Help for Tororo/Uganda.

18.10.2024 

Dear ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

I have now been back here in Tororo for a good month and have settled in after the initial stress of the changeover. 

It is particularly difficult for me to cope with the water shortage at the beginning. At the moment, the waterworks have a policy of shortage distribution - for our area, the water pipes are only opened for a few hours at night on Wednesdays and Fridays; other areas have different times. However, as it is always raining and often very heavily, accompanied by heavy storms and thunderstorms, the supply of rainwater is currently another source of water in addition to the village well, from which people fetch water for domestic use in canisters.

For our school, the newly built well next to the rainwater tanks is a good help, especially as it means there are no charges and the water is very clean. However, the hand pump recently had to be replaced. The young people were pumping water into their canisters with all their strength, which the canisters could not withstand. In addition, it was necessary to drill even deeper to ensure a more effective supply of clean drinking water. 

The frequent power cuts, especially during the daily power cuts as a result of storms, are more tolerable as there is a solar power supply. I am very glad that we installed solar lighting in our private house and property years ago, when solar was still largely new and expensive in Uganda. Fortunately, when the electricity fails, we are not left in the dark inside or outside. It is interesting to note that these storms regularly occur in the afternoon or evening. The sun shines in the morning until the afternoon and it's really hot. And then it suddenly kicks up so much that it scares me sometimes.

Recently, the storm was so strong one evening that the roof even blew off one room in the hostel for boys. The students were temporarily housed in our homework room. Fortunately, nobody was injured. It has to be said, however, that this roof of the original school building was covered 21 years ago with the usual corrugated iron and is now due for a new roof. 

Shortly after my arrival, the 3rd term began and this is always a time of exams, like the one for the intermediate school leaving certificate this week. This year there are only 16 pupils, 12 boys and 4 girls. This clearly reflects the difficult economic situation in our rural area. Families only have the bare necessities to live and pay for school.

According to the ‘Global Hunger Index 2024’/World Hunger Index, Uganda ranks 105th out of 127 countries that were able to be recorded on the basis of sufficient data, which means a serious hunger situation. 

I quote from a report of the Global Hunger Index: 

‘Agriculture plays a critical role in the Ugandan economy. 68 per cent of Ugandan employees work in agriculture, seven per cent in industry and 25 per cent in the service sector. At the same time, 25 per cent of GDP is generated in agriculture, 20 per cent in industry and 47 per cent in the service sector (World Bank 2019). The country's most important export product is coffee, although it was surpassed by gold for the first time in 2018 (BOU 2019).

Uganda has a high level of biodiversity, fertile volcanic soils, various freshwater lakes with irrigation potential and two rainy seasons per year, which benefit agricultural production. However, Uganda's agriculture has recently been affected by droughts and devastating plant diseases and pests. 

It also mentions that ‘Uganda has received a considerable number of refugees in recent years, with the total number rising from around 200,000 in 2012 to more than 1.2 million in 2019. The refugees mainly come from neighbouring South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (UNDP 2017; UNHCR 2019). The reception of refugees is characterised by an exceptional welcoming culture, which is why the UN High Commissioner for Refugees describes Uganda's refugee policy as one of the most progressive in the world (UNHCR 2018). In contrast to many countries where refugees are often relegated to refugee camps, in Uganda they are given a piece of land and access to services such as healthcare and education and are integrated into society. Due to limited resources and problems with mismanagement of funds, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Uganda to provide for the growing refugee population (CSIS 2018).’

I would like to end my newsletter for today, but will report again soon at the end of the 2024 school year.

Sending warm greetings from Uganda.

Christiane Maleika

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen

Dear friends

In today's newsletter, I would like to report on the latest news from our projects - the school and the kindergarten - in Uganda:

When I was preparing for my flight back to Germany at the beginning of May, we invited our headmaster to discuss school matters with him. He had taken over this role a year ago and we wanted to discuss further plans for the school with him. At this meeting, he hinted that political activity with the district government was on the cards, but without making a clear announcement. Shortly after my return, I learnt that he had already been earmarked for the position I had in mind. He then left the school without giving any notice.

 Fortunately, at the beginning of this school year in February, we were able to appoint a deputy head teacher who came to us from the north of Uganda. He proved to be competent and committed and so, together with the supervisory board, we decided to give him the role of head teacher on a trial basis.

This short-term change in school management meant that, among other things, planned personnel matters and activities already underway to procure computers and microscopes were temporarily interrupted during this transitional period.

And right at the beginning of his official work as the new headmaster, school inspectors recently visited our school as a matter of routine. They drew up a so-called list of deficiencies, e.g. for the girls' hostel, the infirmary and the administration. This requires support from us as an organisation, but also from the local school administration. For example, the replacement of the existing wooden beds in the boarding school with metal beds as a precautionary measure for fire safety, a waste incinerator, especially for waste that the girls produce every month, and the storage of ingredients for school meals were listed as particularly important. This also includes fire extinguishers, some of which were already in place but need to be replaced or more procured, as well as smoke detectors.

At the upcoming general meeting on 12 August 2024, we will discuss how we can help with the existing donations and which applications we will submit for future donations.

We can report that 30 children currently attend our kindergarten, 17 of whom are in the ‘Baby Class’, 8 in the ‘Middle Class’ and 5 in the ‘Top Class’. These 5 children are being prepared for primary school and have not previously attended a kindergarten. As there are of course also costs for the salaries of the staff - kindergarten director, kindergarten teacher and assistant - as well as the maintenance of the kindergarten, it is necessary to pay a ‘school fee’, which parents in these villages are not always willing or able to pay.

Finally, I would like to draw your attention to our 23rd general meeting. It will take place on 12 August 2024 at 6 pm in the meeting room of Nauwieser 19, Nauwieser Str.19 on the 1st floor above Cafe Kostbar. Guests are welcome.

Christiane Maleika 

20.7.2024

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,                      

I recently returned from Uganda and our local coordinator, Mr Robert Omiel, arrived in Saarbrücken shortly after me.

Today I am only writing a short newsletter, as we are currently busy with various activities here.

We came back from Uganda with the following request: If anyone has a smartphone that is no longer being used and is lying in a drawer, we would be very grateful to be able to take it with us to Uganda.

Smartphones now play a major role in communication in Uganda too. I am particularly impressed by the fact that people are constantly using them to access all kinds of information on the internet. This is particularly helpful for young people when they go to school or university, as they can often avoid buying expensive books or do group work online.

 The smartphone has become an integral part of everyday life in Uganda. For example, it can be used to pay bills and transfer money, which reaches recipients all over the country in no time at all. It can even be used to pay in larger shops or restaurants. I have seen all of this time and time again.

However, I have a request to only give away a smartphone without a contract. I can be reached at the telephone number: 0152 28727135.

Best wishes for today.

Christiane Maleika and Mrs Robert Omiel

Saarbrücken, 30.5.2024

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends,

I'm starting today's newsletter with the weather, because I keep getting asked what it's like here at the moment. I can only answer that it is currently very hot with temperatures over 30 degrees, which is unusual at this time of year. Even if you just sit at your computer in the shade and do nothing else, the sweat is pouring off you. Today's newspaper writes that we are having a heatwave and that even the dogs are more aggressive than usual!

Fortunately, our school is now well supplied with water in this heat. A well, which was drilled some time ago and unfortunately not deep enough at the time, is fully functional again. This was also quite difficult now, because at the time when the well diggers started drilling, we had constant heavy and persistent rain. So it looked as if they had quickly reached the groundwater level. However, when the rain stopped, there was no more water. So a drilling machine had to get to work to break through the rocky subsoil and reach the real groundwater. Fortunately, this worked and now we can enjoy clear water from this well. One problem during this construction period was that pipes belonging to the national water supply were destroyed during construction work on a nearby country road and it took over a month for this to be repaired. As our rainwater tanks were quickly empty during this time, we had to buy water, which was delivered by companies in large containers. But that's pretty expensive, as you can imagine. And with the current drought, the rainwater tanks that we have at the school are empty.

Here in Uganda, I have learnt to really appreciate the good supply of water in Germany, as well as the fact that we take it for granted.

I can also report that four days ago we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our school with all the pupils, the school staff and some guests. We especially enjoyed the performances by the girls and boys. As they come from different parts of Uganda and therefore belong to different ethnic groups, they proudly presented their respective traditional dances and songs. And of course, such a celebration includes a mass, speeches and a communal meal. The young people concluded the event by dancing to ‘their’ music.

Yesterday we drafted a memorandum of understanding with our new friends from a neighbouring school run by the ‘Kwa Moyo’ association, whose pupils have been attending Year 1 at our secondary school since this school year (I have already reported on this). Thankfully, their coordinator and a social worker had already prepared it so well that we quickly agreed on what it should contain.It regulates the special co-operation between the two schools, which are both part of German associations. 

 In mid-February, the national results of the intermediate school-leaving certificate were published.Our sponsored children Rachel and Max received the best marks with a 1, followed by another Max with a 2, Veronica and Tony with a 3. With the exception of Veronica, who has started an apprenticeship as a hairdresser, they are all continuing at school with the aim of completing their A-levels in two years. Joan did very well in her A-levels, which we are all very happy about.

The results of our school were not bad, but we had hoped for better results.It is now a matter of the new headmaster and his team of teachers analysing why it was only mediocre and what needs to be improved.Young teachers will hopefully have fewer difficulties implementing the new curriculum, which the Ministry of Education has made compulsory in all schools from this school year.At least that's what I keep hearing when I talk to our long-standing teachers about it.Among other things, this curriculum places much more emphasis on supplementary practical training to enable better preparation for career choices.The fact that we have started an agricultural project for our school fits in very well with this.Computer lessons have also been made a compulsory part of the curriculum, which is in line with our application to the Saarland Ministry of Development Aid.We have applied for the purchase of a further 20 computers and hope to be able to buy them soon.

Last but not least, it remains for me to wish everyone a good Easter and to be grateful for any support.

Best wishes from Uganda

Christiane Maleika and Mrs Robert Omiel Tororo, 24 March 2024

Ladies and Gentlemen

dear friends,

I died on Monday. The new school year officially began here in Uganda on February 5th, 2024 and I would like to report on the beginnings. However, experience over the years has shown that it always takes a while for students to return to school after the vacation, which lasts over 2 months. So I can't say anything about the exact number of students at the moment.

   Interestingly, however, students from northern Uganda have already arrived. In recent years, this collaboration has come about through personal contacts and for their families, the comparatively low school fees are attractive enough to send them to school as far away as Tororo in eastern Uganda. A visit from Fr. Robert, who recently traveled north, reinforced this good relationship with the families.

The results of the primary school final exams were published by the Ministry of Education last week; those of the secondary school leaving certificate and the Abitur are still pending. Of the 3 boys who took this test, Robert achieved a very good result, the other two, Ezra and Michael, achieved good and mediocre results. They will all 3 attend our school from Monday, February 12th, the official start of the 1st grades of the high schools.

Fortunately, a cooperation has emerged in the last few weeks through the mediation of our club member Christine Tussing-Kosica, who is also active in the “Kwa Moyo e.V.” association from Mbale. I've already reported on it. A group of them recently traveled from Germany and visited us in Tororo. Our headmaster, Ms Robert and I, together with our teachers, welcomed the guests to our school, which also included the coordinator and 2 social workers from “Kwa Moyo”. After a tour of the school grounds, we also showed them our projects in the “Masimiliano Center” such as the grain mill, office service, general store and the newly built “Yoanina Kindergarten”, which also started accepting children this week.

After visiting the school and the advice center, we drove to our home, where we all had lunch with our Ugandan colleagues. This went well with the exchange of experiences in our projects and the new partnership. The “Kwa Moyo” association will be sending us 18 students for the 1st high school class next week. Of course, this also includes organizational questions, which we were able to discuss on this occasion. Both sides expressly welcome this cooperation with goodwill.

Unfortunately, we recently had to witness a very sad event. Last week, a 4-year-old boy, the son of Mrs. Robert's niece, died as a result of malaria that was treated too late. You read it again and again in our media how dangerous malaria can be if it is not recognized and treated in time. There are rapid tests available here, but unfortunately their reliability is often questionable. Therefore, if you have corresponding symptoms, I recommend having the test carried out at a serious job. Unfortunately, this is sometimes neglected. In addition, a common, widely used antimalarial drug has now developed resistance due to the frequency of uncontrolled use. A drug that was developed in Europe is now also available in well-equipped pharmacies, especially in pharmacies in Kampala. However, like so many medications we have available in Germany, the costs are prohibitive for most people in this country.

Finally, I would also like to refer you to our 2023 activity and cash report, which we have published on our website: www.help.tororo.org under Home/News.

We warmly greet you from Uganda and, as always, we will report regularly on news in our projects.

Christiane Maleika and Father Robert Omiel, Tororo, died February 10, 2024