“A miracle solution does not exist, but small steps can and will change things a lot” (Stephen, Namwenda, 2011)
Okwagaanana is an NGO that focuses on three local projects in Namwenda, Uganda: Kidiki school, Kyebajja tobona women’s group and a dairy farmers cooperation. They cooperate with the local community to gather information, search solutions and acquire financial resources for the three projects.
For more info, check their website: www.okwagaanana.be

“If you must look ahead one year then sow a seed. If you must look ahead ten years, then plant a tree. But if you must look ahead one hundred years, then educate the people.”.

This African proverb is the driving force behind Kidiki school. Kidiki school is a primary and secondary school in Namwenda. Their goal is to offer all children of the village and its border area a dignified future by providing quality education. The school currently does not have accreditation at the so-called A-level, which would allow it to organize secondary education up until the sixth year of secondary education, allowing the pupils to prepare for potential higher education. Due to the current level of accreditation, attrition is high, and pupils often end their education after the fourth year, and this is especially the case for girls. This problem is identified as the number one obstacle for further growth and development of the region by pupils, teachers and community members. The primary matter that obstructs the Kidiki school to make further steps to qualify for A-level accreditation is the lack of sufficient and sustained financial capacity. At the moment they started an agricultural project to become more financially sustainable and profitable.

The local community would love to get the help of AFD students with expertise to scale up their agricultural project. More specifically such an expansion of the agricultural project could entail professional housing and management facilities for cows for milk production, poultry management and the purchase of seeds, management and water supply for the production of crops. At the same time as realizing this expansion, in tandem with local actors, the AFD students would guide the school towards optimal deployment and management of these resources, ways to maximize yield and minimize risks and bring output to the school and the market. The Vocational Training Center in Namwenda, which aspires to organize education to local farmers to increase sustainable livestock and crop production and management, could prove to be a valuable partner in this. The last aspect of the project would be to look at the possibilities to involve their own students and make this project interesting from an educational point of view. Educational activities surrounding the agricultural activity would help the pupils and staff in directly acquiring specific agricultural skills and can be highly instrumental in guiding students towards self-reliance and independence. From October till June you will be working on solutions and ideas to reach these goals. In summer you will head to Namwenda for 6-8 weeks to implement everything you’ve worked on.