Both the Pochowa and the Lwala nursery schools are very well regarded and appreciated in the local community. We witnessed during two weeks of (unannounced) visits the excellent teaching skills and the high number of children attending school. Together with the teachers Fiona Sissi, Margaret Akongo, Mary Claire Awino, Teddy Apio, Anette Katayke, Evelyne Nyawere, and project manager Charles Opio we distributed the backpacks donated by Janssen R&D PMO. Every backpack was labelled with the name of the child, and contained an African toy, an African animal soft baby toy, crayons, soap and a towel, a pair of slippers, a rain cape, and a T-shirt. Everybody was very happy with these well selected gifts (thank you for coordinating this selection Mary Alexander). The teaching material collected by the Janssen Legal group, was given to the teachers, together with the extra T shirts for them to use when appropriate.
We had a plan to paint drawings on the walls of the school, as it was once before, but since the main buildings needed repair (plastering) and painting, we decide to do this first. James Ochola, the accountant of Sikiliza Leo, showed to be an excellent organizer and project manager. James was able to manage the complete plastering and painting in 3 days’ time and within budget. We (James, Charles, Wim, Rik, Jos) invested a weekend in scrubbing and cleaning with the cleaners, and on Monday morning 12 March both schools were bright and shiny as ever before.
