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E-Learning Technology

By Wakimwere Arnold

TRAINING OF COMPUTER TEACHERS AND STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES ON E-LEARNING NEW PI TECHNOLOGY AT KCDO OFFICIES IN LWENGO DISTRICT

Fig. 1 showing IT person KCDO staff directing the participant while in the training.

 KCDO has worked in collaboration with the schools with the major aim of improving the education of children in the sub counties of Kisekka and Ndagwe and Lwengo district at large through distributing learning materials to the children, providing the children with scholastics materials and fees through our different partners to the vulnerable ones.

Training objectives

  • To train the computer teachers and students on how to install the Pi device and how to go about it on the way how it works.
  • To agree upon the dates on which the installation is to be done
  • To discus on the content of information uploaded to the device whether it fits the standard for Ugandan learners.

Target

This project targeted 3 schools.

Training program

  1. Arrival & registration
  2. Prayer and Self introductions
  3. Overview of how to connect the Pi device and how it works
  4. Reactions
  5. Closing remarks and departure

Arrival & registration

All the participants registered upon their arrival

Prayer and Participants’ introductions

The prayer was led by one of the teacher from Kyanukuzi Secondary School who asked the Almighty Father to lead us through the training and whatever being discussed be understood. All members introduced themselves, mentioning their titles and the school they came from, this was ideal in that each participant came to know each other.

Overview of how to connect the Pi device and how it works

KCDO director Mr. Bukenya George Willy,

  • Officially  appreciated the participants for coming in the training, He described the Pi device as it’s to be used in e-learning where the learners will be able to exploit resources uploaded on the devices for their research purposes, the device have got different topics of different subjects and can be accessible within the range of 20 – 100m
  • He a emphasized that head teachers of those particular schools to which these devices are to be distributed to take good care of the Pi devices once given to them and said whoever damages it will be reliable to paying a fine equivalent to the price of the device.
  • He added that these Pi devices are to be given free of charge to the selected schools but appealed to the responsible parties to take maximum care.
  • He  requested them to find a possible ways of protecting the device either by placing the device in a box and placing it in a well ventilated place for easy distribution of signals for the smooth accessibility.
  • He later invited KCDO IT technical person to take the participants in the next session on how to connect and install the Pi device.

Fig. 2

A photo above shows KCDO IT technical person during the training session.

Session conducted by the IT technical person included the following below when directing the participants.

Procedures from KCDO ICT officer.

Turn on the Raspberry Pi. if it’s on, you will see a light flashing green and red.

Phone or tablet connection

  • Enter the settings app on your phone or tablet.
  • Search “cellular data”
  • Click on “cellular data”
  • Turn off “cellular data”
  • Remain in the settings app, and click on “Wifi”
  • Once “wifi” is on, select Your Digital Library Uganda 1 or Your Digital library Uganda 2 from the options listed. It may take a few moments for these options to apper.
  • Open a browser, such as chrome, and search “10.10.10.10/html/wordpress/”
  • Enjoy learning!

PC connection

  • Open settings
  • Enter “wifi” or “Network” settings
  • Select Your Digital Library Uganda 1 or Your Digital Library Uganda 2 from the option listed. It may take a few moments for these options to appear
  • If you get the message that there is no internet access or no internet, open, do not worry.
  • Open a browser, such as safari and search 10.10.10.10/html/wordpress/
  • Enjoy learning!

Reactions  

  • Meeting of the head teachers date was set to be on 17th
  • Installation  date was set to be between 26th – 28th of January 2021
  • Training of teachers date was set to be between 2nd – 4th of feb 2021
  • Students training date was set to be set between 8th – 12th of feb 2021

Comment from the participate

  • Ugandan content should also included on the system
  • Exercise where the students attempt after reading
  • Content should be grouped into levels for example O & A level
  • Accessibility to the content requires that leaner’s access the gadget

Closing remarks and departure

The training was officially concluded at 4:00pm by Mr. Bukenya George Willy-KCDO director who argued the participants to share the skills and expertise got with their fellow staff, also requested the students to share the knowledge to their fellow students for the betterment of their school so that in case they leave the school there is someone else to take over him or her, wished all the participants safe journey back.

Compiled by;

 Sign; …………………….   

Wakimwere Arnold

Water Purifiers Success Story

Compiled by Wakimwere Arnold, KCDO field officer

Introduction

During our home visit in the household, we found out that most of our clients get water from different sources like boreholes, harvesting it from rain, wells, streams, ponds among others. Through the assessment done by the staffs Kyamaganda Community  Development Organization(KCDO),  most of the households in sub-county of Kisekka access water for drinking from streams and ponds   which expose  them to taking contaminated water thus likely to be exposed to water born diseases like  typhoid fever, is well-known in extremely poor parts of developing nations; it’s estimated that up to 20 million people worldwide suffer from the illness each year. It’s spread through contaminated food, unsafe water, and poor sanitation, and it is highly contagious, Cholera which is commonly found in humanitarian emergencies or marginalized villages where poverty and poor sanitation are rampant. The disease is spread through contaminated water and causes severe dehydration and diarrhea. Cholera can be fatal within days or even hours of exposure to the bacteria, but only 1 in 10 people will develop life-threatening symptoms, dysentery also a waterborne disease characterized by severe diarrhea as well as blood or mucus in the stool. It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites in unsafe food and water, Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by consuming contaminated food and water, rural communities with poor sanitation and hygiene management are most exposed to the disease.

Photo below shows children fetching water in a stream in kisekka sub – county

Following the observation in the introduction above, with support from USA-KCDO Partners Kyamaganda Community Development Organization (KCDO) implemented Health Systems Strengthening Project in two sub-county Kisekka sub – county and Kinoni Town Council targeting households infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable Status. This was achieved through working with different stake holds I.e health centers, Village Health Teams(VHTs) Community Development Officers(CDOs)Local Council Leaders (LCs) Para-Social Workers(PSWs) and Volunteers  that deliver comprehensive services of Health and treatments to affected and infected households by HIV/AIDS and other Economic empowerment and Water and Sanitation to different vulnerable people in the community.

A total number of 100 household were reached and received solar bag for domestic use.

KCDO staff demonstrating how to use solar bag.   KCDO staff handing over solar bag to a client

ACHIEVEMENT:

Since these Solar Bag is a sunlight-activated reusable water purifier that destroys or reduces the broadest range of contaminants without pumping, electricity, chemicals or replaceable components. This has reduced the spread of various water born diseases as the members are able to purify water to kill all the germs and  Chemical Contaminants like;  Pesticides,  Herbicides, Insecticides,  Cleaning Solvents,  Petrochemicals,  Pharmaceuticals,  Pathogens- Bacteria,  Viruses,  Protozoa  before drinking through simply placing the Solar Bag in the sun for a few hours, and enjoy purified water. 

While caring out a follow up and monitoring on the usage of this purifiers in the community and household being supplied with the water solar bags, we observed that these water solar bags have helped the individuals so much, in the way that individuals use this solar bags on the daily basis to purify water for drinking, they extended their sincere appreciation to kcdo and our partners at large for bringing up such a wonderful idea of protecting and living a health life. One of the household of lutaaya jamewo upon reaching there on the ground, we found children happily looking on as the solar bag full of water placed on the Jeri can.

KCDO staff conducting a follow up in kyasonko village kisekka sub- county

KCDO staff and a child from the home study taking water purified using a solar bag.

Conclusion

The needs of OVC or otherwise made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS are cross cutting as many of them dramatically escalates from economic, health and household social issues. It would be necessary for KCDO and partners to jointly continue to work with local families, communities, and other organizations in a similar setting to focus their program and policy development efforts on ensuring the survival of these OVC households in breaking the cycle of poverty, despair, in regard this can make positive and measurable contributions to the improved health, safety, and happiness of the HIV+ (OVC) in the most appropriate environments for their development. We extend our warmly appreciation to our partner who donated us the purifiers to improve on the life of the people in rural based communities of kisekka and kinoni and ready to continue working with them in any way, God bless.

Compiled by Wakimwere Arnold

Children’s Christmas Party

We are happy to celebrate our annual Children’s Party in which we join together with one another to learn, reflect, pray and share entertainment.

The Children’s Party is an opportunity for the HIV/AIDS afflicted children to share joy with their community. The day includes providing life saving information regarding AIDS and Covid-19. Additionally, encouraging message are shared, including prayers from friends both locally and internationally.

Gifts are shared along with food, speeches, song and dances. Every child is given their own rosary.

We are all grateful to share in the beauty, and bounty, of Christmas.

“A merry heart does good like medicine.” Proverbs 17:22

Solar Bag Water Purifiers Distributed

KCDO received a donation of 100 Solar Bag water purifiers through a partnership with Solarbag®, our KCDO-USA Board and Wonderland BookSavers. We are so grateful to be able to share these Solarbags® with our community families, for whom clean water is an essential ingredient for both health and dignity.

“Solarbag® is an award winning light weight water container that uses proprietary nanomesh which renders bacteria, viruses, pesticides, herbicides, petrochemicals, arsenic, lead, mercury and protozoa harmless — without using chemicals– through a process called photocatalysis that’s powered by the sun.”

We spent considerable energy retrieving our donations from Customs, and so we were all very happy and relieved when we finally got our delivery safely to the KCDO offices.

Our first step was to run a training program for our field officers so that they would understand how to best utilize and preserve these Solarbags®.

Our field officers went out to our community. They trained families in the use and care of the Solarbags®. The families are extremely grateful to be able to create their own safe drinking water.

“As at the end of the exercise all benefited household thanked KCDO and their partners for the good services rendered to them and community of Lwengo at large“

Single Mother of 12 is Assisted

Nakatereke Paulina is a single mother aged over 50 and resident of Nakateete Village, Nakateete Parish, Kisekka sub-county in Lwengo District. She is the household head of a family with seven children and five grandchildren, including OVC.

The household’s economic, health and social status is low, which prompted Kyamaganda Community Development Organization to enroll the household in OVC Program in October 2019 with the goal to improve their economic, health and social status.

According to the household assessment that was conducted in October 2019, the household was found in a critical state with no income-generating activities, poor hygiene, nutrition and health, surviving on hand-to-mouth agriculture.

The source of food in this household was the return given after work and and this was supplemented with the home grown food which could hardly sustain the large family of more than twelve members. The household members survived on a single carbohydrate meal per day, mainly porridge. As a result, children manifested signs of malnutrition.

Household members receiving mosquito bed nets

Some children dropped out of school at an early age and some of them are child-mothers. According to the care giver, this is because the low household economic status cannot uphold children in school. Family members were prone to malaria as they were not sleeping under mosquito bed nets.

In response to this unpleasant situation, the household was provided with mosquito bed nets from the Peace Corps and the US Presidential Malaria Initiative, which greatly improved the health status of the family members.

Family receiving economic booster packages from KCDO: pigs and maize bran

In addition, Kyamaganda Community Development Organization, with support from Rakaii Health Science Program, provided a booster grant of one pig and maize bran in October-December quarter, with hope that this income generating activity will have a multiplier effort to sustain and uphold the household. The household will also receive farm inputs to improve food security and to improve the nutrition of members, especially the children. The household will be monitored closely in the subsequent period to access the progress that will be made.

Nantajja’s Successful Apprenticeship Graduation

Caption: Nantajja (on the gown) receiving  toolkit from Hon. Mbabali, as Mr.Monday Philip the OVC manager looks on, this was at the Apprenticeship graduation and giving away of toolkits at KCDO offices in qtr Oct-Dec,2019.

NANTAJJA AUSI’S SIMPLE BIOGRAPHY

Nantajja Ausi is 18 years old, lives with his elderly grand mom aged 90 in Sseke village, Busubi parish in Kisakka Sub county, lwengo district.

He is an orphan, the father died when he was at the age of 12, left him under the care of elderly caregiver who was in a complete despair, without any standby source of income, at his early childhood, he faced a lot of challenges, having access to two meals a day was a golden festival, cassava and plane porridge was a complete meal all days and nights, putting on a “shoe” not even mere “Nigiina” was never dreamt of in his life ,whenever he felt sick the old woman could go and harvest local herbs from the bush, luckily he could get cured “Nantajja narrated”.

In January-March quarter-2019, KCDO received a referral from CDO Kinoni town council reflecting economic strengthening as one of the weakest areas to be assisted in, KCDO social worker made arrangements and planned household assessments, conducted assessment on this household and scored 72% being moderately vulnerable and was eligible for OVC program, the OVC was enrolled on the program and on a proud note he was enrolled on apprenticeship to study welding in one of the welding workshops in Kinoni Town council. Nantajja loved the course which enabled him to complete the training and received the toolkit.

VERBAL TESTMONIAL SUCCESS MADE BY NANTAJJA

During apprenticeship follow-up and motoring, our social worker got a chance to interact with him about the progress and success so far registered since he received the toolkit .In his response, he notified as “I Nantajja after having graduated and received the toolkit, because I was disciplined and committed to my work which made me attain welding skills, my trainer master Mugabi Ronald called me back and employed me, meanwhile as I look for financial strengths to withstand my welding workshop. Indeed I don’t regret in life, I feel my brain is now washed, my job is now my shield because i even support the old woman (grand mom) who is in a disadvantaged state, no longer productive, Indeed most times i feel like dreaming when I also carry a kilo of meat and sugar to my grandmom,am so thankful beyond words”.

Additionally he revealed to our staff that out of  70,000shillings he earns on a weekly basis, he has so far bought a machine grinder at 350,000/=,Welding cable ,Handsaw and welding oil in preparation to establishing his own welding workshop by February,2021.

KCDO staff  interrogates Nantijja at his work place. 

APPRECIATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In his words he quoted that “I can’t thank KCDO and Rakai Project enough, but I appreciate for the generous parental hearts showed to me to ensure that at least I also enjoy this happy life through giving this golden opportunity of facilitating me throughout my training process and start-up kit, I request you to pass on my appreciations to them and I ask God to give them whatever their hearts desire and continue serving humanity”.