Education not just books; students learn practical survival skills
Both the girl and boy scout groups from Kyangwali refugee settlement took out top honours in this year’s Hoima District competition winning the right to represent the district at the 2014 Ugandan national scouting jamboree in Kampala.
The annual competition pits teams of young people against each other to find who can best demonstrate the survival skills taught at school throughout the year.
Malisho Bora: Better Nutrition for Children
Action African Help (AAH) Uganda provides nutrition services in four health centres for the refugees of Kyangwali settlement as well as the local community. Community outreach activities are carried out by a professional nutritionist with the support of two nutrition assistants, community health workers and mother groups. Services include nutritional education, supplementary and therapeutic feeding programs, home visiting, promotion of child feeding practices, food preparation demonstrations and growth monitoring.
Healthy children; happy mothers
“My name is Nyiramahoro Janine. I’m a mother of three; two daughters and a son. I gave birth to my last daughter in June 2012. My children's health has improved greatly thanks to health care services provided by AAH Uganda here in Kyangwali.
“I didn’t know about the importance of immunisation so my first two children did not get their vaccinations on time. Luckily, they remained healthy, although other children in the village got sick with measles.
Farmer field schools demonstrate improved technologies
“It was like a dream,” Juliet Nyangoma said describing the increased yield she recieved from using improved seed and applying best agricultural practices.
Juliet is a bean farmer and member of God’s Grace Farmers Group from Katikara village, Hoima District. The group meets regularly at the local demonstration garden where best practices and new technologies are shared under the guidance of an AAH-trained agricultural extension worker.
Protecting the family through good hygiene and sanitation
“When we first arrived we were constantly beaten by rain. It was too cold at night and too hot on sunny days in our tarpaulin houses. We didn’t have a kitchen so we had to cook our food in the open where the sun and the rain used to punish us.”
In August 2013, Mbanani Saulo (34), his wife and children arrived in Kyangwali refugee settlement after fleeing violence between the government and M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another 12,400 Congolese refugees would join them before the end of the year.
