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!

Construction Continues at UMEA Kalisizo Primary School

Brick by Brick Uganda has been partnering with the UMEA Kalisizo Primary School for the past five years. Over that time, we have built a rainwater harvesting system, providing clean drinking water for UMEA's students and staff, constructed a library, built an energy efficient kitchen and renovated multiple classrooms. Now nearing the completion of our work together, we are building a large multi-purpose building that will provide classrooms, a study hall,and a performance/assembly hall. From the beginning, with matching donors, the students, teachers and parents of the Kennedy-King Elementary School in Brooklyn, New York have helped to raise funds for this important work that has literally re-built UMEA. Projected completion date: November 30th!

2nd Annual Blues Night: What a Night!!

Over 100 of Brick by Brick's community of partners danced the night away, celebrating our 10th anniversary. Co-founder Michael Greene was the surprise guest of honor, as Executive Director Marc Sklar spoke of his decade of service for the children of Uganda. R & B singer Booby Hardin shook the Prospect Park Picnic House to its core and had most of our guests showing off their best dancing moves.

While great music, good food and friendship were the main themes of the evening, Brick by Brick's mission of innovative service was also front and center, as our Board Chair Adam Rabinovitch thanked our guests for their commitment, while inviting them to expand their partnership with numerous volunteer opportunities.

By Friday morning we were already beginning work on next year's Blues Night, stay tuned!!

Working With the Peace Corp on Behalf of the People of Uganda

2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corp. The Peace Corp was founded to allow Americans to answer President Kennedy's call to service in the developing world. Positive Planet is pleased that beginning in October, one of our country's best and brightest, John Trimmer, has answered that call and is already a major contributor to our work in the Rakai and Masaka Districts of Uganda. John is pursuing a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida. He will be working on expanding Brick by Brick as well as our school-based initiatives.

Brick by Brick Update

It's been almost a year since we established Brick by Brick, a locally managed construction business, using environmentally-friendly technology to build water and sanitation systems, as well as school classrooms and other buildings. Led by Manager Max Ssenyonga, our team of eight skilled masons have constructed ten rain water harvesting tanks, three libraries, and are about to begin our largest project to date, the construction of a classroom/library at Lwamaya Primary School. We have also embarked on an ambitious marketing plan to broaden and expand our customer base. This will include appearances on local radio programs, road side advertising, and community education and outreach. In addition, at the request of our masons, we have designed and produced new uniforms, which have been received with tremendous enthusiasm. Our goal is to create a successful and profitable business that will address the need for quality construction, sustainable solutions to critical gaps in the availability of safe water and sanitation, while generating revenue for our community-based programs. So far, our business model is proving successful and everyday we are learning more of what it takes to make an ambitious project like this work. Stay tuned!

Brick by Brick Program Featured on GlobalGiving

Positive Planet's Brick by Brick Program is being featured on GlobalGiving, check it out by clicking on this link to GlobalGiving.

The program trains local masons to operate eco-friendly brick press machines which will displace polluting kilns, developing job opportunities and provide bricks for infrastructure improvements at schools to support education.

What Came First, The Chicken Or the Egg?

This question has been asked by children for generations and now the students of Hannah Senesh Community Day School have an answer. For the past three years they have been raising funds to support a sustainable solution to the problem of chronic hunger for the 800 students at Matale Hill Primary School.

In partnership with Mrs. Saidat Ssenteza, the owner of a poultry farm in the Masaka District of Uganda, Positive Planet has began a business venture that we hope will provide sufficient revenue to support a school lunch program at Matale Hill.  This is the first of several projects that we are initiating that focus on business-non-profit partnerships that invest in the local economy while providing much needed funds to achieve our goals.

Creative partnerships are a key component to our strategy to make an impact on the lives of Uganda’s children. With Eggmodule.org, a project that focuses on providing non-profit organizations and social entrepreneurs with the tools to develop and manage sustainable poultry businesses, we have found a powerful partner for changing the lives of thousands of students and their families. In February, after years of careful planning, we finally purchased 3600 chickens to begin our pilot project.

What came first the chicken or the egg? For Positive Planet’s Poultry Project the chickens definitely come first.

Positive Planet Meets With Rakai District Local Council Chairman

During a recent visit to Uganda, Positive Planet co-founders Drs. Marc Sklar and Daniel Murokora met with Mr. Vincent Semukula, the Rakai District local council (LC5) chairman. In attendance at the meeting were also the chief education and communications officers. After a wide ranging discussion on the challenges facing the government in providing Universal Primary Education for all the district’s children, it was agreed that Positive Planet and the Rakai District government have common goals and that working together would be of mutual benefit.

In Uganda, the LC5 chairman might be considered at the political level of the Governor of a state in the US. We are grateful that Mr. Semukula is supporting our application of recognition as an Ugandan NGO.

Meeting w/Matale Hill Parents to Discuss Chronic Hunger

A recent survey of the head teachers of Positive Planet’s five Ugandan sister schools revealed that approximately 80% of our children do not eat lunch on a daily basis. Chronic hunger negatively impacts the health of our children and also has a profound effect on their ability to learn. Positive Planet co-founders Drs Daniel Murokora and Marc Sklar recently met with over 20 parents of our first sister school, the St. Andrews Matale Hill Primary School to discuss this serious problem. In a 2 hour meeting many of the difficult issues that underlie the problem of chronic hunger were discussed. Extreme poverty limits many of our parents’ ability to provide lunch for their children. The fact that over 50% of our children are orphans, often being cared for by elderly relatives with limited resources, also impacts their ability to fully address this dilemma. By the conclusion of our meeting it was clear that any solution would require full partnership with the entire school community. Positive Planet is always seeking creative partnerships to assist in the realization of our mission. To address this serious problem we are working with Egg Module.Org to begin researching the feasibility of establishing a small scale cooperative poultry farm. Our goal is to help create a sustainable business model which will support a school lunch program for the students of Matale Hill. For more information about The Egg Module, visit their web site.

Construction of New Classroom Building at Lwamaya Complete

For the first time Lwamaya Primary School will have classrooms for all of its seven grades. Up till now four grades have been meeting under the cover provided by the few trees on school property. Thanks to the generosity of their sister school, the Mary McDowell Center for Learning, this large four classroom building which also houses the head teacher's office and library was completed in February, 2008.

Throughout the two years it has taken to finish this project, Lwamaya parents have never stopped contributing to the completion of their new school building; donating over 10,000 bricks, sand, stones as well as hundreds of hours of hard work. Positive Planet promotes true partnership between our sister school communities and at Lwamaya the years of commitment have finally paid off.

Positive Planet Leads Trip of U.S. Teachers and Students to Uganda

After a year of planning and preparation, Positive Planet sponsored its first trip, visiting our sister schools in rural Uganda. Representing three of our U.S. sister schools 25 teachers, students and parents embarked on an exciting three-week journey throughout the physically beautiful and culturally rich nation of Uganda. Beginning with a ten-day eco-tour of the entire country, our hearty band of travelers withstood 12 hour drives over mountainous dirt roads to see Uganda’s breathtaking landscape while learning about the everyday lives of the people of Uganda. Visiting Uganda’s national parks we trekked the endangered mountain gorilla (over half the world’s population of 700 live in Uganda) and observed the rich diversity of African wildlife.

After completing a circuit of over 1000km we returned to the district capital of Masaka where we began the work, which was the focal point of our trip. In partnership with Ugandan educators from our sister schools, a three-day Teacher Skills Workshop was held attended by 26 Ugandan and 10 American teachers. Exchanging ideas and experiences, all of the participants discovered that there was much to learn from each other and left with a renewed dedication to deepen and expand our partnership to improve the quality of education for all of our children.

Teachers, students and their parents visited each of our sister schools where we shared our games, songs and dances with one another. As we ended our trip all who participated expressed that the trip was life changing. Life changing in that each of us was moved by the desperate conditions endured by our sister schools as well as the inspiration we received of our Ugandan friends to continue to build bridges between our sister school communities to impact the lives of all of our children.