We Are Battling Food Scarcity in Uganda: Buyanga School Farm Update

Headmaster Edward Bukye weeds one of the apple banana trees planted earlier this year

Radnor Pen Pal & Popcorn Club has had a little hiatus, but while we were focusing our energy on school and our own well-being, the new farm we initiated this year has been carefully tended by the students and faculty of the Buyanga Primary School under the supervision of organic farming expert Yusuf Wesonga.  Our haunted house fundraiser at Halloween enabled Buyanga Primary to plant 550 apple-banana trees, and the ground has been prepared for 4 acres of maize and other vegetables that will provide the school with the food they need to initiate a lunch program.

While the eastern region of Africa has been stricken with drought conditions that have led to food scarcity issues, Global Village Connect volunteer Michael Glotter worked alongside Yusuf Wesonga to teach the students how to create an irrigation system using plastic drink bottles. This has been a successful method and almost all of the banana crop has survived the initial months since planting.

Preparing the farm for maize and and crops to initiate a lunch program at Buyanga Primary School

      Now the school is preparing to develop the remaining 4 acres after some highly anticipated rains during the first week of March.  Our haunted house funds will cover the initial planting, but we will need to redouble our efforts to ensure that the school farm thrives and can generate a profit.  Making Buyanga Primary School self-sufficient is our goal, and we anticipate that as the lunch program evolves, school enrollment and retention rates will rise, much as they did for our first pen pals at the nearby Buppala Primary School.  Keeping kids well nourished and in school are the primary goals of our work in Uganda.  This is only possible because Radnor pen pals and our families and friends have recognized that a little bit of love and compassion goes a long way.  Kindly consider helping us help others by making a small donation through our partners at Global Village Connect.