Children assured an education
Content
Ensi News
www.ensiwomen.org [email protected]
More children assured an education
thorities from 15 schools and build a portfolio of over 200 children who are in most need of help for future sponsors. Every day, these heroic children go to school and get good results despite major economic hardship and huge emotional loss. Katinisa, pictured below, is a total orphan who also suffers from a lifethreatening illness. She is cared for by her aunt who looks after several other orphans with her meagre income. Despite these problems Katinisa was among the top 18 best students in a class of 88 children! For these children, an education offers a chance to get a job and help their elderly relatives as well as their younger brothers and sisters. Ensi, the parents and children are extremely grateful to Hans, May, Duco, Reinier, Taletta, Willem and Caroline, Hein and Miriam, Sytze, Taletta, Andrea, Ute and Horst, Gerhard, Lisa, Mathias, Sylvia, Susanne, Klaus, Ingrid, James and Colin for their kind support.
Parents and relatives of some 20 children are assured that their children will get an education after Work starts on Koi Koi Village sponsors from the Netherlands, Germany, Kenya and Switzerland stepped up to help them. In January, Hans Homan, a tourism expert from the Netherlands came to volunteer in Uganda and decided to sponsor two children. After his return back home, he helped raise funds from family and friends for another 12 children! Meanwhile, friends of Adyeri, a Mutooro from Fort Portal living in Germany, contributed help for Obuyenje—traditional herbal med- another six children. Two more children received icine used to treat asthma. The milk-like sap from the plant is poi- contributions from sponsors sonous and can blind if accidently in Kenya and Switzerland. dropped in the eyes! This spirit of compassion spurred Adyeri to meet auPage 2 Eating Sky-the Bini folk story for modern times
Katinisa Kate is in Primary 4
A day in the life of a school child
We asked children in Fort Portal about their typical day. Most children wake up at around 5.30am. After prayAt the home of Mr. Coward, they ers, they help to make breakare laughing, at the home of Mr. fast for the family and clean the compound. They then Brave, they are crying! walk to school which can start as early as 7.30am. A typical school day finishes after 5 pm. There are two short breaks for play and a longer lunch break. In most schools, lunch is not included Enfumu are proverbs or wise sayings in Rutooro, one of the language of in western Uganda. One rufumu from Tooro says in the school fees so some children go home for lunch. After school, they help prepare meals and at weekends, many also do farm work and look after goats and cows. As class sizes are large, some with more than 100 children, parents who can afford to, pay for extra tuition to improve their children’s chances in examinations—this is often given on Saturday. Sunday is dedicated to prayer and family. Many children do not have television at home so they listen to radio, tell stories, play outside and compete at traditional riddles! One advantage of not having electricity is that homework has to be finished during the day, leaving the evenings for fun and games!
2 | Ensi News
An old folk story told by the Bini people of Nigeria goes something like this: Once upon a time, a long time ago, the sky was much closer to earth than it is today. It was so close that people could actually touch it. It was also edible and quite delicious. People did not have to work for food. All they had to do was cut some sky and eat it. However, there was one rule regarding this sky diet. Nobody was supposed to cut more sky than they could eat. There were to be no leftovers and no waste. Unfortunately, greed and irresponsible behaviour were around even then. People repeatedly cut more sky than they could eat and threw away the leftovers. The sky grew increasingly sad and disgusted at seeing pieces of itself tossed onto rubbish heaps. Eventually, it withdrew to the distance where it is today, out of reach of disrespectful human hands. Ever since, humans have had to toil for their food. Today, we continue to cut more sky than we need: we take out of the earth, and our environment, more than we need or can afford. Water is on top of everybody and everything's survival list. It is the liquid life force that somehow joins us all. Have you ever stood by a dry riverbed with an older person who told you, "I remember when this used to be a perennial river," or in a desert landscape with somebody who remembered it having been once a forest? It is a sad experience. I remember a Zambian friend once saying to me that that when she tried to educate her village about forest conservation, they would tell her "bush cannot get finished." Finishing bush is closely related to finishing water, and we are destroying so much forest and bush all over the world. Water is only one of many resources that we misuse. Our sources of food and energy suffer similar fates. Moreover, over-consumption by those who can afford leads to another environmental problem, what to do with the waste - waste water, waste food, waste paper, etc.etc. Indigenous stories and folk wisdom has so much to teach: to return to the Bini story, every time we make irresponsible use of our natural environment, we throw a piece of sky into the rubbish heap. Every time we destroy a water body, source, or catchment area, each time we make a chemical dump, cut
www.ensiwomen.org [email protected]
Eating Sky: the Bini folk story for modern times by Wandia Kagondu Seaforth
down a rain forest or illegally allocate a tract of forest reserve to a private developer, we put huge chunks of sky into the trash. Every time we kill an indigenous plant or animal or exchange it for a genetically modified alternative, we put an invaluable and irreplaceable piece of sky into the garbage dump, with serious consequences. One of these days, the sky may withdraw even further than it is today, and across the resulting empty space might be written the words:
TOO LATE!
Work starts on Koi Koi Village
Following local authority approval of the plans for Koi Koi Village, a cultural and community center in Fort Portal, Ensi asked Serbian architect Marko Milovanovic to create a computer impression of Vetle Jorgensen’s architectural plans to give everyone a good impression of the vision for the centre. Marko’s interpretation, shown above, will help guide the builders’ work which started in May. The centre will create jobs, training and other opportunities for Ensi’s members and the wider community.
www.ensiwomen.org [email protected]
More children assured an education
thorities from 15 schools and build a portfolio of over 200 children who are in most need of help for future sponsors. Every day, these heroic children go to school and get good results despite major economic hardship and huge emotional loss. Katinisa, pictured below, is a total orphan who also suffers from a lifethreatening illness. She is cared for by her aunt who looks after several other orphans with her meagre income. Despite these problems Katinisa was among the top 18 best students in a class of 88 children! For these children, an education offers a chance to get a job and help their elderly relatives as well as their younger brothers and sisters. Ensi, the parents and children are extremely grateful to Hans, May, Duco, Reinier, Taletta, Willem and Caroline, Hein and Miriam, Sytze, Taletta, Andrea, Ute and Horst, Gerhard, Lisa, Mathias, Sylvia, Susanne, Klaus, Ingrid, James and Colin for their kind support.
Parents and relatives of some 20 children are assured that their children will get an education after Work starts on Koi Koi Village sponsors from the Netherlands, Germany, Kenya and Switzerland stepped up to help them. In January, Hans Homan, a tourism expert from the Netherlands came to volunteer in Uganda and decided to sponsor two children. After his return back home, he helped raise funds from family and friends for another 12 children! Meanwhile, friends of Adyeri, a Mutooro from Fort Portal living in Germany, contributed help for Obuyenje—traditional herbal med- another six children. Two more children received icine used to treat asthma. The milk-like sap from the plant is poi- contributions from sponsors sonous and can blind if accidently in Kenya and Switzerland. dropped in the eyes! This spirit of compassion spurred Adyeri to meet auPage 2 Eating Sky-the Bini folk story for modern times
Katinisa Kate is in Primary 4
A day in the life of a school child
We asked children in Fort Portal about their typical day. Most children wake up at around 5.30am. After prayAt the home of Mr. Coward, they ers, they help to make breakare laughing, at the home of Mr. fast for the family and clean the compound. They then Brave, they are crying! walk to school which can start as early as 7.30am. A typical school day finishes after 5 pm. There are two short breaks for play and a longer lunch break. In most schools, lunch is not included Enfumu are proverbs or wise sayings in Rutooro, one of the language of in western Uganda. One rufumu from Tooro says in the school fees so some children go home for lunch. After school, they help prepare meals and at weekends, many also do farm work and look after goats and cows. As class sizes are large, some with more than 100 children, parents who can afford to, pay for extra tuition to improve their children’s chances in examinations—this is often given on Saturday. Sunday is dedicated to prayer and family. Many children do not have television at home so they listen to radio, tell stories, play outside and compete at traditional riddles! One advantage of not having electricity is that homework has to be finished during the day, leaving the evenings for fun and games!
2 | Ensi News
An old folk story told by the Bini people of Nigeria goes something like this: Once upon a time, a long time ago, the sky was much closer to earth than it is today. It was so close that people could actually touch it. It was also edible and quite delicious. People did not have to work for food. All they had to do was cut some sky and eat it. However, there was one rule regarding this sky diet. Nobody was supposed to cut more sky than they could eat. There were to be no leftovers and no waste. Unfortunately, greed and irresponsible behaviour were around even then. People repeatedly cut more sky than they could eat and threw away the leftovers. The sky grew increasingly sad and disgusted at seeing pieces of itself tossed onto rubbish heaps. Eventually, it withdrew to the distance where it is today, out of reach of disrespectful human hands. Ever since, humans have had to toil for their food. Today, we continue to cut more sky than we need: we take out of the earth, and our environment, more than we need or can afford. Water is on top of everybody and everything's survival list. It is the liquid life force that somehow joins us all. Have you ever stood by a dry riverbed with an older person who told you, "I remember when this used to be a perennial river," or in a desert landscape with somebody who remembered it having been once a forest? It is a sad experience. I remember a Zambian friend once saying to me that that when she tried to educate her village about forest conservation, they would tell her "bush cannot get finished." Finishing bush is closely related to finishing water, and we are destroying so much forest and bush all over the world. Water is only one of many resources that we misuse. Our sources of food and energy suffer similar fates. Moreover, over-consumption by those who can afford leads to another environmental problem, what to do with the waste - waste water, waste food, waste paper, etc.etc. Indigenous stories and folk wisdom has so much to teach: to return to the Bini story, every time we make irresponsible use of our natural environment, we throw a piece of sky into the rubbish heap. Every time we destroy a water body, source, or catchment area, each time we make a chemical dump, cut
www.ensiwomen.org [email protected]
Eating Sky: the Bini folk story for modern times by Wandia Kagondu Seaforth
down a rain forest or illegally allocate a tract of forest reserve to a private developer, we put huge chunks of sky into the trash. Every time we kill an indigenous plant or animal or exchange it for a genetically modified alternative, we put an invaluable and irreplaceable piece of sky into the garbage dump, with serious consequences. One of these days, the sky may withdraw even further than it is today, and across the resulting empty space might be written the words:
TOO LATE!
Work starts on Koi Koi Village
Following local authority approval of the plans for Koi Koi Village, a cultural and community center in Fort Portal, Ensi asked Serbian architect Marko Milovanovic to create a computer impression of Vetle Jorgensen’s architectural plans to give everyone a good impression of the vision for the centre. Marko’s interpretation, shown above, will help guide the builders’ work which started in May. The centre will create jobs, training and other opportunities for Ensi’s members and the wider community.
