BRICK BY BRICK NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2016

LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN UGANDA

Max Ssenyoga is a Mzee. (Pronounced Muzay) In Buganda, the major tribal community of central Uganda where we do most of our work, a Mzee is a trusted elder. Max began his work with Brick by Brick as a community volunteer in 2010. He is a man of Rakai, born and raised in Kalisizo, where Brick by Brick began back in 2003. Max befriended our young Peace Corp volunteer, Jonathan Blanchard, who had an idea about creating a social enterprise, a construction company utilizing Interlocking Stablized Soil Bricks (ISSBs) that help preserve forests and wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa. In time, Max became our first full-time Program Coordinator, helping us to successfully expand our School Program and making Brick by Brick Construction, a profitable social-enterprise with 14 employees. Even when traveling to the most remote villages in the Rakai District, there seems to be not a soul who does not know our Mzee. So when you need the support of a local village chief, or a partner in the district government, there is no one you would rather have at your side than Max!

Several weeks ago Max was in the office working on a report on our recently completed construction projects at three primary schools. Collaboration is a part of Brick by Brick’s culture so for Max to request the assistance of our intern James was not unusual, but the fact that Max was half-crawling across the room to ask his question certainly was! Max and our staff immediately recognized that he was having a stroke. Of course, a stroke is a life-threatening emergency anywhere in the world but even more so in our region of Uganda.

Our staff immediately responded to get Max to one of the best hospitals in Uganda, Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, the capital city. By the time they arrived in the hospital it was very late on a Friday night. James and our driver Aklam Kalule, stayed by Max’s side until his very high blood pressure was stabilized and he was resting comfortably. From the time that Max’s condition was recognized until he was out of danger, our entire staff worked together to ensure that Max was getting the best care possible. The three physicians on our staff, Executive Director, Dr. Dan Murokora, BAMA Clinical Director Dr Eleanor Nakintu and myself, were all in communication to ensure that everything that could be done was being performed in a timely and correct manner. A job well done!

Max is now recovering at home, engaged in a vigorous schedule of physical and occupational therapy. Despite persistent weakness on his left side that has slowed him down a bit, his only complaint is that he can’t return to his job. On a recent visit with Max at his home in Kalisizo, we reminisced on how far we have come since 2010. “Max, can you imagine, just seven years ago, you were our only paid employee.” Max had a wide smile on his face as he said, “I am so happy for all we have accomplished and I am so grateful for my life with Brick by Brick.”

As I sat with Max and his wife Teddy over a traditional Ugandan lunch, I thought of how grateful we all our to have Max with us. How much we all appreciate the many staff who pulled together to support Max. They say “it takes a village to save a child” and this month it took the entire Brick by Brick team to save a life and to show our love and appreciation for our Mzee.

Warmest regards and as always we thank you for your support,

Marc

For more information on how you can partner with Brick by Brick e-mail: marcsklar@brickbybrick.org

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BRICK BY BRICK NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2016

ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER IS A HUMAN RIGHT

The problem?

In Uganda, like most of sub-Saharan Africa, women and children's days often begin with the drudgery that is fetching water. Before starting the mile long walk to school, Frances is up before sunrise carrying a 20-liter jerry can weighing 44 pounds on her head, gathering water for her family. Before Brick by Brick partnered with her primary school, she would arrive with her classmates, and be sent off again to fetch water for the school. Day after day, year after year, precious class time is lost due to the lack of access to clean water. Sub-saharan Africans spend about 40 billion hours per year collecting water. That's equal to the work performed by the entire nation of France! This burden, which is carried disproportionately by women and girls, is more than a waste of time. While walking miles on remote rural paths to collect water, women and girls are especially vulnerable to rape and other acts of sexual harassment and violence.

Every year 1.6 million people die around the world due to diarrheal illness. In the time it will take you to read this newsletter 12 human beings, mostly children will have died, not from some mysterious or hard to treat disease but simply due to the lack of access to clean and safe water and sanitation. 1.1 billion people and over half the world's primary schools around the world lack this access. How is it possible that this problem has gone unsolved year after year, decade after decade, not for the lack of a solution but rather that of political will and smartly invested resources.

Brick by Brick is determined to be a part of the solution.

Since we began our work in 2004 in the Rakai District of Uganda, we have been focused on providing access to safe and clean water to our partnering communities. In everyone of the six universal primary schools that we have rebuilt we have constructed rainwater harvesting systems that ensure adequate clean water for all students and teachers. In partnership with the Peace Corp and other Ugandan NGOs, our social enterprise, Brick by Brick Construction Company has built over 90 such systems throughout Uganda, providing clean water for 100,000 people throughout the country. A 30,000 liter rainwater harvesting tank, which can provide adequate water for a school community costs $2,000. Now the good news.... if well maintained our rainwater tanks have a life span of 30 years or more, that's 18 cents per day to provide water for 500 students! 

What can you do to guarantee clean water as a human right?

Over 12 million people in Uganda lack access to clean, safe water, so we still have a way to go. Brick by Brick is nothing without our powerful partners both in Uganda and here in the U.S. So here are a few ideas:

• Throw a Water Party Fundraiser with a goal of raising enough money for Brick by Brick to build a rainwater harvesting tank. You can save money by serving clean, cold water as your beverage of choice!
• Start a Crowd Sourcing project to provide clean water for an entire school of 500 students. We can provide pictures and great stories to get you started.
• You can partner with us in ensuring access to clean water for all children by clicking DONATE

For more information on how you can partner with Brick by Brick e-mail us at: marcsklar@brickbybrick.org

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BRICK BY BRICK NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2016

BRICK BY BRICK UGANDA HIRES NEW PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Since its founding in 2004, Brick by Brick has always depended on a small core of dedicated Ugandan staff and American volunteers. We have experienced extraordinary growth over the past six years. From a single paid staff person in 2011 we now have 10 full time employees working for Brick by Brick Uganda, and an additional 14 skilled staff employed with our social enterprise, Brick by Brick Construction Company.

With this rapid growth has come the need to build and strengthen the capacity of our organization in terms of program management, monitoring and evaluation, ensuring that all of our programs are well directed and that every dollar spent is invested wisely. A key part of our long term strategy is to rely on the knowledge and experience of our Ugandan staff. In the hiring of Alice Male as our new Program Director, we have taken a significant step in ensuring strong leadership for Brick by Brick Uganda, now and in the future. Here's what Alice has to say about this new opportunity:

What excites you most about the opportunity of becoming Brick By Brick's first Ugandan Program Director?

"By deciding this is the right time to have a Ugandan as a Program Director, the organization has shown it has trust and confidence in the abilities of Ugandans to effectively manage and expand our organization.... Brick By Brick is a prominent organization in this part of my country, Uganda. It has a good reputation and proven record of delivering development initiatives that are both locally appropriate and sustainable. I therefore consider it a great honor to head its programs. I am representing Ugandans at this realm of directorship - a call I find a great personal achievement. This opportunity gives me the platform to bring the Ugandan perspective to program development and management. It also offers me the opportunity to showcase what Ugandans have and can offer in the overall program development sphere. Like any other Ugandan, I bring on board the national's perspective and understanding of development challenges that can lead the way to birth solutions that are not only relevant, locally appropriate but also sustainable."

Where do I see Brick By Brick Uganda 5 years from now?

"I see Brick By Brick implementing programs that are:

• Wider – expanded geographical coverage, reaching a diverse category of beneficiaries in large numbers
• Deeper – implementing high-impact projects, tackling deep-rooted underlying development issues
• Diversified – expanded range of interventions to include thematic areas new to the organization

I envision Brick by Brick Uganda as a national, strong and solid organization of experienced professionals that successfully delivers on its promises and commitments, meeting or exceeding project goals. We will be known as a lead organization championing staff career development, personal growth and development achieving this through a model  of mentorship, coaching and supporting staff to achieve their dreams as they commit their time, resources and efforts in working for and with disadvantaged, marginalized and oppressed communities. We will become the organization of choice for prospective donor organizations and development agencies looking for credible local organizations to partner with for emergency relief and development programs. I can see Brick by Brick Uganda in the forefront of harnessing and developing new practical, innovative and sustainable development interventions that are scalable."

Tell us a few things about yourself and your family?

"I am 39 years old, married to a loving husband who owns his own construction company. Together we live just outside the capital city of Kampala with our two beautiful children Samantha, who is eight years old and Samuel who is five. A Muganda by tribe, I grew up in a family of nine siblings, with five sisters and four brothers. I was born and raised in Kitetiika village located eight miles from Kampala. My late dad’s passion was to educate all his kids at a time when girl-child education wasn’t a priority in Uganda. This however, did not deter him since he took us to some of the best schools around Kampala; a move that paid off in the long run. Today two of my sisters are lawyers; one brother is a doctor, 3 of my siblings are teachers, 2 social workers and myself a  Public Health professional."

We are all very excited about having Alice join the Brick by Brick team. Thank you Alice, for your commitment to the communities that we serve together.

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BRICK BY BRICK NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2016

MY PADS PROGRAM AWARDED DREAMS INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANT

When Brick by Brick Uganda Finance and Administration Manager, Prossy Nakayiba wrote an e-mail to our Executive Director about the DREAMS Program it was on the evening of Good Friday.

"When is the deadline?" Marc asked.

"Tuesday, but I think we can do it!" Prossy responded.

For the next four days, including Easter Sunday we worked to get our 'Expression of Interest" submitted. Two months later we learned we were selected as a finalist. We then put together an international team, led by Ugandan grant writer, Margaret Namugamba, and for two weeks we researched and wrote a first class proposal. Two weeks ago, we received the news that we were one of 56 organizations awarded significant funding that will allow us to scale up the My Pads Program to reach 2400 students over the next two years. The DREAMS Program is a US Government led initiative in 10 sub-Saharan countries the goal of which is to reduce HIV incidence in women age 15-24 by 40% over a two year period. The My Pads Program is an innovative educational program that empowers young women with vital knowledge and life skills that can reduce their risk of HIV infection, unwanted pregnancies and dropping out of school.

According to UNICEF one in ten menstruating girls skips school for 4-5 days out of every 28 day cycle or drops out completely. That degree of absenteeism means means losing 13 learning days or 2 weeks, 104 hours of school every term. About 23% of adolescents between ages of 12-18 drop out after they begin menstruating. A study carried out by the Netherlands Development Association in seven districts in Uganda revealed that girls miss 10% of school days due to menstruation. “Girls with even primary level education are two times less likely to have had sex, while girls with secondary education are 3 times less likely.” About one-third of girls drop out of school between the ages of 10-14. Therefore an important part of any strategy to reduce the risk of HIV infection is to intervene early to keep girls in school and address any and all impediments to regular school attendance.

In a survey completed by Brick by Brick Uganda in 2012 among 139 girls in three UPE schools in the Rakai District, 78% reported using dirty old clothes or rags during menstruation. 88% said that they would not purchase Afripads (a locally manufactured hygiene product) at a cost of 12,000 UGX, 92% said they would be interested in making their own reusable pads at a cost of 2500 UGX. 34% reported missing days of school due to their menstrual periods at an average of 3.3 days per month. 23% told us that menses negatively affected their studies. We found profound lack of knowledge in basic reproductive health, with 96% of the respondents reporting they were eager to learn more.

In response to these findings, Brick by Brick Uganda launched the My Pads Program, an 8-week co-educational after school program focusing on reproductive and sexual health, gender equality and the promotion of healthy life choices. This program culminates in the fabrication by the students of a set of four reusable menstrual pads. To date this program has been implemented for 1000 students in the Rakai District, consistently demonstrating a 2-3 fold increase in knowledge regarding reproductive health. In 2015, we expanded this program to include a Training of Trainers component. This three-day workshop has been delivered in ten schools throughout Uganda with a plan to monitor program implementation in 2016 as well as expand this TOT program to additional Peace Corp Uganda schools.

Thanks to the initiative shown by Prossy, we will now be able to expand this program to thousands of young women in our district. You can help us to reach even more students with the My Pads Program by clicking DONATE

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The Power of the Sun

Brick by Brick Construction Company is a social-enterprise committed to the "Triple Bottom Line", People, Planet and Profit. So it should not come as a surprise when we decided to expand our services to include the instillation of solar energy systems. Facilitated by our newest intern Elie Bou-Gharios, a third-year student at the McGill University Faculty of Engineering, our mason and senior engineering staff participated in a week long training led by staff of the Centre for Research in Energy and Energy Conservation (CREEC). This is an organization, founded in 2001 and affiliated with Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology, whose mission is “To enhance access to modern types of energy through research, training and consultancy in East-Africa.”

The training was attended by ten of our skilled mason staff, as well as by our Construction Manager David Mutesaasira, and Engineering Intern James Murduca. Our staff worked along side the CREEC Trainers and learned the basic theory behind solar energy systems appropriate for our communities, as well as the skills needed to install these systems for homes, schools, health centers, etc. Our mason and senior staff worked side by side since we were all beginners when it came to acquiring this new knowledge and skill. The training was a complete success and we have already begun planning our first solar project. installing a solar energy system for Kirumba Primary School!

Reading Makes a Difference

In every school community that Brick by Brick partners with, we have created lending libraries. This year we are establishing a Library Working Group to improve the quality of the five school libraries we have established. In each school, we will work with teacher and students to improve  their libraries, establish a Dewey Decimal System and ensure that all students have the greatest access to their books. In addition to establishing teacher-student committees to manage each library, we are partnering with Word Possible, which will allow each school to have an Intranet, providing students the ability to learn critical computer skills and perform independent research. You can stay updated on this project by following this blog and Facebook.

Brick by Brick's Expanding Mission

[portfolio_slideshow id=1995] For the past five years Brick by Brick has widened the scope of its work with partnering communities in rural Uganda. Since our founding in 2003, our focus has been on improving the quality of education by building sound infrastructure for free Universal Primary Education (UPE) schools. With the success of our social enterprise, Brick by Brick Construction, which employs 12 skilled masons and has turned a profit in each of its four years, we began to realize the value of a more holistic approach to development. Brick by Brick has a unique opportunity to partner with local communities to promote sustainable development. Over the last three months, our Board of Directors has been developing a new 5-year Strategic Plan. After receiving valuable feedback from both Ugandan and US staff and stakeholders, we will now expand our work to partner with communities to address the following critical needs:

• Access to quality health care: Brick by Brick will now work to address critical gaps in health care delivery, focusing on improving the physical infrastructure of health centers and hospitals and the knowledge and skills of providers.
• Health Education: We will continue to expand on the success of our My Pads Program, which educates young women about reproductive health, while teaching them to fabricate their own reusable menstrual pads. In 2015, we plan to launch a new program, an HIV Peer Education Program    (HI PEP) for secondary school students.
• Water and sanitation: Brick by Brick has already built water and sanitation systems throughout Uganda and we will continue to implement community-based solutions in this critical sector.
• Economic Opportunity: We will continue to expand Brick by Brick Construction Company, which provides good paying jobs and training for our communities, while providing revenue to support our programs.

As our new Mission Statement affirms Brick by Brick will:

Create partnerships that improve education, health and economic opportunity in East Africa.

Together with our Ugandan partners, we have accomplished much in the last eleven years. We look forward to even greater change in the future!

100 and Counting!!

It was a sunny, warm afternoon in Kalisizo, Uganda and a very cold morning in Brooklyn as Brick by Brick celebrated a landmark worthy of celebration. For the past 100 weeks we have held our weekly staff meeting on Skype, reviewing our work and establishing our goals for the future. For some, this may seem like only a modest accomplishment but for our staff both in Uganda and in the US we took a moment to acknowledge each other for a job well done.

Two years ago, in a thorough analysis of our strengths and weaknesses our U.S. Board of directors identified our lack of clear lines of communication between our Ugandan and American staff as a major threat to our work. It took some time and an investment in training, a few laptop computers and a USB modem but it has paid off. Almost two years later, we are still meeting every week, led by our Kalisizo-based Program Coordinator Max Ssenyonga. The meetings allow us to share ideas, set targets and goals and keep our work moving forward. But the meetings are not all work, as laughter, the sound of neighborhood children and the occasional goat or rooster are often heard. We are all looking forward to the next 100 staff meetings and a year filled with good work performed together.

Brick by Brick 3rd Annual Board Retreat

Brick by Brick's Board of Directors met this past Sunday for its 3rd Annual Board Retreat. Over the past three years Brick by Brick has invested time and energy in attracting an active and dedicated board. Led by Board Chair Adam Rabinovitch, this year's retreat focused on re-thinking the way we communicate our work and mission. Brick by Brick has been engaged in innovative projects that challenge the traditional way non-profits work in the world of development. How can we most effectively tell our story in a way that will expand our community of supporters? The board also worked on developing a new volunteer program that will expand our work, while providing an opportunity for us to partner with members of our community who share our passion for sustainable change in the developing world.

TRAINING UMEA STUDENTS ABOUT ECO-SAN TOILET

A training of P.6 female students was conducted at UMEA primary school. The training was to help them understand how to use an Eco-San toilet and its advantages. From our research and the experience of others using this technology we know that success is dependent on proper usage and maintenance. The trained students will be able to teach other students how to use it. This is a pilot facility and it was designed for a small part of the school population to help us learn as much as we can about this technology and whether it can be operated effectively in a primary school environment.

Max training P.6 students of UMEA P/S

Max in class training

Max taking students to the Eco-san toilet to show them how it works

Max showing students how the chambers work

My Pad Project: Empowering Girls with Knowledge and Skills

Brick by Brick Uganda has launched a new project to help girls and young women learn about their own bodies, while creating their own re-usable menstrual pads. In Uganda, as is true in many parts of the world, women often lack access to simple yet expensive menstrual hygiene products. Every month, many female students are forced to miss days of school, with direct impact on their academic progress. In 2012 Brick by Brick Uganda funded a needs assessment to research this problem and inquire from the girls themselves, about a practical solution. Thus, the My Pads Project was born. With assistance from Peace Corp volunteer Aditi Desai, and led by Kalsizo's own midwife and Brick by Brick staff member, Nalango Susan Kyambadde, we are implementing this educational and practical course as an after school program in three primary and one secondary school. So far the program is a smashing success, with great attendance and participation at every session. Our long-term goal is to integrate this program into the work we do at all the schools participating in the Brick by Brick schools program. At each school, teachers are being trained to carry on this program, consistent with our mission of sustainable change. Congratulations Nalango and to all of our partners for making this program a success!

Aspiring Africa: Investing in the Future

Here in the U.S., the the view of Africa we receive from the mainstream media is filled with images of starvation, war and persistent poverty. While progress on many fronts has been painstakingly slow, we at Brick by Brick know first hand that there is another story to tell. Working with our many partnering communities, we are meeting the challenge of building a better future by investing in our greatest asset, the people of Uganda. Check out this article in the March 2nd issue of The Economist to get a more realistic and optimistic take on Africa's future.