April 2010 Newsletter
Dear Global Citizen and Friend, The April newsletter is a little late, but better late, than never! Scroll down to learn about the latest progress in Kibooba.-
- Clean Drinking Water & Hand-washing stations at the Kibooba Primary School
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- Garden Update
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- Thank you, Mandy May Howard
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- 4 Oneworld volunteers in Uganda
Clean drinking water for Kibooba students
Friends of Kibooba (FOK) has brought clean drinking water to the children of Kibooba! FOK contracted the US based non-profit organization, Wine to Water, for the purchase and installation of three bio sand filters.
4 Oneworld volunteers, Matt Downing and Jacob Asperger coordinated the delivery and installation of the filters; they also participated in the necessary staff training and follow up.
Thank you to FOK, Matt and Jacob for making a difference!
Visit www.winetowater.org to learn more.
Hand-washing Stations
In March, as part of the health and sanitation initiative, FOK provided the school with two hand washing stations.
4 Oneworld volunteers, Moira Macleod and MaryAnn Kudary not only taught the students how to wash their hands using the new hand washing stations and soap, but also demonstrated how germs are spread and how hand washing can prevent this. It was both educational and fun for the children.
Thank you to FOK, Moira and MaryAnn for making a difference!
Garden Status Update: April
• Week One: The corn and beans began to germinate shortly after planting
• Week Three: The volunteers gathered to weed the garden
• Week Three: The shed was constructed to store the garden tools and supplies
• Week Four: Rain, rain and more rain
Thank you, Mandy by Tara McKinney
Mandy May Howard is a friend of mine. When she learned about 4 Oneworld and my trip to Uganda she wanted to help. She reached into her purse and pulled out $35, all the cash she had on her. I told her I would be sure to put the funds to good use.
In Kibooba the list of needs is endless. Some of the requests are more urgent than others. Steven, the head teacher, mentioned numerous times that the blackboards needed resurfacing. Their poor condition was making it very difficult for the children to read what the teachers were writing. It turned out that the cost of resurfacing the blackboards was $35! Mandy’s donation was meant for the blackboards!
Thank you, Mandy for improving the learning conditions for the students of Kibooba!.
During the last two weeks of March, friends of 4 Oneworld joined Tara in Uganda.
The group included 4 Oneworld Board President, Adam Stubbs, Secretary, Liz Semaan and volunteers Jacob Asperger, Matt Downing, MaryAnn Kudary, Garrard and Moira Macleod and Michael Story. They were there to experience Uganda and to give of their time and talents to 4 Oneworld projects.
Visit to Uganda by Garrard Macleod
It is more than a body’s senses can make sense of—this first breath of Africa. I took my first breath getting off the plane in Entebbe airport, Uganda. My limbic system kicked in and all senses were on high alert. We arrived at night so my first impressions were of heat and humidity and smells that somehow seem ancient. Come morning, a walk around our hostel’s environs (The Red Chilli), and I add sights and sounds that are amazing. The traffic, the people, the noise of the day, the red dust everywhere, the brilliant sunlight, the energy, all invigorate this traveler.
Our mission was to visit 4 Oneworld’s new school project in the village of Kibooba and to reunite with friends at 4 Oneworld’s completed project at the St. Kizito school in Kampala.
In Kibooba, first we meet Joel, who has started this school for orphans in the hope that through education they’ll be able to escape the fates of their parents. At Joel’s house the children come for lunch. They embrace us from all directions; the smilers, the shy ones, the extroverts, the sly ones, the touchers, the pokers, the pinchers, the thoughtful ones who seem to think us exotic beasts from afar.
After lunch, we are led down the winding, dusty road from Joel’s house to the school yard, where I’ll read to the children. Joel and his assistants have done a great deal of work on the building which is now a haven for the orphans of Kibooba Village. The children greet us in the school with songs they and their teachers have composed to tell us how glad they are to see us. Then we all go outside, the children carrying benches from the school, to sit under a huge tree. It’s here that I read them “The Elephant’s Child” by Rudyard Kipling, one of my favorite stories, about how the elephant got its trunk, “by the great grey–green Limpopo River, all set about with fever–trees.” Actually, I think the Limpopo River is in South Africa not Uganda, but no matter, the kids love the story; especially my sound effects of the crocodile stretching the little elephant’s nose. I have left the books I brought for the school library in the hope that the children and their teachers will read to one another the wonderful Kipling “Just–So Stories,” and the modern African fables by Alexander McCall Smith. Seeing the faces of children as they engage themselves in a good story is always incredibly rewarding.
The next week we visit St. Kizito School. The completed 4 Oneworld computer lab project is truly impressive, and the students are making excellent use of it under the guidance of their teacher Dennis. We also met briefly with, Brian, the student Moira and I sponsor. He’s in his final year at St. Kizito, is a good student and a fine young man who hopes to continue his education beyond St. Kizito school.
It was a truly moving experience to see first hand all that 4Oneworld is doing to educate, empower and inspire the students of St.Kizito Secondary School and Kibooba Village Primary School.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."