This report was written following discussions with Timothy and Janepher Kakooza on 10th August 2019 and a visit to Winners School Katosi. It is important to note that we had some very open and mutual discussions with Timothy and Janepher. We felt that we touched the heartbeat of them and their ministry in ways that we have perhaps not for a few years.
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Timothy commented that it has been a good year with all the projects running smoothly. The number of teachers is now 42 and the number of children has grown to 848 at Winners School with a further 132 children and 7 teachers at Chosen Generation School in Mbale. There are 19 babies staying at the nursery school with 58 day children from the surrounding community. The feeding program provides 2,544 meals per day within a context of unstable food prices and many challenges. Both Timothy and Janepher acknowledged the responsibility and struggles associated with this, including sometimes not knowing how they can provide for them (“in normal terms I can’t do this”). Both also shared their heart's response that fuels their love and care towards abandoned and neglected children.
Timothy reports that the children experiencing abandonment and neglect within the community are predominantly due to broken families. Most times rescuing a baby also requires rescuing both mother and baby. Local leaders, neighbours and church members try to support these children however they come to Timothy and Janepher to help also. Timothy reports they help only the most vulnerable of these children.
It was exciting to see Samuel, their youngest who has finished his first degree, participating during our time at Katosi. Timothy is wanting him to learn through this process potentially to support his future career and encourage his input into the projects. Likewise, Mighty continues to be a huge support to Timothy and Janepher as she does a lot to support the running of the projects. Joy had recently “introduced” her husband to be and they are to be married in a couple of weeks. Timothy and Janepher are also getting much pleasure in being the grandparents of a baby grandson and preschool granddaughter.
The computer lab is working with 12 computers. The science lab still has equipment donated by a church in Matamata, NZ, however has additional equipment needs. Likewise the library was donated books three years ago however despite care books have gone missing or are damaged resulting in the need for additional books.
The government has also made it mandatory that any students sitting an exam are required to have their own individual desk and chair. The school therefore has a significant lack of equipment.
Income for the school comes from:
· 258 fee paying students : 60,000 UGX (US$16) per term for primary students and 80,000 UGX (US$22) for secondary
· There are also approximately 500 students whose family contribute financially
· Timothy seeks donations where he can
· The clinic helps with providing free health care to students and teachers but does not generate income. However the community appreciate the benefits of having the clinic at Katosi and it has done much to support the relationship between the school and community.
· The church and community are supportive of the school and contribute by helping with tasks and work within the school.
· There are currently 6 cows that give milk which supplements the nursery and school.
· Crops from their land provide variety and supplement the children’s diets.
Chosen Generation School is more stable and has contributed to positive changes in the local community. They started a local church and the pastor/social worker are both beneficial. Children attend church and now some parents attend with their children. This is an example of the growing support and involvement by parents of their children. Some are also working (fishing, kitchen garden) to support the family. The well is the only one in the area and it has built relationships and reduced water borne diseases. They are planning to build a wall for protection of the well at night.
Six of the seven teachers stay in a small house built for three people which has been constructed near the site. This has helped as previously they needed to walk a long distance to get to and from the school. One still has to walk about an hour each way. They are hoping to get a solar system for lighting.
Timothy commented that there has been a small level of uptake with Foundations for Farming in the community however the long history/culture of digging is difficult to change. With fluctuating weather patterns, drought and rains coming at unpredicted times there have been crop failures and food shortages. Janepher spoke of the impact of this on her own crops.
The following possibilities were discussed. Clearly some of them may not fit within BHW's focus at present but we have asked them to put the specifics of each proposal to us so that we can consider them further. They are:
1) The possibility of a small loan boost for a teacher loan group.jpg)
We met with the three head teachers to discuss the teachers "Circle”. William has been with the school for 11 years, is the head teacher of primary students and is married with three children. Robert has been at the school for 10 years, is the head teacher for secondary students, is married and has two children. William is the manager and overseas Chosen Generation School, is married and has four children. They have all been doing small scale farming with agriculture and livestock.
This is how they describe it. A group of around 12-15 teachers who have been at the school for over five years has been supporting one another for around three years now. Because of the low salary and the increasing costs (inflation) they need to supplement their income to support themselves and their families. Once a month each brings 20,000 UGX (US$5.50) which is pooled and given to one member so that they can do some business. This is a type of savings rather than a loan programme so when the money has gone, it does not come back. While they benefit from this they find it difficult to expand their businesses. They acknowledged the strength of relationships and building trust and support within the group as members co-operate and are faithful in contributing what is expected. The numbers within this group are increasing gradually.
There is a real potential to support this group which is already actively improving their very low incomes. Our current thinking is for this to become a loan programme with the monthly contributions still continuing and funds being loaned, with interest, to the members on agreed terms. An initial boost of say US$1,000-1,500 would enable the teachers to expand what they are already doing. We see the following advantages:
a) Teacher retention in the school.
b) Teachers provide an example and are role models in a community and we would see them as being quite pivotal in helping the community to ‘rise and lift’.
c) We also met with some other teachers who were wondering about how to improve their income. This example would inspire them. And the funds provided as a boost could be on the basis that in a few years, when the capital in this programme has grown, the funds we put in could seed a further group.
We discussed this without Timothy present, Samuel his son was assisting us in this meeting. We also discussed interest, capital, administration, risks, security, sustainable growth and the possibility of Foundations for Farming training for teachers. They responded very positively to this idea.
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Afterwards we met with a wider group of teachers. As it was the end of term there was only 11 plus the three head teachers. This was an initial introductory discussion and the teachers were very reserved however the head teachers and a couple of others spoke of how they had developed supplementary income. Afterwards some of the teachers were more engaged in one-on-one conversations about income generation with us.
We had a similar and lengthy discussion with Janepher by herself in the afternoon. There are similar ‘circles’ in the church - two of women and two of men. Because they are working on developing trust together and are contributing to a similar programme as above, but with less money, we think there are good possibilities here.
2) Income generation for the school
The possibility of a grinding mill has been raised to help support the feeding programme and also to provide some income for the school. Timothy is going to put this proposal through to be considered. Because it supports the school, which is a massive resource input, we think that this might need to be revisited. Timothy reports that because of the new road there are new power lines and he could access 3 phase power. He also reports that there are more factories being established at Katosi due to the road. He considers that a grinding mill would provide jobs and income in the community and reduce food costs at the school. The nearest is in the next trading centre about 5 kilometres away. However Katosi is not a maize growing area and grain would need to be transported in from the surrounding areas.
3) Seating and Desks
There is a need for 200 desks. There is now a government requirement that exam sitting students have their own desks. The cost is 150,000 UGX (US$40 each) but see the other possibility below around vocational training.
5) Sanitation
Again there are new requirements coming in for schools. Because the school is so large and the toilets are unable to go deep because of the water table being high as the school is right by the lake, it really needs a large scale septic tank. This is likely to cost a lot of money because of the piping etc needed. There is also a need for a pump to bring water from the lake for use in the toilets.
6) Latrines in Mbale village and also the two fishing villages about 1 km south of Katosi on the shores of the lake.
These villages have no sanitation and people ‘go’ in the bush. The poverty in these villages is unbelievable. Our view is that, if the chiefs of each village were on side and willing to provide the land and labour, we think BHW should support the material costs. We have asked for a proposal.
7) Computer lab
Improvements for the computer lab as Timothy recognises the significance of computer skills for children’s future employment.
8) Assistance with the feeding program, particularly at the nursery.
9) Vocational Training
We also discussed vocational training including Timothy's awareness of vocational training provided via Vision for Africa. He would like to be able to establish vocational training within Katosi as he considers the costs are high for students to access this elsewhere. There are some possibilities here but he would have to formulate a proposal.
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While the turnover of teaching staff is not too bad at the moment one of the challenges Timothy is facing is maintaining employment of good teachers as he is unable to meet their salary expectations.
Another challenge was the government requirement that primary and secondary students be in separate schools. They have met this by moving children into separate areas of the school, beginning to build new dormitories and structuring different times for meals for primary and secondary students. The building is an ongoing project however it is partly finished and is being used.
This photo above is the old dormitories now repurposed to be the secondary school. These rooms and others on the opposite side of the ground house 200+ secondary students.
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The photo right is of the partially completed new girls’ dormitory which is now occupied on the ground floor by about 100 girls and young women.
Timothy spoke about meetings with other Christian schools in the region. They have established an association and are developing leadership, objectives and mutual support. This fits well with his vision for promoting Christian values for the children and future of Uganda.
In summary we think some of the above matters deserve serious consideration and we will liaise with Timothy to encourage him to provide details of proposals.
As far as the existing budgets for the schools go, we think that they should continue as previously. We realise that schools are a long term drain but it is unarguable that Timothy and Janepher are important people in this community who get things done, and there is a lot to yet be achieved.