Primary School Garden Project

Kikunda Primary School Students 

Six months into our School Gardens Project in south-western Uganda, it finally feels like we are underway.  Our Project Director, the dynamic Dr. Liz Kemigisha, and Project Cordinator,  the talented John Ssenoga, have made visits to all four schools, connected with the teachers heading the Peer Groups at Primary Schools and obtained support from our partners, the Volunteer Health Teams in these areas who are growing High Vitamin A-enrichedOrange Sweet Potatoes and High Iron Beans.

Designing Snakes & Ladders

Two training days were held for the Peer Group Trainers of the local NGO, HEADA- Uganda.  We got a chance to not only pilot a number of the sessions but to build the facilitation skills of the trainers and teachers. The training was organized to coincide with my visits in February and June so occurred during the planning stages.  The teachers were so galvanized by the idea, they identified garden sites at the schools and some even began planting.  

Filling in the Food Wheel

They have had fund making Snakes & Ladders with a Nutritional theme on ricebags and then learning out to play the game, which they had never seen before.  We have a number of interactive exercises and try to keep the cost down and thus sustainable by making them ourselves.  Rice bags are also used for out Food Wheel.  Glow foods which are Protective; Grow Foods which are Protein and Go foods which are Carbohydrates supplying Energy. Photos of locally available examples of the three food groups are photographed and then laminated, so they can be re-used.

John Uses Garden Job Wheel

A Garden Job Wheel has also been prepared as an on-going tools for use in managing the School Gardens.  We were glad we did not have to start gardening until the August planting seasons because the area has suffered from a drought with lack of rainfall so many crops are not doing well.  We hope it will have improved by August. 

Angella Tells Stone Soup Story

We had great fun adapting the African Stone Soup story for our nutrition project, emphasizing the role of iodized salt, high Vitamin A plants and high iron beans. We are using felt pieces on flannel boards.  As primary school students are unfamilair with them, we have made the flannell board metal and attached magnets to the pieces so they would be easier for primary school students to use.  Everyone had telling the story and trying out use of the magnetic board.