Community Health Project Uganda 2008
Uganda8 - 22 November 2008We have successfully completed our second Community Health Project in Uganda. The task was to establish (from scratch!) a model community garden which will help sustain several communities living in poverty with limited access to healthy, affordable food.
The project was a responding success! We took a group of 6 very keen, strong volunteers to a slum area in Kampala and set them to task.
From Jungle to Garden
The first few days were the most gruelling but provided the most visible metamorphosis. The volunteers and about 60 members of the target slum community converted the site (50mx50m) from a haven for weeds - couch grass (Elymus repens), banana trees, yam plants and cassava bushes, and other easily propagated weeds such as wandering Jew (Tradescantia fluminensis) – to a gardeners delight.
Sharing Gardening skills with the Community
The volunteers taught the members of the community the essential skills needed to establish a model garden and become a successful gardener. This was done through hands-on explanations and demonstrations, and more formal theory lessons. The skills ranged from making compost to crop rotation. The volunteers also taught the community how to collect and store seeds, make organic pesticide and fertiliser, and set up kitchen based ‘sack’ gardens. These skills enable the community to become as self sufficient as possible by removing the need to purchase seeds, petrochemical fertiliser and pesticide, and food and ensuring their health and wellbeing.
The volunteers were made to feel very welcome by the village children who sang a special song and danced when they arrived each morning; the volunteers almost reached celebrity status!
Food, Glorious food!
On our final day the volunteers prepared a meal for the community to compliment there diet and show them how best to prepare a delicious, wholesome meal using the same vegetables that they had planted in their gardens.
Our Expert Partner was thrilled with the worked the volunteers did and have promised to return the favour and put on a feast of fresh veggies when The Great Generation returns in 2009!
If you would like to find out more about this project or how you can get involved, you contact us here. Don't hesitate to get in contact.
