Site news

Completion of Latrine Construction at St. Andrews Matale Hill Primary School

Brick by Brick Construction completed the construction of a female latrine at St. Andrews Matale Hill Primary School. In April, the only female latrine on the school’s upper block collapsed. As a result, the female pupils and teachers had to share the male latrine with the male pupils and teachers. The inadequate amount of latrine stalls led to long lines and frustration amongst the pupils and teachers. There was a great need to construct a new female latrine. The pupils, teachers, and school community of St. Andrews Matale Hill are very grateful to their U.S. Sister School Hannah Senesh Community Day School for their contribution to the construction of this female latrine.  

 

 

Renovation at Kirumba Primary School

By: Max Ssenyonga, Program Coordinator Brick by Brick Uganda The masons of Brick by Brick Construction are renovating a three classroom block at Kirumba St. Lukes Primary School. Brick by Brick Construction has a dedicated team of skilled masons that are working on this project. Sande Salongo Kimera, Charles Kabagabo and John Sebyoto are directing our efforts, with the help of two porters Jude and Jjunju.

The renovation of this classroom block was desperately needed. Before the renovation started, the classrooms were in poor shape and as a result were not in use. With this renovation, there will be concrete floors, which will prevent children from getting harmed by jiggers (small insects that burrow in the skin). Jiggers are very common in the village and cause pain, fever, and even death. The students, teachers and parents will benefit from this renovation because the children will be free from jiggers and dust, which has been making them unhealthy and dirty.

This project is very important to me because many years ago, as a child, I studied at this primary school. Before Brick by Brick partnered with my school, the learning environment was much worse. Our school had gates without doors, floors were not cemented and we smeared cow dung on the floors to eliminate the dust. There was nothing we could do to prevent the jiggers.

The Kirumba Primary School community is very grateful for the work done by Brick by Brick and for the contributions made by our sister school in the US, Ryan Intermediate School. Thank you for your assistance and your commitment to helping the village communities of Uganda. Mwebale Nyo! (Thank you very much!)

 

 

10 Years of Giving by the Students of Hannah Senesh Community Day School

Since 2003, the students and teachers of Hannah Senesh Community Day School have been working to support their sister school in Uganda. On May 29th, Brick by Brick Executive Director Marc Sklar, met with 6th, 7th and 8th graders to celebrate all that we have accomplished at Matale Hill Primary School. A video message of thanks from the teachers and students at Matale Hill was shown. We are nearing the completion of our work at Matale Hill and the Hannah Senesh community is looking forward to partnering with a new school, to accomplish even more. To all the wonderful teachers, students and parents at Hannah Senesh, Webale-nyo!! Thank you very much!!

Brick by Brick Visits Ryan Middle School

Since 2004, the students of Ryan Middle School in Queens New York have raised over $10,000 for their sister school, the Kirumba Primary School located in the Rakai District of Uganda. On May 9th, Brick by Brick visited Ryan to meet with students and share the progress we have made together. In preparation for their annual Earth Day Fair fundraiser, we discussed the work that Brick by Brick Construction is doing to combat deforestation by using environmentally sustainable construction methods. Shabieko Ivy, a senior at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, helped create and led the discussions with five Earth Science classes. Shabieko served as an intern for Brick by Brick as part of the International Youth Leadership Institute. The students at Ryan were fully engaged in a thoughtful discussion of how, with their help, Ugandans are building better schools, while preserving their precious natural resources.

Reusable Menstrual Pad Project

By: Griffin Smith When I joined the Brick by Brick team earlier this year, I was given the task of finding a sustainable solution that would help the girls in our Brick by Brick schools manage their monthly menstruation. The reality in Uganda is that low-income families have to decide between buying disposable pads and household necessities. Girls that cannot afford disposable pads use anything they can find as a substitute (rags, socks, newspapers, etc.). These substitutes are inadequate and often unsanitary. Finding a solution to this monthly challenge would improve the girls’ school attendance, academic performance and overall quality of life.

After collaborating with fellow Peace Corps Volunteers, I introduced the idea of the Reusable Menstrual Pad Project to the Brick by Brick team. The Reusable Menstrual Pad Project began in Uganda with Peace Corps Volunteer Lizzie Kazan. She had a simple idea: increase access to low-cost washable menstrual pads by teaching girls how to sew the pads themselves. The project has grown substantially since its inception and now includes an educational component on menstrual health and hygiene.

In the next few months, the Brick by Brick team will work to develop a plan on how to implement this project in our school communities. We are very excited to start working on this project and hope that our work will ease the numerous challenges that girls cope with every month.

A Night of Blues for Brick by Brick

On the night of April 26th Brick by Brick turned the Prospect Park Picnic House into the best blues club, this side of Chicago. One hundred supporters of Brick by Brick's work to improve the quality of education in rural Uganda attended an evening of great blues, barbecue and beer. The Bobby Kyle Band provided the entertainment, as thousands of dollars were raised to support our work. This was the First Annual Blues Night fundraiser for Brick by Brick,  the start of what we know will be an annual tradition.

U.S. Executive Director of Brick by Brick in Uganda

U.S. Executive Director of Brick by Brick, Marc Sklar, traveled to Uganda in March. As usual, time spent in Uganda was productive and rewarding. Accompanied by Program Coordinator, Max Ssenyonga and Peace Corp volunteer, John Trimmer, Marc met with the staff of numerous NGOs to expand the business of Brick by Brick Construction. In addition, a very engaging meeting was held with the Director of USAID Uganda, David Eckerson, and Ugandan Peace Corp Director Loucine Hayes, where we received their enthusiastic support for our efforts at building a business using environmentally friendly ISSB technology. Back in the Rakai District, Marc and our Ugandan staff visited several school communities and worked hard to build our organizational capacity

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

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In 2009, Chessa Forer was a member of a team of eight teachers who traveled to Uganda to work collaboratively with their Ugandan colleagues. Over a two-week intensive workshop led by Bank Street College faculty member, Ginny O'Hare, teachers from both countries learned innovative techniques to improve the quality of teaching and learning at each of our five primary schools.

Returning to New York, where she teaches at the Chapin School in Manhattan, Chessa wanted to continue to contribute to the children she came to know and love. Through her art, she has found a way. Chessa recently sold four of her beautiful photographs and donated the proceeds, $600 to Positive Planet. Chessa, your photographs are made even more beautiful by your generous gift. As we say in Uganda:

Webale-Nyo!! Thank you very much!!

Lwamaya Primary School Construction Begins

This week construction began on the construction of a new building at Lwamaya Primary School. In partnership with the local community, which has made significant contributions, Brick by Brick has begun to build a 3-room structure which will house a classroom, a new library stocked with books, and a storage room. This will complete a multi-year construction project funded by the students of the Mary McDowell Friends School in Brooklyn, New York. By mid-February this building is scheduled for completion so that each student will now have a safe and secure classroom in which to learn, and a library to access books. Thank you to the students, parents and teachers of Mary McDowell for your dedication over the past 7 years!

Marketing Brick by Brick

Brick by Brick Construction is off to a promising start in Year I. We have built 12 rain water harvesting tanks ranging in size from 10,0000 to 30,000 liters, and a new school library using Interlocking Stabilized Soil Brick (ISSB), environmentally-sustainable technology. This month, we begin construction of a 3-room classroom-library block for the Lwamaya Primary School. Our team of professional masons, led by Manager Max Ssenyonga, is proving that social entrepreneurship works to provide revenue for much needed community-based projects, while making an investment in the local economy. Brick by Brick is starting a marketing campaign to expand our business and build on the success of our first year. In addition, to a road side sign post, we will soon complete an array of marketing materials that will spread the word about the valuable services provided by this innovative company.

Poultry Project Update

We are eight months into Positive Planet's Poultry Project and everyday we are learning more. Our goal is to create a sustainable and profitable business to support a school lunch program for over 800 students. We have faced many challenges, from water shortages due to draught, to poor quality of feed. With the support of Jonathan Blanchard, a Peace Corp volunteer working with Positive Planet and Egg Module (www.eggmodule.org), we are now able to monitor production on an almost daily basis. This is allowing us to respond quickly as conditions in the field change. Our most recent partner, Professor Jacquie Jacob, of the University of Kentucky, is providing much needed expertise in poultry science which is already showing results. Check the Positive Planet blog for regular updates.

Positive Planet Teams with Raising Voices to Combat Violence Against Children

Raising Voices (www.raisingvoices.org) is an organization located in Kampala, working to prevent violence against women and children. From August 25th through the 27th, Positive Planet facilitated a workshop led by Raising Voices, designed to address the problem of corporal punishment in Uganda's primary schools. Sadly, corporal punishment, while officially illegal is pervasive throughout Uganda. Since 2007, Positive Planet has been working with teachers and administrators to confront this problem and discover humanistic alternatives to corporal punishment. Twenty-one teachers from six Universal Primary Education schools participated in the workshop. Positive Planet will work with Raising Voices over the coming year to ensure that each of our schools develops a plan of action that begins the process of change. Stay tuned for more on this exciting initiative

We Mourn the Loss of Nate Henn

All of the staff at Positive Planet are deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of Nate Henn. Nate was working in Uganda with Invisible Children, an organization well known to us, that assists children in Northern Uganda. Nate was killed during the recent terrorist attacks in Kampala while watching the World Cup with some of the kids he was working with. He was 25 years old. The people who knew him say that Nate was an incredible human being and a deeply committed activist. He and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.

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Our Facebook Cause: A way to show support for Positive Planet

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Now that we're on Facebook, we've gone ahead and set up a Facebook Cause for ourselves (read more about Causes).  If you're on Facebook and want to become an official supporter of the "Help Positive Planet" Cause--which, by the way, does not require any donation--visit this link:

http://www.causes.com/causes/494334

Positive Planet on Facebook Causes (click to visit)

Now, if you are interested in donating money to Positive Planet, Causes make this easy... and you don't have to be on Facebook to donate.  Visit this link to donate to Positive Planet:

http://bit.ly/pp-donate

We appreciate any help you give, whether it's monetary or simply joining the cause... please tell all your friends that you think may be interested in helping us, too.