Update to SCA Corporation on Buppala Primary School Garden, Two Years Later

SCA Environmental Education Grant Lessons in Sustainability: Learn, Practice, Teach & Share: Two Years Later.

    Having recently returned from Uganda, I wanted to just share this photo and update you on the garden that you helped make possible with our Environmental Education Grant from 2014 entitled “Lessons in Sustainability: Learn, Practice, Teach & Share.”  The grant gave Radnor students an opportunity to learn about sustainable gardening and best practices while our partner school in Uganda was able to apply similar lessons through the installation of a school garden.  I am happy to report that the garden SCA made possible at Buppala Primary School has been transformative.  As a result of this garden, the school is sustaining a lunch delivery program to the 600 pupils in and immediately surrounding the school, and this past season they generated a profit from the apple-banana crop (pictured in the photo), providing funds to pay for laborers to help weed, and to reinvest in the development of the maize, cassava & bean portion of the garden.  As you can see, the plants are thriving.  It is mind-blowing to recall the bare stalks that we planted less than two years ago that are now producing abundant hands of bananas to nourish the school and replenish the garden.  While the pineapple crops did not fare as well, the school is expanding the banana crop, and the student population is clearly benefiting from our investment.  

    My most recent trip to Buppala included the delivery of 50 goats to students in our sister school.  Hopefully, this will continue to improve the health and well-being of the children in this remote village.  It is our intention to monitor the progress and measure the impact of our investment.  I am grateful to SCA for having made this worthy investment and I hope we have an opportunity to collaborate again in the future.  Thank you for caring about kids and for your generosity towards Radnor Middle School and Buppala Primary School

Celebration!

 

     Traveling in Uganda fills me with so much joy and gratitude, and holding on to that is always a challenge.  Since returning to Radnor, I make a point to walk slowly.  Verrrrry slowwwwwly, like people walk in Uganda.  It forces me to notice my surroundings, and it makes me feel calmer and more connected to my environment.  It's easier to remember to breathe when I slow my pace down, and the signs all over our building are another helpful reminder.

    Sharing my journey with my students and with the pen pals is a great honor, and sharing the pictures that Buppala students captured is another reason to pause and wonder.  The photos that Mususwa George took are full of energy and life.  The pictures perfectly depict the joy and gratitude that the people of Buppala feel in response to the multitude of ways our school community has transformed their village.  The celebration this day was in honor of the 50 goats that were delivered to Buppala children and their families, thanks to the generosity of our school community.  

    Visual literacy is a new way of learning and thinking for Buppala students.  Using Olympus cameras donated by the LeCroix family, Buppala children are learning to 'Frame, Focus, Flash & Follow through' to capture their world.  The photos reveal evidence of a rather extraordinary talent.  Remember, this is the first time this child has ever used a piece of electronic equipment.  We all know the adage: "A picture speaks a thousand words," but the gift of exchanging photos with our pen pals, and sharing these with our community, give each of us access to one another's world that makes this global connection deeply personal.  Enjoy the pictures, and remember to slow your pace and take notice.

Celebrating the gift of 50 goats from Radnor Middle School.  Photos by Mususwa George, Buppala student with an eye for capturing the joy in his community.

Pen Pals Partner with Ardmore Rotary Club

   
     Gavin Brumfield shared the work Radnor pen pals have done this year to earn a matching grant from the Ardmore Rotary Club.  The support from Rotary emphasizes the power of community in teaching students here and abroad that they can make the world a healthier, happier place.
    Thank you, Ardmore Rotary, for encouraging our students to develop leadership skills through social entrepreneurship.  The 50 goats we delivered to Buppala families is a testament to the impact that sharing and caring can have for people of all ages.