This article was first published in the New Vision on April 14, 2021
By Jackie Achan
Schools in Kasese have risen above the floods after Save the Children and Unicef intervened to provide support to the affected communities.
When River Tako in western Uganda burst its banks early this year, it washed away schools and left many learners at the brink of abandoning their education. River Tako acts as a border between the DR Congo and Uganda.
The Government inspectors recommended the relocation of the schools, saying they were too close to the river.
However, there was no money and time to achieve that. The community, reeling from the flood destruction, volunteered to construct structures at the new allocated sites and were bound to fail had Save the Children and Unicef not come in with a helping hand.
Bukone and Kisambo primary schools got temporary structures for Primary Seven candidates who were preparing for their final examinations and for other returning classes. The temporally mobile schools included a tent with desks and boards. Murian Biira is one of the learners who witnessed the destruction of her school last May.
“After a heavy downpour, water rolled down the mountain slopes, carrying heavy stones, trees and logs of wood, crushing everything in its path. It left gardens, roads, homes and our school destroyed,” Biira, a Primary Seven candidate whose home is just opposite the school, says, adding that they survived by a whisker.
With Kisambo Primary School, where she is a pupil, destroyed; she feared that her education and hope to sit her Primary Leaving Examinations was shattered. Floods destroyed three classroom blocks, leaving only four.
The headteacher, Jospehat Muhindo, says inspectors advised that Kisambo Primary School be relocated to a safer ground because it was too close to the river and was at risk of flooding.
Further away, Bukone Primary School was also washed away by floods caused by River Mobuku. And this was not the first time it was happening.
Inspectors also recommended a relocation.
The Bukone Primary School headteacher, Justine Musoki, says the whole school, including classrooms, the headteacher’s office, library, store, school garden, latrines, books, records and the compound were destroyed.
She adds that the Government gave them an ultimatum of two months to secure a new site that was safe from flooding.
“Relocating a school of 400 learners is not easy. We are just metres away from DR Congo and some of our learners come from DR Congo. We had just resumed teaching following the easing of the lockdown,” Muhindo says.
Therefore, both schools, which are church-funded, needed permanent structures. Bukone Primary School belongs to the Catholic and Kisambo to the Anglican church.
New Schools
The Church of Uganda gave Kisambo Primary School sh10m to secure a new site and members of the community collected sh3m.
With this, they purchased land and communal work started to put up temporally structures. Parents offered labour.
Musoki says they were fortunate that Save the Children was already implementing education support programmes in the Rwenzori region.
“They volunteered to construct new structures. They have already constructed four classrooms and donated 50 desks. They also constructed three-stance latrines with six rooms and four urinals,” she says.
At Kisambo Primary School, four classrooms have been constructed, as well as a five-stance latrine for learners and a two-stance latrine for teachers. Muhindo says if they had not intervened, the community was not going to manage the situation in time.
“We were about to lose our pupils to other schools and many would have dropped out because the nearest school is about half an hour away on a hilly terrain,” Muhindo says.
The nearby schools are in Kyanya, Ibanda and Ruboni, across the river.
“Now learning has returned to normal,” Muhindo adds.
Hopeful
The teachers say with the new school sites and classroom blocks, learners and community members are no longer fearful of disaster. They believe the environment is now safe.
What Others Say
Crispus Kule, 14-Year-Old Learner
I feared that returning to school after the disaster would make us vulnerable to waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, diarrhoea and typhoid. I like these new toilets and the sanitation is good.
Alfred Kipoi, Learner At Kisambo Primary School
I thank Save the Children for restoring our hope for education. We were scared when the schools were washed away. Our parents were stressed about our education and future.
Amos Baguma Kasulian, Parent At Kisambo Primary School
I was not sure if we would have achieved the same recovery without support.
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