S4S Update: 2nd Girls Dorm at Gulu High
The walls of Gulu High School's second IC-built girls dormitory are getting higher and higher with each passing day
Last month S4S signed the contract for the second phase of construction of a new girls dormitory at Gulu High School. The winning contractor is now on site and making rapid progress; walls are rising from the recently finished foundations. This project will utilize most of the funds raised for Gulu High from last year’s S4S tour.
The new dormitory will stand side by side with the existing girls dormitory completed under Round 2, with a third dormitory planned for 2010! When complete, the three new buildings will provide safe and modern living facilities for 576 female students. These dormitories have become S4S signature projects in the region, raising the bar for secondary school development in the North.
For those of you fundraising on the behalf of Gulu High, keep up the efforts—the girls are eager to move in!
S4S Update: New Classroom Block at Keyo SS!
The students at Keyo SS received their new IC-built two-classroom block
Today was a great day: our Country Director, Jolly Okot, and the S4S team traveled to the Keyo SS original site to hand over their first completed project—a brand new two-classroom block! As our newest partner school, Keyo SS had yet to benefit from the funds raised in Rounds 1 and 2. However, with funds from Round 3, the S4S team has managed to construct a much needed facility. These two new classrooms are only the beginning of the many structures S4S intends to build at Keyo SS.
In her welcome speech, Jolly noted that the buildings S4S is putting on the ground are the tools to take Keyo’s students out of poverty; but tools are only useful in the hands of those who work hard. “Your brain is your brawn. Use it every day,” Jolly remarked. The students committed to care for and maintain their new classrooms, pledging a huge thank you to all supporters of Keyo SS.
Donations from Round 4 are going towards a second (and hopefully third) classroom block. For more information on Keyo SS and the work that remains, please check out the S4S website.
On the Ground: From Bracelets to Savings Groups
Betty, 55, sits in front of the hut she paid for with money earned as an IC bracelet maker in Awer IDP Camp
Invisible Children’s Bracelet Campaign used to employ people living in IDP camps in northern Uganda to make bracelets. When the Bracelet Campaign ended in May, IC dovetailed the program’s phase out with the start of a new microfinance program called the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). Because bracelet makers were trained in saving techniques, it seemed only logical to use them as anchors for savings groups in northern Uganda under VSLA.
Ex-bracelet makers are presently helping their fellow villagers save money in 20 different savings groups. With 20 people in each group, VSLA is a powerful program affecting 400 Ugandan households, enabling group members to take loans from communal group savings funds that they themselves generate. I recently sat down to speak with Betty, an ex-bracelet maker and current leader of one VSLA group in Awer, Uganda. Below is a transcript of part of our interview.
S4S Update: BIG Day for S4S!!
Today might have been the most expensive day in Invisible Children’s history! After months of work from the S4S team and lots of meetings with our partner schools, IC Uganda identified seven massive building projects that need to be completed at various schools in the North. Today a committee of Invisible Children Staff awarded these seven projects to construction companies in Uganda. Some of our biggest projects to date, these dorms, labs, libraries, and offices are all being funded by students from around the world. Never before has S4S embarked on so many ambitious building projects at once, but we are confident that our team has the skills to rise to the task.
The projects listed below will utilize the funds S4S clubs collected in Round 3 (and will ensure that the S4S team here in Gulu is very busy for months to come). The projects are:
- Construction of a new girls dorm at Awere Secondary School
- Construction of a second girls dorm at Gulu High School
- Completion of the girls dorm at St. Mary’s College Lacor
- Construction of a new laboratory block at Pabbo Secondary School
- Construction of a new administrative block at Atanga Secondary School
- Construction of a new library block at Anaka Secondary School
- Refurbishment of the library block at Layibi College
The value of these projects totals $622,000 US! This means that the bulk of Round 3 funds are now committed to projects, and that the funds raised in Round 4 are more urgent than ever.
On the Ground: S4S Update from Uganda
Walter Knox, Head Teacher at Pabbo Secondary School, poses with the new generator Invisible Children provided for his students
When schools outside of Uganda raise money for the Schools for Schools Program (S4S), that money gets spent in two ways at our 11 Ugandan partner schools: on ‘hardware’ (physical construction projects) and ‘software’ (curriculum development, teacher training, and teacher exchange placements, among other things.)
As always, S4S is charging full-steam ahead with the implementation of its software and hardware projects here in Uganda. I just got an update today from Patrick, the Schools for Schools Program Manager. Our four full-time S4S engineers are busy checking up on contractors and evaluating bids; our Education Officer and her assistant are sorting out placements for Ugandan teachers slated to visit the US.
Check out all of the exciting stuff that’s happening on the S4S front in the next few weeks.
Together We’re Free
Above: Mike with his wife and three children
Invisible Children just released a new documentary called Together We’re Free. It follows the course of IC’s most recent advocacy event, titled “The Rescue”. (Watch the film online for free here under the “On Demand” section of the website.)
The event encouraged international youth who truly believe in and value creativity, idealism, and sacrifice to tangibly make a difference by “abducting themselves.” These abductions represented the injustice that has been unleashed on east African children who’ve been taken from their families and forced to become soldiers in a rebel army known as the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army).
On Friday morning, I showed this film to the entire Invisible Children Uganda staff of 80, a unique group that is comprised of people from different regions, tribes, and backgrounds from all over Uganda. At first, showing the new film seemed like a horrible and potentially damaging idea. I was worried that the culture of each Ugandan individual would collide with footage of an American culture that they’ve never experienced firsthand. The staff perspectives would be limited and would affect their understanding of the IC supporters featured in the film.
My fears and worries heightened as the projector and computer were prepared for the staff’s arrival. As each person entered the room, I kept hoping and praying that the film would translate into a positive and inspiring group experience. My anxiety slowly dissolved as the sounds and images of the film filled the room and the staff fell silent. There’s no turning back now, I thought.
Education: A Priority in Northern Uganda
Above: Different local leaders in front of the new peace monument in Gulu, Uganda. From left to right: the LC5 of Amuru district, the mayor of Gulu, the Dutch Ambassador to Uganda, Archbishop Odama, and IC Country Director Jolly Grace Okot
Invisible Children isn’t the only organization in northern Uganda concerned about improving education. More than a dozen NGOs and a large group of government officials recently met in Gulu to celebrate the educational progress taking place in the area. To commemorate education’s importance in ensuring peace, The Dutch Embassy commissioned a sculpture—two children reading from a pillar of books—that now stands in the center of one of Gulu’s main intersections. After speaking at length about education’s role in a post-conflict environment, the Dutch Ambassador, Jeroen Verheul, celebrated the sculpture’s unveiling by hosting a lunch for local community leaders.
Apwoyo Matek!
Above: On a bluff above Fort Patiko, 45 minutes outside of Gulu, Uganda
Since 2006, I have been involved with Invisible Children. While in university, I organized film screenings, set up a Global Night Commute in my hometown, and helped my school fundraise for Schools for Schools. I did all of this because this organization – and the people whose stories they told – moved me like nothing else had before, and I wanted to be a part of it all.
And then I joined the team. I was given the opportunity to intern with IC Uganda, and have been here since January. My experience has been incredible – being able to see for myself IC’s programs on the ground and the impact all of our fundraising efforts have had is unbelievable.