stand-in Captain for injured skipper Ssebowa Girisimu.  Sseremba beat Chelsea’s offside trap and was bearing down on the Chelsea goal.  Atwine Joab advanced off his line, however was beaten by an intelligent strike by Sseremba who found the back of the net.

With Chelsea finding themselves behind once again, they really lifted the intensity and dominated the remainder of the match.  Inspirational captain Ssebukyu Henry was the main catalyst for their uplifting play, and they were unlucky not to find an equaliser on numerous occasions.  Arsenal’s defence survived the onslaught and managed to hold on until the final whistle.

Full-time score:  Arsenal 2 – Chelsea 1

Standout Players

Arsenal

Sseremba Ben:  Who lead by example upfront as stand-in Captain; scored the decisive winning goal.

Ssemanda Andrew:  An aggressive defender who was difficult to beat.

Makanga Yasin:  Had a strong aerial presence in defence;  his defensive headers were brave and powerful.

Kaweesi Ronald:  Was dynamic as Arsenal’s last defender; was always on-hand to clean-up any mistakes in the backline.

Chelsea

Ssebukyu Henry:  Who lead by example; really lifted his side when searching for a late equaliser.

Walukagga Denis:  Was solid in defence; was crucial in providing the platform for Chelsea’s attack.

Ssemuju Ronald:  The tiny right-winger often bamboozled Arsenal’s defence; created plenty of chances down Chelsea’s right flank.

Buyondo Isma:  Was strong, fast and powerful upfront; fantastic strike to score Chelsea’s only goal.

Vincent Oketch in pink

This beautiful boy, Vincent Oketch, 10 years old, needs urgent medical attention.  He is having a complication which has led to a body disorder. His body can’t afford to control the water and now the body is flooding which has turned his buttocks swelling up to the opposite side and curved up around his body.

Vincent needs special medical attention and is from a very poor family in Tororo, eastern Uganda. There is a doctor in Kampala (at Corsu Hospital) giving him some medical attention.

They need to do an MRI scan for about $500 to do proper diagnosis. The costs for actual treatment are not known yet until a scan is done.

Any support, however small, toward Vincent’s health would be greatly appreciated. You can donate online at http://www.ugandaruralfund.org   or by check to:

Uganda Rural Fund
P.O. Box 338
West Springfield, MA 01090

Those in Uganda, you can mobile money your donation to 0777 178937 (Prossy Namayanja)

THANK YOU very much!

warm hugs

This report below by Caroline Nanungi is a compilation of the speeches given by staff and volunteers.

“The ceremony started at 2:00pm-5:00pm. It was opened with the national anthems which were led by the school choir and after they presented their first song about mothers.

Painting of the women’s nails was the first activity with the help of (Naomi, Jessica, Stephanie, and Leandrea)

There was a break for drinks and snacks.

Speeches followed after as shown below;

Carols’ speech (I welcomed the women and gave my speech in Luganda)

International Women’s Day was first celebrated in 1911. The concept was proposed in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. Then on 19 March 1911, more than one million women and men attended International Women’s Day events across Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. They were campaigning for women’s rights, including the right to vote, work and hold public office.

Since 1911, International Women’s Day has been held annually on 8 March. It is an important forum because:

• · It celebrates the economic, political and social achievements of women, and their vital role in societies across the world, and
• · It provides an occasion to reflect on and promote the work that still needs to be done towards true gender equality.

painting nails

International Women’s Day is a crucial opportunity to keep women’s issues on national and international agendas. Despite greater protection for the rights of women – improved access to education; health care and employment – women still do not enjoy the same rights and opportunities as men in many areas.

March 8, 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

• · International Women’s Day is now observed in 68 countries, in some parts of the world such as Eastern Europe and China, it has a status equivalent to Mothers’ Day, where small gifts are given to mothers and grandmothers. In some countries it is marked by a public holiday. In other parts of the world, such as North America, Western Europe and Australia, International Women’s Day has maintained its strong political and social awareness theme.
• · The United Nations promotes International Women’s Day every year
• · 2000 and beyond
  IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother’s Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.
• · The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women’s and society’s thoughts about women’s equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that ‘all the battles have been won for women’ while many feminists from the 1970′s know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women’s visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life.

Today has been a fabulous global celebration of women past, present, and future ~ the largest gathering of women for International Women’s Day in the history of the world!

Women worldwide have connected to celebrate and honour women past, present, and future, in many exciting ways. Amazing women celebrities, athletes, political leaders, and experts will speak about women’s issues today. There will be live musical entertainment and much more!

On this day women “Celebrate, Commit, and connect.” They’ll celebrate like never before ~ connect as only women do ~ and commit to improve in 3 areas of their lives:

gifts that were given to the women

Personal ~ improve their personal health and well being, and their businesses as employees, business owners, entrepreneurs.

Family ~ help their families be healthier and prepare for the future right now.

Country ~ let their voices be heard: to speak up, to make positive changes in their communities/countries.

JESSICA SANTOS’ SPEECH( Martin translated her speech in luganda)

My name is Jessica Santos and I am a URF volunteer from Australia. In celebration of IWD, I would like to share some information about women in Australia.

Australia is a country that has made good progress in increasing women’s rights to participate in society, e.g. Women receive financial assistance when they have children, there are services to keep women healthy and free from violence and abuse, and there are laws to ensure women have equal opportunities to work alongside men.

chapatis for snacks

However, while Australia is one of the highest ranked countries for women’s education, women still have limited choice when it comes to work; this is usually because of family responsibilities. When they do work, they are often paid less than men for doing the same job

Also, while there are many laws to keep Australian women safe as possible, stil30% of Australian women have experienced physical violence in their lives and 20% have experienced sexual assault.

I have read + spoken to others about the challenges facing Ugandan women, it seems there are a number of common problems that affect women both in Australia and Uganda + in fact worldwide; these include employment problems, violence and abuse.

Most countries have laws to protect women and increase their well-being. However, sometimes they are not properly implemented or supported by the necessary services to make them work. In these situations, greater political commitment or resources are needed to make laws a reality for the women they are meant to serve.

Also, equality for women will not occur simply because laws have been made. It also requires a commitment from men and women across the world, from Australia to Uganda to challenge and stop the beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that lead to discrimination against females.

In closing, while there are arrange of common challenges that affect women, I also believe there are a range of common strengths that bring us together. These strengths can help us continue to increase the rights of women here in Uganda, throughout Africa and across the globe. I have seen these strengths in family, students, my female friends, colleagues both from Australia and Uganda. They include being hardworking, positive, resilient plus working together to produce successful and peaceful outcomes for all. THANK YOU AND HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY.

Hope Academy school choir singing

GREGORY’S SPEECH ( I translated his speech in luganda)

Hello every one,

I am Gregory from Canada, I volunteer with URF, I am happy to be here to celebrate this day with you because I love Uganda, and it’s a beautiful country. I am standing before you to share a few things about my mother.

She is a wonderful woman, she raised me up and my young ones, took me to school. She worked so hard looking after us and herself, without her I don’t think we would have the lives we have now, I love her and am glad that your also mothers; you care for your children and in our lives you play a big role, which role goes up to the families and our communities/societies. It’s your day, enjoy.

Snacks and drinks were served to the guests

KIRSTEN’S SPEECH

Hello everyone,

I am Kirsten from Canada, I am happy to celebrate this day with you, people of Lwengo district .

In Canada, when someone welcomes us ,we respond with a gift just as am going to do right now because am happy that you welcomed us in your community. (She had already given out cards with different numbers which were to be used as barrots. She gave out gifts randomly following which card was drafted, and the gifts included; books, pens, gomesiz, soap, purses, tooth brushes)

She also talked to them about idea of opening up a website for their already made crafts, in order to get for them market for their products in Canada, and at the same time urged them to make baby carriers which she would sell in her home country if they were interested.

Painting of charts followed

The choir sang its last two songs and the function was closed.

We thank Kirsten who offered to organize the ceremony and buy gifts for the women, URF’s collaboration to make sure it all goes well, Gregory who took the  pictures ,Charles and Jehan who prepared chapattis’ for function, Jjaaja who let us have the function at her home, the volunteers  who did the women’s nails, the school choir that sung, and the women who attended.

drawing for the prizes

Gregory with Betty

“A homestay is where a day is spent with a family and the volunteer helps around the house with chores, homework, whatever needs to be done.” by Gregory, a Canadian Intern

This piece is a reflection by Gregory, one of our interns from Canada staying with URF for four months. Volunteers spend a day with one of the local families to get a good feel of how life is for people in rural communities. I hope you enjoy it.

————————
A homestay is where a day is spent with a family and the volunteer helps around the house with chores, homework, whatever needs to be done.

The student I partnered with is named Kayesw Betty, and she lives in Bugonzi B. I had been in the are a few weeks before on an issue regarding a water collection system.

Each morning Betty leaves the house at 5am, walks two hours to get to school without breakfast. She leaves school around 5pm, and walks the two hours home.

Betty and friend

From Kyetume we climb on a boda and drive over a dirt road that gets worse before it gets better. There are more holes, bumps, and gaps than there is road. The road eventually turns into a path, and my legs are so long that my knees are going through brush. Half an hour or so later the path evens out a bit and we arrive at her house.

No one is home. Mother is out herding goats and the grandmother is somewhere else. We sit down in the shade of the house and I show her photos of my family.

Jaja (grandma) Kabgera Elizabeth shows up and unlocks the front door. Inside two small calico cats run past us and then outside. There are two small couches and a table. A laminated paper with the ministry of Galilee hangs from a nail on the wall. We sit and Betty asks me to show Jaja my photos. She speaks Luganda, Kinyarwanda and another language, so Betty translates as we flip through the photos. This was followed by a couple of albums of Betty, her family and friends.

At the end I gave her and her friend some native art design cards.

Two small children show up to visit. A book on Uganda is brought out and Betty explains a number of the photos.

The radio is turned on, but something is not working properly with it, so it is turned off. I then ask her if she would like to listen to some of my music.

Fast punk seems to hit a chord with them, Ugandan music, from what I’ve heard, is generally upbeat, fast, fun music.

Jaja then asks me, through Betty if I like eggs, and goes into the back. She comes back with two raw eggs to say thank you for coming to visit. I was quite touched.

Betty's house

Village banking/micro-finance training

This group was launched this year in january and now it has over 30 members. Next month in April they are planning to start saving money in their bank (Co-Save/village bank). From this village bank they will be getting smalls loans to help them start up small businesses in their communities.

Membership in the group includes both students and non students. Their aim is to live a better life through hard work, honesty, and collaboration.

In May 2012, they are planning to start up animal rearing project where by every member gets an animal to help them have an income generating project. We hope that these small steps are concrete ways to address the problem of unemployment among the youth in Uganda.   by Mukeere IV Martin, staff

Stamping and recording new books

“We’ve decided to take on Hope Academy’s library as a bit of a project.  While it’s a cute and cosy library, when we first arrived, it was apparent that the books were in need of some TLC! A number of them were badly damaged, and were somewhat disorganised due to the fact that Hope Academy has been missing a librarian for the last term!

As Jess’s mother is a school librarian back in Australia, a number of phone calls and emails were made, and a game plan was put together to give the library a new lease of life! This was particularly important as the school was expecting at least 300 new books in the coming weeks. Thanks to the Dewey Decimal System, Jess and Je began the long task of stocktaking and updating the inventory of books, as well as creating new visible codes on the covers and spines for easy identification for library users.

The culprit.

The library itself also needed a bit of work – a few windows don’t have glass, so it was really dusty, had heaps of wasp nests, and a couple of little birds had made the Geography section their home.  We were initially reluctant, but unfortunately the decision had to be made to remove their nest from the library.  However, each day when we opened up the library, a new nest had been built in a different section – above the collection of “English In Use” books is proving pretty conducive to nest-building!

Last fortnight saw the mass arrival of loads of text books from funds that had been kindly donated to the school (thank you J)!  It took over a week (and we went through about 3 permanent markers!) but eventually all books were entered and the library was complete! We were surprised to learn that the big set of shelves in the middle of the library, which were set for dismantlement, were going to be vital (at least for now) in holding the expanded collection of books. But we also had visions of an open space in the middle of the room where we could set up some desks for students to research and complete their school work (at present, they had to stand up and read their books or lean on shelves to complete their work).

The Hope Library after

Could both co-exist???? With some help from Martin, Charles and some other Hope Students the answer was YES! After some shuffling back and forth, we managed to re-organise the library so a middle study section was possible! Thanks guys! The students have already started making use of this new area which is extremely exciting!

The Hope Library after receiving new books and re-arranging the shelves.  Students are now free to sit and read/study in the library.

Our next task was to set up a new borrowing system. To date, borrowed books were recorded in an old exercise book, on a daily basis. This made it really challenging to find particular books when they were being returned, and to keep track of which students had which books. With the help of Caroline, who cut up about 200 library borrowing cards, we have created a new borrowing procedure! Each student, teacher and URF staff member now has their own personalised borrowing card and borrowing book page where their borrowing history can be recorded and the books coming in and out of the library can be tracked.

The next tasks to finalise the include a library orientation lesson for all Hope students, and (funds permitting) a book-covering session to help protect the new books in the library so they can be enjoyed by students in many years to come.”

Showing kids how to wash their hands with soap

“I think this is the most important thing to know, that everyone is equal, we are all deserving of love, respect and acceptance. We are a person before an illness.” Kirstens, Canadian intern

At the beginning of the school year, 2012, URF has started facilitating health education workshops in village schools starting with primary schools in the area. Our staff and volunteers speak about health issues such as personal hygiene, malaria, HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and various diseases common in the area.  This piece is written by Kirsten, a URF intern from Canada.

“As 2pm neared and our 1:30 lunch came to a close, we were meant to travel to Kyetume Primary School to do a leadership and health talk but a thunderous rain began to bucket down.

At the school we spoke for 2 hours about leadership and health promotion, I discussed public speaking and HIV/AIDS. We sat at the front of the class on plastic chairs. I noticed the chairs right away because the production and renting of the chairs is run by the men’s empowerment group at URF and each chair is rented at 300 shillings each. We introduced ourselves to the many students aged 5-13 in English. I said that my name was Kirsten and that I came from a town called Kamloops in Canada, so that in every way I could be, I was a guest on their land, in beautiful Uganda and thanked them for having me.

The men in our group were asked to speak first and then I was next. I was going to be speaking English, and Martin would be translating that into Lugandan for me. I stood up and said that I was going to be talking about public speaking, but that I wanted them to see me as their equal and not their teacher because they had a lot of knowledge that I hoped to learn from them. I also said that we had received the chance to introduce ourselves, but that I was looking forward to learning all of their names over the next 4 months. Both the students and teachers broke out into huge smiles and appeared to like this very much. I said that speaking without distractions was important so that people could focus on what was said, and in Lugandan did two examples, a good one and bad one of public speaking about how I liked cows and chickens and goats which made everyone laugh.

I wanted to discuss HIV/AIDS in a non-frightening way due to the young age group so I started with an activity. I said, “give three people a high 5, now give 2 people a handshake, give someone a hug. These are all safe things to do with someone that has HIV/AIDS. You can also eat food prepared by, drink the same water and share a towel.” Then I talked about how HIV/AIDS was a blood disease that lowered your immune system, how it was transmitted and how and where you could receive treatment. I finished by saying “I think this is the most important thing to know, that everyone is equal, we are all deserving of love, respect and acceptance. We are a person before an illness.” All the teaches and students nodded in agreement and clapped.

During one of the other presentations the students had to get into partners. One girl did not have a partner so I went into the audience and became her partner. She stared up at me as whispers of “muzunga” filled the room. I shook her hand and brought her a seat, I could tell this was going to be bragging material for her for a while.

At the end of our presentations we left the class and walked to the bus. The students ran after us, and we talked to them all in Lugandan, I had a handful of young female students come up to me and shake my hand with their left hand on their forearm and kneel down, the ultimate sign of respect and the first formal handshake I have seen.”

Bugonzi Primary School

Each student wanted to catch a glimpse of what
was in the van and all were willing to off-load the contents to the Library.

These new books were acquired through the efforts of the long time friends of URF, Chris Blake and Dan Hall who did a great job of fundraising. Many THANKS and sincere gratitude from students and teachers to all our generous donors who contributed to this noble cause—a gift of quality education for the empowerment of rural kids in Uganda.

The funds were delivered to Uganda and the books were bought locally following recommendations of teachers and students and relevance to the curriculum requirements of the Uganda Ministry of Education.

The bought books covered almost all the taught subjects at secondary level with a bias on science subjects since the focus of the school is to encourage the teaching of science subjects. “I shall be able to do better science subjects since I can now access science reading materials. Thanks to our good benefactors”, Ssenkayi Milton, a Senior 4 student who wishes to become a chemist in future commented.

Some other books are yet to be bought especially those that cover vocational studies like wood work, carpentry, entrepreneurship studies, tailoring, brick laying and concrete practice, electric installation, agriculture, motor vehicle mechanics, plumbing e.t.c.

The teachers were equally happy at the consignment of books after realizing that it would now be possible for each student to have a copy of a book during class. Sarah Ddungu who teaches the English language is optimistic that her work is going to be simplified by the availability of enough English language text books and simple story books. “Students shall be exposed to guided self study exercises in my subject rather than entirely depending on me as the sole source of the learning materials”, she said amid a smile of Joy on her face.

The books which were received have to be kept safe and maintain them so that we don’t lose these valuable treasures. To that end, URF volunteers were called on to give a helping hand on marking and cataloguing the new books. One of the volunteers who has got a mother; who for a long time has worked in public libraries has promised to consult her mother on how best a library should be managed.

Besides, some new procedure has been put up on how students can easily access these new books either borrowing them on a short term ( a day),  long term (week), very long term (month).

We have also begun sensitizing students on how to keep the books in good conditions without tearing them and wearing off their covers. (by Thaddeus, the Principal)

Volunteers stamping and recording books

Students unloading books

Serah, a teacher checking out the new books

Unloading books