A team of the Sikiliza Leo Working Group visited the program. they bring:”NEWS from Sikiliza Leo in Uganda”
The late Margaret, teacher in middle class in Pochowa N/S who passed away last November is now replaced by Teacher Anyango Scholastika, who did her internship here at Pochowa N/S. Scholastika started today Monday 27 May at the opening of second term 2024.
Margaret’s husband died of grief earlier this year as well Their four children are double orphans now. Sikiliza Leo is taking special care of them. The oldest two boys Alfred Owere and Siprian Ongoye followed vocational skill lessons, they now bake chapatis and repair bicycles to earn their income for the family. Alex, brother to late Margaret came to thank Sikiliza Leo for the support.
The Sikiliza Leo NGO board welcomed a new member: Dr Winnie Wafoyo, retired from Johnson & Johnson and living in Tororo.
The new kitchens with piped water in both Pochowa and Lwala were inaugurated with a cooking session to cater for all OVC (150) in Pochowa N/S.
All team members participated in this fantastic team building exercise, led by Master Cook Mary-Jane. We served more then 200 meals. OVC were very happy to join. The three Blind Boys took care of the entertainment of the crowd.
All 19 Sikiliza Leo Team members received a Kifaru bicycle, as a token of respect and to thank them for the ongoing excellent work. The Kifaru bicycles are assembled by Coop-Africa NGO in Jinja. Kifaru’s are solid working bikes. The bicycles will help the team members to travel faster and easier in the villages to do their work.
The bikes were sponsored by a team of Belgian bicycle riders led by Ben Van Baelen.
OVC Grace Okoth, the girl with the heavy belly crawling on the floor when she was seven, is now 17 years old and will finish P7 successfully. Hilde saved her life by taking her to the doctors who wanted to help and diagnose. Dr Dorothy convinced a surgery specialist doctor in Mulago to operate her intestinal tract. During 6 months Sikiliza Leo team in Uganda visited and helped her while in Mulago Hospital at Makerere University in Kampala. Grace is now looking for continuing vocational studies in Jinja.
This is for sure a success story, but the family of Grace is still in very problematic condition. Grace’s mother died a few years ago, her father left the family. The oldest sister Anna Nyaruwa is taking care of the 5 orphaned children. Anna was hit by polio two years ago and is now in a wheel chair without means to generate a decent income.
The Pochowa and Lwala painting teams painted educational drawings on the walls of the Nursery Schools. The teams were led by a Belgian artist in residence. On opening day of the second term on Monday 27 May, all children cheered for the new colorfull drawings for their schools.
Pochowa Painting Team: Fiona, Eric, cleaner Alfred, Charles, James, Dr Winnie, Jack, Jozef, Mary-Jane, Hermine, Patricia and Margaret.
Lwala Painting Team: Annette, Eric, Patricia, Grace, Margaret, Veronica, Fiona, Mary-Jane, Hermine, Jozef, Teddy and cook .…
Fabian, secretary of the Sikiliza Leo Board is offering a Goat BBQ to thank the Painting Teams for their great effort.
On Monday 27 May school started again for 2nd Term. In Uganda school year starts in the beginning of the year: 1 February – 15 May is first term, 1 June – 15 September is second term, 1 October – 31 December is 3rd Term.
Mary-Jane and Hermine, both retired teachers, visited the classes of the N/S in Pochowa and Lwala on 27 and 28 May. They were both very impressed by the excellent teachers of the Sikiliza Leo N/S.
The MARI Group of 10 women, widowed, PLHIV, and all very vulnerable, is still doing very well. The poultry house is nice and clean, hosting 25 chicken, they have 3 goats and 2 cows now.
This collection of animals has been built up over years starting in 2018. For 20 chicken (each 10,000.UGX) you can buy a goat (150,000-200,000.UGX), for 5 goats you can buy a cow (700,000-1,000,000.UGX). The women share the income, the eggs, the milk to feed their families.
Village Health Team worker Ursula is guiding the group. She will try to revive the Gweni Chi Ghandi group of women. This group of 15 women has a similar project, but is lacking good leadership. Ursula will push hard to get them going again. They have a good basis of 3 goats and a poultry house.
