FacebookTwitterInstagramPinterest

Nyaka Aids Orphans Schools & More

giving-computers-to-nyakaWhenever and however we can, we support the Nyaka Aids Orphans Project in Southwestern Uganda.  With two Primary Schools in operation, a health clinic, a water pump, libraries that are inclusive of the community under their belt, they are building a vocational school and a Secondary School at the Nyaka campus.  You can read the story of their founding in “A School for My Village” by Jackson Kaguri.  In June 2013, we purchased 18 computers, 8 of which went to the teachers in Nyaka and 10 of which are used in partnership with Fundi Bots, an NGO teaching Robotics to schoolchildren throughout Uganda.

Here are some of the emails I received after the teachers received the laptops:
 
 
 

Hullo Sandra,

How are you doing? I wish to appreciate for your donation.

Sincerely, I am very happy using a computer which has helped me in teaching and compiling classwork.

May God bless you.

Ahumuza Annet

Dear Sandra

I am very happy for the good services you normally render to us.

The computers you gave us are contributing much towards our desires of performance.

This means that you want us to succeed in life. May the good Lord continue to protect

Canes for the Vision-Impaired

Dear Sandra,
I have given four white canes out yesterday during my training with a group of persons with disabilities at St. Jude Consolation Home. It was a big group consisting of different types of disabilities. Among the group there was Lucy, Lakwonyero, Santos and others. I have called this meeting to organize the disabled persons within the Municipality into groups of four and have them elect their leaders in order for them to seek assistance from non-governmental organizations and other charitable organizations. It worked well and the elected leaders will meet on the 13th Sept. to discuss a way forward and report back to members on 11th Oct.

   Man having just received his white cane. There were new blind persons that attended the meeting and they requested me to obtain for them the white canes. I have given some to a few because I only have very small canes (for young children) only. If you have the possibility of getting more white canes it would help me addressing their needs.

Samuel

The letter above was written by the director of the St. Jude’s Consolation Home. Samuel was the one who introduced us to the two schools in Gulu that are inclusive of blind

Engineering is Elementary: Testing for Failure

EiE (Engineering is Elementary) finished the week with the Engineering Design Process. Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create and Improve are the five steps. In the small groups of three, the students sketched plans for their bridges. After reviewing the available materials, they wrote a list of supplies that they would need to get at the Store from Teacher Kate, keeping within the constraints of the amounts of each of the materials.



Sitting with the supplies, they began to experiment how to construct the bridges. Even the teachers were in suspense of how the problem would be solved. One clever student figured out that a wiki stix could be formed in a way that would hold the popsicle stick in place and this caught on among the other groups and then we saw binder clips, transparent tape and more wikis used to fasten the sticks and then the cross beams.

Recording the amount of materials used was the final step before testing for failure. First, a barge was passed under the bridge to check that the width was adequate. After that, notebooks representing pedestrians

Engineering is Elementary: Do you know this word…Process?

Engineering is Elementary is a program designed to be used within Elementary Schools to relay the concepts of Engineering, using a hands-on approach. Two experienced teachers from Boston Museum of Science arrived in Gulu last Saturday evening and will be teaching two of their 20 modules to two groups of students.


The first stop on Sunday morning was breakfast at San Kofa Café to fortify ourselves for shopping in the market for custom designed clothes in the local African fabrics.



Orientation at the school, for Kate Sokol and Erin Fitzgerald started on Sunday afternoon with a complete tour of the campus, including visiting the inside of each dorm and classroom, the athletic fields, the kitchen and the small pine forest planted in 2005 from seedlings. Every room was orderly and swept spotlessly clean. As far as the eye could scan, there was not a single piece of trash. Our hosts, Rev Ochola and Deputy Headteacher Dolly Oryem gave a detailed history of the school, including events leading up to their Centenary in 2014.

Sixty students in two classes of 30, inclusive of blind and visually impaired students as well as sighted

Preparations for Summer 2013 Travel

Plans for summer 2013 are in place and now we are all busy making lists of what we will need to take with us to complete all the teaching that is scheduled. My suitcases will carry robotics kits, laptops and software, flash drives, microscopes, books and snacks.

It’s important to bring some snacks with you because Ugandans tend not to eat between meals or in their cars like we do. They sit down for a meal and enjoy it with friends or family. My snack selection will include tins of nuts, bars of chocolate and different kinds of energy bars. I like to bring something new for the students to try. Last time it was Butter Rum LifeSavers and Craisins, both of which were a big hit. We are bringing some branded water bottles this year in hopes of promoting reusable vessels and that we will also consume fewer plastic bottles. KOR gave us a discount and a friend who works with a printer is preparing the stickers.

We don’t consume tap water, but St Jude’s Orphanage has wonderful fresh water right out of the ground that we can use to fill our bottles.

Sandra

We would be very grateful to you for your donation to Oysters & Pearls to support our ongoing educational programs for the students in Gulu, Uganda
Go to Top