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Kakooza Hannington's report of his visit 2014/6/3-8 to SACL

[ This page presents a report created by Kakooza Hannington during his visit June 3-8, 2014 to Paidha in the Nebbi district of Uganda to document the work of Saint Augustine Community Love (SACL) Programme focusing on 20 orphans, two agricultural projects, (a goat keeping project and the Erussi Farmers Assocation), and and a primary school called Abongo Primary School:

I converted Hannington's report to html, making some corrections and clarifications in the process in consultation with Hannington and Onencan William. Bracketed and italicized remarks like this are my inserted commentary.

Mapcarta links for Nebbi, Paidha, Erusi/Erussi, Padolo, Abongo, Padyere, Parombo. Goli, Angal, Pajur.

-Alec Johnson]

MY JOURNEY TO PAIDHA (3nd June 2014)

On the 3rd of June , I arrived in Paidha on a journey that was fully by Alec Johnson, an American friend of SACL currently living and working Belgium, to carry out the following duties:

  1. To interview the 20 kids (orphans) who need school fees to join secondary school
  2. To visit Abongo primary school.
  3. To visit some of SACL projects and see how they are doing.
In order to be able to carry out the above objectives, I needed someone more knowledgeable in those fields. I was referred to Mr. Onenchan William by Hon. Joshua Anywarach (MP, Padyere County) the founder of SACL.

Interview with the 20 orphans (password required)

[A VISIT TO SACL AGRICULTURAL PROJECTS]

A VISIT TO THE SACL GOAT PROJECT

Well, among the many project that SACL is doing well, there is also the goat project in order to increase on their income. Mr Okethi Vunda is the person who heads this programme; formerly most of the goats were kept at his place, but currently there are eight goats, of which only four are for SACL and the remaining are for himself. Mr. Vunda told me that most of the goats were given out to SACL members. It was agreed by members since the SACL had started another programme, i.e. coffee farming, and it needs a lot of time and nurturing, so they chose Mr. Okethi Vunda to take up this new programme.

A WORD FROM MR. OKETHI VUNDA

I thank you very much for always coming to check on us SACL well as you can see.

I dedicate a lot of time to serve SACL well; this means less time for me to do my own farming. I ask Alec if he can start for me some small business e.g. a store to keep produce for other farmers; this would have me concentrate on SACL work.

Mr Onencan William, SACL Coordinator

Mr. Onencan William also requested that it would be good if he was helped with transport ie buying him motorcycle for easy monitoring of SACL programmes.

[Erussi Farmers Association]

While interviewing these kids I took some time off to visit another project that Mr. Onencan William is involved in, ERUSSI(ERUSSI FARMERS ASSOCIATION) is engaged in. It is a farmers group and it's also a partner of SACL activities.

The group is engaged in Irish potatoes production; it procured Irish potatoes seeds and distributed to members awaiting harvest at the end of June. They are also very soon going to start digging a fish pond by next week the type of fish they wish to bring is Tilapia.

Funds are being mobilized from members to dig the fish pond. No external funds have been received.

The group started with 15 members and later mobilized to become an organization, raising the membership to 31. Currently the organization wants to become a cooperative, which requires 50 members.

The executive committee is made up of 9 people, including 2 contact persons.

Committee: Contact person :

MY DAY AT ABONGO PRIMARY SCHOOL

On the 8th of June, I set off for Erussi again, but this time round my main objective, to visit Abongo Primary School, the school that had previously been hit hard by a hail storm in (2011).

Time check (11:00am) being a Sunday morning that meant that many people had gone for prayers to different churches of their faith.

But at Abongo Primary School there is a church for Catholics; this was ablessing in disguise, because at least I was able to interact with the different stake holders of the school so I took the advantage.

I joined the rest of the group in mass. in the mass an announcement was made for the people who have kids in this school that they had a visitor from Kampala representing Alec Johnson from the USA who had come to know about a few things about the school.

Soon after the services a meeting was convened in which I would interact with the different stake holders of the school, and below is what transpired in this meeting:

MY OBSERVATIONS.

-There is been some bit of improvement made on the school e.g. roofing of the school.

One of the school gardens has been prepared for next planting and the other has beans have grown ready for harvest

The classroom walls are still in a very bad state they're very hollow, hence housing snakes that can be dangerous to kids.

The stake holders are also very interested in tree plant and this is one of their urgent needs.

I also felt that the school should be given a helping hand as soon as possible in housing for the teachers is concerned. Since there is only one teacher who resides at the school; in my opinion I think this may deter good teachers from joining the school.

Also this may lead some pupils to run away from this school to go and join other school where they think that education is better

During my interview with Mr. Sam Ocaki, I learnt chairman board SACL about the 20 kids that may need help to join secondary school; I learned most of the parents can't afford to pay for they kids to join secondary. This is mainly because the government of Uganda pays for for kids in each family to study for free in primary for those that may wish to take it up. In the processes when these kids reach the level of going to secondary their parents face a problem in paying school fees for their kids since they have not been used to pay school fees for their kids in primary.

[Closing remarks]

All in all, my trip in my own opinion was a fruitful one. I extend my sincene thanks to the following people:

On a lighter note, among the many trips have made to West Nile, this was the first time I saw Elephants in the Murchison falls national park. This was so exciting, as this was my first time to see an Elephant.