Celebrating Student Success!

This is the end of the third and final term for all of the schools and so students are beginning to trickle into the UVP office with their report cards and their thank you notes for their sponsors. Stella came in on Monday, shy smile on her face and requisite papers in her hand. And what was written on those papers?

She scored 24 out of a possible 25 points!

Gushing was necessary, but the good news didn’t stop at her 24 points. The headmaster of her school also recognized what a stellar student our Stella is and awarded her a tuition scholarship for the first term of her final school year next year!

Days like these I’m filled with pride that is befitting the “auntie” moniker many of our scholarship students have bestowed upon me. Days like these I am filled with pride at what our students are able to accomplish when their minds are free from worry about school fees and can concentrate, instead, on studying.

Donations do make a difference and they can change the course of lives. Thank you for helping UVP help Stella.

Scholarship Recipient Announced!

Josephine Nakalimo is the lucky recipient of UVP's first University level scholarship, sponsored by our partners at ChooseANeed. Josephine is 17 years old and is an orphan who lives with her older sister. Josephine has been receiving support from UVP, which allowed her to attend Iganga Progressive Academy. She is looking forward to attend University and she is interested in studying accounting and finance. She hopes to be able to work in a bank after her studies. She also would like to work for the Uganda Revenue Authority to help eradicate corruption and to make sure that all people pay taxes. She is a very determined young girl who understands the importance of education. She prides herself on her ability to be patient yet courageous, as demonstrated by her academic success despite having many obstacles such as the death of her parents, sickness, and living in poverty.

Visit our website to find out more about how you can help sponsor orphans going to school in Iganga...

April Update from the field

Pineapple:

1. There were several active JIDDECO farmers who attended the exposure visit who have approached me and asked UVP to assist them. I think they have 5 farmers organized with each of them looking for assistance for suckers for 1 acre. I told them I couldn't guarantee anything, but ONLY those who have taken initiative on their own after the exposure visit would have the chance of working with us on the project. This is 50,000 suckers at 50/= each. 2,500,000/= or $1,500. The farmers have agreed to organize all aspects of the implementation, including sensitizing other community members in their respective villages to be prepared to receive suckers that are passed on, and cover all transport costs.
2. I have made no commitments to either group (A2N or these active JIDDECO farmers), so whichever way we decide to move with this is okay. We know the JIDDECO farmers better, but on the other hand, I'm concerned about implementing before having full organizational support from JIDDECO.

Passion:

1. Mid-March I sent a letter reminding the group that they agreed to pay at the end of March.
2. Catherine was out of the village, but returned Wednesday and promised to set things straight. I called her and she said that so far 4 people have paid for a total of 70,000 and that she banked that money. She told me that she will work this week and weekend to mobilize others to pay.


Orphan Scholarships:

1. I gave Richard a top-up of 1,300,000 for school fees/registration.
2. He told me the payments and receipts will be finalized tomorrow and that I can come to pick them.

Shallow Wells:

1. There were problems with the cement finishing cracking because the village mason did not use the correct ratio of cement to water. I want this to be fixed before we plan the commissioning ceremony. The District also supplied the wrong pump handles. We were given heavy handles meant for deep boreholes. This, combined with the wrong cement ratios, has caused the pedestal to become loose. I am hoping to meet with Herbert this week to sort out the problem. The village mason was not supervised and the district made this mistake, so I'm going to try and get them to bear the costs of fixing it.

2. The shallow well in Lukunhu B of Bukanga is basically finished. I want Herbert to change the handle before we have the same problem here as in Bugole.

3. I visited Kalalu to site wells for our donors this summer. Ben, you were right, Kalalu is BADLY off with water. Reverend had 6 sites in mind and they all qualify for a well, so it should be no problem keeping them busy this summer!

4. The existing well in Kalalu also had problems with the pedestal becoming loose. Kimanto also had this problem when you were here, Ben. I drilled Herbert about this and he said maybe they have to redesign the way the slab is cast if it is not the finishing that is the problem. He wants to schedule a time to move to all of the wells ascertain the problem.

5. Patrick has done amazingly well with the Butakanira job. He made daily trips to the village with 2 bags of cement. Patrick truly enjoys this project! He is getting a village called Kiringa ready next.

6. In the last update, I mentioned we found a new mason named Awali. Well, Balidawa hurt himself at Lukunhu and sent a different mason he knew to Butakanira. This mason he found seems to do good work. Balidawa showed up on site a few days after construction began and supervised the work. Balidawa is organizing the payment of this guy, so it won't be any cost to us. Patrick recommended using this guy on his own well, but as soon as he they reach the technical parts involving the hard core, Balidawa should be brought to that site for one day to ensure the work is done right.

7. As for digging in the dry season only, Herbert said this would be best unless we are willing to either rent or buy our own pumps during the wet season so there is no excuse for communities to stop digging. A pump costs 5,000 a day and we would have the communities contribute fuel. To buy, a pump goes for 600,000/=.

Microfinance/ Kiva Connections:

1. I visited several of the bigger microfinance institutions in Iganga to talk to them about networking with Kiva.
2. I think, based on the initial information I got, Finance Trust Uganda seemed to be the best one. I talked with them at length about Kiva. The manager was not around at the time. I hope to follow-up the next time I go through there.

November Update

School Desks Project

The payments have been made on the desks.

Click here for video of the headmaster of Kimanto Comprehensive Secondary School thanking the desk project sponsors, ChooseaNeed!

Goats:

JIDDECO:
1. One goat's leg was broken in Bugole. Apparently it was trying to jump out of the shed. I was told that it is being taken care of and the broken leg is being set.
2. I'm still waiting to hear from Musai John on the last widow in Kiwanyi. They were supposed to get another widow organized. I will follow-up this week.
3. Some people from Jinja came into the office the other day wanting to buy goats from JIDDECO…thought that was a nice side note. Unfortunately none of our widows could benefit from the sale, but at least we know JIDDECO is marketing the goats.

MURUDA
1. We delivered the goats. Basil will be working for this farmers' association. He told me it is a bit of an experiment but he has hopes it will sustain itself.
2. I will go back and move around with Banuli to see the women during one of my visits to the Kidozi well.


Orphan Scholarships:
Richard said they will visit each school once more and then the last time as they collect the reports. He gave me all of the receipts he has with three missing.

We will get the accountabilities for the monitoring once the term is over.


Shallow Wells:
1. Idinda is now finished and it looks great! The opening ceremony is on Tuesday. The report is attached along with the new proposals.

* Join the opening ceremony for the Idinda Well on YouTube! *

2. We took Balidawa to Kidozi on Friday. I visited today when we delivered the materials and they have already gone pretty deep. They started digging up sand a little bit further down into the swamp, but hit water after 2 feet, so they moved further up hill. This is a sign that the water table isn't too deep. Herbert estimates another 10 feet and they will hit water.


Digging the Kidozi well

I also evaluated another potential site for a new shallow well, Butakanira:
i. The distances aren't outrageously long compared to other villages, however they said that their village area is small, but has many people.
ii. They have 2 boreholes, but the lines are always really long, causing some people to retrieve contaminated water. There are no other clean water sources in the community. There is a dirty river though…
iii. The longest people walk to the existing borehole ranges from 1 to 1.5 kms.
iv. Roughly 230 households to the village
v. Just as with Kidozi and Idinda, I had men telling me that they are ready to dig anytime and are just waiting for us.
vi. Butakanira was last in Namalemba sub-county for sanitation in JIDDECO villages. So this new well should help them keep clean… They knew this and when I mentioned it, I think it added to their fervor to do something about it. I think I might of hit a soft spot with that one.
vii. I hope to go there with Herbert tomorrow to identify a site so they can begin to mobilize the materials.

4. I was hoping to do 5 wells before Christmas. Depending on how long building and/or collecting materials goes, I thought it would not be possible also considering what I have heard about the month of December in Uganda. But, Herbert told me that in the village, December is very busy as everyone is looking for money to buy meat, presents, etc. He thinks we will even be able to build in December, so we'll see.
5. Water test planning for the wells. Herbert is telling me that the reagents are a lot more expensive and when bought, can test up to 50 wells. He said the District has the testing kits, which we could use. The reagents also have to be used in a certain time frame or they will go bad. Herbert was talking about testing the previous wells during the rainy season to monitor the effects of the influx of water. He mentioned that when the district carries out its tests, he would let us know. This might be a chance to avoid paying for reagents we won't use and wasting money.
6. Parts. Herbert told me that the next time the District can even consider helping us with parts will be in December, contrary to October, which is what he said when Ben was here. Henry made the suggestion of getting their commitment in writing so they have more incentive to include it in their fiscal plans. This is something I can talk to Herbert more about. Herbert also tells me that the parts are only set to get more expensive. He told me that new boreholes are moving towards PVC, so the metallic parts will eventually become fewer in stock, especially the pipes and cylinder, becoming more expensive.

10/07 Part 2: Scholarships, Fruit Drying, Wells

Orphan Scholarships:

1. I met with Richard today. He is finalizing the scholarship students report, but couldn't show me because the power was out. I plan on going back tomorrow.
2. Richard is planning 2 meetings for this month (the timing was suggested by the schools as November is very busy for exams), one for the rural villages and one meeting for the schools closer to town. I am really excited to attend these meetings and look forward to interacting with more of the students.

Click to watch video of Matt interviewing one of our scholarship students, Mercy:




Pineapple:

1. Henry and I have both been re-emphasizing that the funding is not currently there. Henry proposed that we encourage the farmers to invest in the planting at whatever capacity they are comfortable with now, then, when funding may come through, we move around and observe the farmers that took the initiative to start on their own, giving them the highest priority for any assistance . This will more than likely reduce the number of initial farmers assisted to below 15 as I don't expect all 15 farmers to start on their own.
2. As far as implementing any future funding, there are several options we could pursue as I've mentioned before…from partial cost sharing with farmers for sucker to full assistance using the loan in-kind scheme. In whatever capacity UVP decides to move with this project, whether it be not at all, on a very small scale, or on a larger scale, I think the basic ground work has been set, even for very small operations. Henry has repeatedly told me that the coordinator wants to encourage fruit growing in their programs now. As far as when this will become a solid part of their programs, I have no idea, but it doesn't look like its going to happen anytime soon.
3. I hope to pressure Henry to schedule a meeting with THE COORDINATOR to visit the Soleil factory. I think it would be great to at least work on building that partnership while taking advantage of the few suckers Soleil produces each week, which would be solely handled by JIDDECO and the farmers who want to start on a small scale. After we get the coordinator caught up, we can begin serious talks with Africa 2000 for the pre and post-harvesting trainings, which, aside maybe from transport, should be done at no cost to JD, farmers, or UVP. Also, suckers can sit in a pile for weeks without being planted. I was told that a farmer would really have to struggle to plant 1,000 suckers in a week, let alone 10,000.
The farmers know our position on the project and the sub-county contact persons are supportive, so however we decide to handle this, they will move ahead on the project as much as they can.


Shallow Wells:

1. Idinda is READY! The sub-county contact person, who I've been communicating through on this project as no one on the Water User Committee has a phone, suggested waiting until next week to start as everyone has been really busy with the evaluation. I'm thinking Tuesday I could bring the mason to the community.
2. Kigulamo…yes that is the name of the area for this other well. I misunderstood the naming. Here is how it works. Kigulamo is the name of the village, which is really large. So, there is Kigulamo North and Kigulamo South. The well be in Kigulamo South, which is more specifically known as Kidozi…hence the Kigulamokidozi name I thought I was hearing. Sorry to those who grew to like the really long name. The well is going to be in KIDOZI of Kigulamo. On Weds., I went with Herbert to spot the well. There was an impressive turn out. I got a picture of all those present at the proposed site. I hope to send it off with the others.
3. Banuli called me today to inform me that he was with the community members digging up the sand needed for the well as he spoke. These people are SERIOUS. Banuli told me that in just a few days the materials would be mobilized. I told him that it is great the community is mobilizing the materials so quickly, but we would still have to wait for Idinda to finish their well. He sounded like he already clearly understood this. I think he is just making sure I know the community is serious by getting things done so quickly. Banuli is highly respected in his area. I figured out his position a little better. He is the speaker at the sub-county for the LC3 and is specifically assigned to this area of the sub-county as the counselor.
4. I think Kidozi might be in a position to be considered for a second well down the line based on the social map they had and the distances they indicated.
5. I spoke with Banuli some more about using his help and setting up a structure to identify villages in need of clean water sources, especially when we run out of JIDDECO villages. He seemed really excited to help in whatever way he could. Herbert had mentioned that villages submitted applications at the district level, so I told Banuli a good start would be for to communities to write a proposal, indicating the name of the village, the number of households, other sources of water in the village and how accessible they are, and the farthest distance a family in the village is walking to get clean water.


New Peace Corps Volunteer:
(Uganda Village Project helped our partner JIDDECO apply for a Peace Corps Volunteer. This volunteer will spend a portion of her time working for JIDDECO, and a portion of her time working with Matt on Uganda Village Project programs! We are very excited for her to begin helping with the work that Matt is doing)

1. JIDDECO's new Peace Corps volunteer has come to Iganga for a "future site visit." Her name is Amy.
2. She'll be here until Saturday. Then she will go back for two more weeks of training before moving back to Iganga for two years.
3. Henry has been having her attend nutrition sensitizations. These are all in Lusoga, so they've been quite boring for her. I told Henry this. He is going to give her some literature about JD and then hopefully sit down with her to have a serious talk about what she can do and the opportunities there are with JD aside from sitting in on sensitizations.


New Crib:

1. I'm slowly by slowly moving into the new place. I've got two rooms with electricity. I'll probably be eating the food the family here prepares, which is okay.
2. Looks like I'm going to have to pay for water. 100/= a jerrycan. 50/= for using the well and 50/= for the labour. It takes me a week, give or take a day or two, to finish the water in the metallic tank (20l). Then with bathing and the occasional tank cleaning and floor mopping, I don't think it will be a huge expense by any means.

Choose A Need Library
(Matt visited a law library that ChooseANeed helped to fund in Kampala to take some video interviews)

The library CAN helped was really welcoming. It offered a relatively quiet place to read for law students in a busy part of the city near Makerere. They gave some good interviews, although there was quite a bit of background noise…sorry. I tried to increase the volume as much as possible in Movie Maker. Power has been inconsistent here, but I will load the videos as soon as possible.

ChooseANeed Scholarship Recipient

An update from Matt as he visits Busalamu Secondary School to interview candidates for a full secondary school scholarship provided by our partners at ChooseANeed. He interviewed 4 students who are all in Secondary 1, the Ugandan equivalent of 7th grade.


Sangala Faizo, UVP Scholarship recipient

"All four S1 candidates were present at Busalamu Secondary School. The deputy headmaster was very kind. She helped me find the four students and assemble them under a tree. There are no A Level schools very close. The closest one is Bukoyo Senior Secondary School Day and Boarding and it is still far enough away that the students would have to attend as boarders. This is the information I collected from each student:

Musenze Asuman

1. Favorite subjects: history, geography, chemistry
2. Hobbies: football (soccer)
3. Ranked 33rd out of 110 students in his class for the second term.
4. He intends to go to Bukoyo Senior Secondary School for his A Levels as a boarding student.
5. Hopes to attend university to become a doctor.
6. Both parents passed away when he was young.
7. Has 2 sisters, 1 brother. Asuman is the oldest. His younger siblings are all attending primary school.

Kyotalimye Sauti

1. Favorite subjects: history, chemistry
2. Hobbies: music
3. Ranked 8th out of 110 students last term.
4. Initially said she was planning to go to Wanyanga Girls in Jinja for her A Levels, but quickly changed to Bukoyo Senior Secondary after I mentioned we would like to see our students stay in the district. These students are only in S1, so a lot can change in the 4 years before they are ready to move on to A levels.
5. Hopes to attend university to study to become a caterer.
6. Lost her father, mother is still living
7. Has 3 sisters, 2 brothers. She is the eldest with her siblings in primary school


Nakawoma Moreen

1. Favorite subjects: history, math, netball
2. Hobbies: debating, netball
3. Ranked 6th out of 110 students last term.
4. Intends to study at Bukoyo Senior Secondary as a boarding student for her A Levels
5. Hopes to attend university to study to become a nurse
6. Both parents passed away. Stays with her Aunt.
7. Moreen is the youngest of 3 girls.
1. The first born is currently studying at Makerere. She is being sponsored by members of the family's clan.
2. The second born has already finished Teacher Training College and has a job.

Sangala Faizo

1. Favorite subjects: mathematics
2. Hobbies: debating, revising his books
3. Ranked 10th out of 110 students last term
4. Hopes to study at Iganga High School as a boarding student.
5. Hope to attend university to study to become a doctor.
6. Both parents passed away. Faizo is staying with his step-mother.
7. Faizo is the youngest with 4 brothers and 3 sisters. He is the only child in school and the only person in his family to study as high as secondary school.

I chose Faizo to be sponsored by ChooseAneed because I felt that he stood out in terms of the combination of his need and work ethic. He was very humble and visibly grateful for being sponsored. I didn't have to try to hard to get him to smile for the pictures either. The two girls ranked higher in class, but they seem to have a stronger support network, either through a living parent or through siblings that are currently attending school. Asuman did not rank as high and his siblings are all in school.

I think Faizo's performance in school is exceptional given his family situation. Clearly his older siblings have set a trend amongst themselves for dropping out, but Faizo is taking full advantage of the opportunities given to him through a sponsorship. He also stood out to me when he said that he enjoys revising his books.

I know that school attendance in Uganda is far from satisfactory. Many people do not attend for a large number of different reasons, but I haven't found myself significantly moved or touched by the problem as it has been difficult to put a story behind the faces of the out-of school youth that I pass by on a daily basis. In Nawansaso, the village I lived in, there was a very weak secondary school with drunkards as directors and administrators. The school barely held over 100 students. Of those, many did not seem to care if their teachers did not show up for class and seemed content with paying fees to lounge around in the grass all day, copying notes from each other (many times a teacher would come, write notes on the board, then leave). The somewhat more serious students made attempts to teach themselves. Some of the lucky brighter students managed to attend a better school for the second term, but for the most part, very little learning was going on. We found that the most serious students woke up very early to make the trek or bicycle ride 3 or 4 kilometers away to the nearest secondary school. This school wasn't very strong either, but it was relatively new and seemed more promising.


Faizo at school

Anyways, enough reminiscing, it was a breath of fresh air seeing some of the UVP scholarship recipients ranking amongst the top in their class in a strong and serious secondary school. Faizo is a kid who lost both of his parents, his older siblings have not been in school for years and he has managed to maintain an incredible will to work hard and value his education…working hard enough to rank 10 th in his class. Listening to the words, "I am the only one in my family to study at secondary" come out of his mouth hit me unexpectedly hard as thoughts of anyone in my family not attending high school, or any school for that matter, flashed through my mind before I almost immediately dismissed the thoughts as ridiculous. That unexpected intense moment forced me to put my life in perspective and made me realize how often I take not only my education, but also its quality, for granted. I thought that I had become desensitized to a lot of the scenes of poverty I see each day, but I found myself seeking refuge in my small notebook as I stared blankly down at the paper for a minute trying to collect my thoughts. "

Late September Update

- School Desks Project

I went to WAACHA and spoke with Faruk. The carpentry instructor did not honor the appointment, but Faruk assured me he would take of everything. I gave him pictures of the different styles of desks and asked him to give me an estimate for transporting the desks once complete. I'm waiting to hear from them on the quote.


(Desks at Goodheart Secondary School, a UVP Scholarship partner school)

Goats for Widows Project

# JIDDECO:

1. I have sent the revised Memorandum Of Understanding to THE COORDINATOR (I love how everyone refers to him with his title instead of Mr. Bateeze or something. I feel like we're speaking about a character in the Matrix)
2. Once he okays the new MOU, we can organize for the goat delivery. I'm pretty sure all of the widows are ready, but will confirm before we set a day.

# MURUDA

1. Last weekend I moved with Banuli to the four widows' homes. Only one goat shed is complete. Each widow apparently raised 10,000/= to have a man with experience build the sheds. He was away during our visits, but Banuli told me that they would be finished in one week. I saw him yesterday to do a shallow well introduction and he told me that the sheds still need work. He was actually helping them build the sheds and had his finger hit by a hammer. He's got the swollen finger to prove it.
2. I met with Samuel over the Memorandum of Understanding. He reconfirmed that MURUDA can and will meet the commitments stated. He had no qualms with the MOU, so we signed. I also gave him a copy of the goat husbandry training agenda that Margaret came up with for JIDDECO.

Immigration:

1. I can't wait for time when I don't have to talk about this any longer. I showed up at immigration to find the lady in charge of NGOs out for burial. This time I got her phone number, so I will call before I leave to save time and money. I did find out that there is a restaurant in side of immigration. As I was waiting for her, before anyone thought to tell me that she wasn't around, I thought I would have to go into town, eat, and come back. I think this eatery is the best thing the immigration office has going for it. It is the only thing there that saves time and money.

Orphan Scholarships:

1. I met Richard on the 21st. He told me everything will be okay and that they would start paying fees that very day.
2. I got two receipts. One for the monitoring stipend and one for the school fees. I also bought a small blank receipt book for their use when official receipts are not available, i.e. for transport associated with monitoring.
# As far as the other missing students go, Richard says nothing can be done unless they report to ACCOD. For the ones they knew the whereabouts of, they have visited several times without luck. I told him again that this term we are looking for 100% retention, so no more missing students and no new students, and also stressed 100% accountability. Richard agreed. He also assured me that no money will be given directly to students or parents.
# Since I was going to WAACHA to discuss the CAN desks, I told Richard I would handle those school fees.
# At WAACHA, since Noah wasn't around, but I told Faruk to pass on the message of trying to retain students. I told him that if a student disappears before completing his/her course, that slot will not be filled. As students complete their courses, UVP will may or may not consider adding students given the short course durations of 2 years. Faruk supports the policy and agreed to pass on the message. I also requested that, at the end of the third term, they compile an updated list of students and their status in their course and which ones have completed successfully.
# WAACHA tuition is 43,000, so Faruk agreed to work with Hannah the Peace Corps volunteer to see what the balance of 4,000 per student can best be used for.


At the WAACHA office