Our construction of a multi-purpose hall with our environmentally friendly interlocking stabilized soil bricks at St. Tereza Primary School continues! Students and teachers will soon be able to study and learn in this new building. We expect to complete construction by November 1st.
CLASSROOM BUILDING AT NAKASOGA PRIMARY SCHOOL COMPLETED
A classroom and library building at Nakasoga Primarty school which has been in construction for the last two months was finished. The building encompasses one classroom for over 50 students, a library which can accommodate over 100 students and a storeroom. We are grateful for the partnership of the Nakasoga parents, who contributed 25% of the value to complete this project.
MY PADS TRAININGS TO BE HELD THROUGHOUT UGANDA
Brick by Brick staff Suzan Kyambadde and Robin Rentrope are traveling through Uganda in August and September to conduct 5 more My Pads trainings of teachers at Peace Corps Volunteers' schools. Last week they headed to Fort Portal to work with the teachers of Saints Peter and Paul Primary School - site of Peace Corps Volunteer Madeleine Oulevey. The teachers learned how to make reusable menstrual pads and lead engaging lessons and discussions about sexual and reproductive health. They even had the opportunity to inform teachers about good nutrition, especially foods high in iron for those students suffering from fatigue and anemia during heavy flows. And also about cognitive behavior therapy exercises such as journaling through worst fears, practicing deep breathing, and doing yoga stretches and meditation as ways for teachers to help calm students struggling through episodes of anger and anxiety.
These trainings are part of Brick by Brick's strategic plan to expand on our successful programs through a Training of Trainers model throughout Uganda. Thank you Peace Corp Uganda for your partnership!!
Providing Safe Drinking Water for Ugandan Students
Construction of two 30,000 liters tanks was finished last week at PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) Akoromit High School. The school administration has commended the company for the way the masons are committed on doing their work. Two more tanks are to be constructed at PEAS Appeulai High school by the end of this week.
My Pads Training at Kyamaganda
Today, we completed another My Pads training of teachers at a Peace Corps Volunteer's school. Thank you Mary Jameson for inviting us to help implement youth sexual and reproductive health and RUMPS sessions at Kyamaganda Primary School. The teachers were very receptive and excellent participants. We are confident that the program will help empower the students. The teachers also learned really engaging activities to use during lessons - thanks to Mary's Base Pack games and our youth development sessions.
BAMA Program Training for Staff
Brick by Brick's Babies and Mothers Alive Program started off with a training of all the staff in order to understand the objectives of their participation. It gave all the staff an overview of the project.
A team of 5 members is currently carrying out research on the quality of service for newborn maternal health in 22 Level III health centers and 3 hospitals in Rakai district. This research is carried out in the hope that it will allow for the improvement of maternal and newborn care that is currently prevailing in the health centers.
HI PEP Program Up and Running
We couldn't be more proud of our HI PEP Peer Educators who have become confident, well-educated, exemplary role models at SEED Secondary School! In their most recent workshop on Prevention Methods they exhibited a strong understanding of the subject material and comfort teaching. They have come such a long way from the shy students we started working with several months ago. Three Peer Educators have even volunteered to form a committee to continue the program next year!
Progress at Nakasoga Primary School
We have reached the wall plate level on the Nakasoga Primary school Classroom/ library block. We shall be finishing the roofing and plastering this week. The building has been constructed using our Interlocking Stabilized Soil Bricks which has made it look very lovely. The hope is that the library will increase literacy level at the school.
My Pads Program Begins New Training of Trainers Model
On Tuesday, Suzan Kyambadde, our My Pads Program Coordinator, and Robin Rentrope, our Peace Corps Health Volunteer, traveled to Arua in the West Nile region of Uganda to conduct a two day training of teachers for our My Pads program. Suzan and Robin have been working diligently to redevelop the training, and it turned out to be a huge success. Sessions included: building knowledge and skills to deliver sexual and reproductive health lessons; building leadership in youth development work; Modeling lessons - teacher practicals and feedback on lesson delivery; and creating an implementation plan for the program at school. These pictures are from the first day of the workshop.
Stakeholders Meeting Held to Introduce Brick by Brick Maternal and Newborn Health Program in Rakai
Our initial Maternal and Newborn Health Program inception meeting with the Rakai District Health Center officers started off with very promising results. All members participated fully in the discussions and planned the promising next steps for our new health program. The stakeholders were happy about this project, and said that this is a great opportunity to assess and improve the current maternal and newborn health practices in Rakai. They hope that when this project is fully implemented the maternal and infant mortality will significantly reduce.
Marketing to the Base of the Pyramid
Our team has been conducting market research using the skills we've gained from our +Acumen classes 'Market Analysis for the Botton of the Pyramid' and 'Human Centered Design'. We've learned how to best design and market products to appeal to and be useful to people making under $2.50 a day. We have interviewed over 50 women in the past two weeks to get a sense of how to market our My Pads re-usable menstrual pads (RUMPs). Thanks to what we have heard from these ladies, we have a pretty good idea of how best to sell this product in villages. We are hoping to make a small profit from selling My Pads locally so that we can expand our youth sexual and reproductive health and RUMPs making program to more schools in Uganda.
New Construction at Rakai Health Science Program
The Rakai Health Sciences Program liked our design for a waiting area so much that they contracted us to expand our work and modify their whole central courtyard.
Marketing to the Base of the Pyramid
For the last month, our whole staff has been taking an online marketing course facilitated by Acumen called "Marketing at the Base of the Pyramid". We have learned a lot about tailoring our services to the low-income, entry level consumers in our region and are excited to start implementing these changes
Brick by Brick Partners with Engineers Without Borders Germany
We have been working hand in hand with funding non-profit, Engineers Without Borders Germany, and the Gayaza Community to finish constructing our largest tank to date - a 60,000 Liter underground tank to provide the whole Vocational School with a sustainable water source.
Building the Capacity of School Libraries in Uganda
Our Library Capacity Building Project Has Begun With a Bang! The preliminary workshop with multiple representatives from all 5 schools was a great starting point for the upcoming project. All schools shared their goals and plans for organizing and integrating classes into their newly developed libraries.
EcoSan Composting Toilets In Masaka
We are expanding our Eco-San Toilet project! A new gardens café plot in Masaka has contracted us to build a large multi-stance eco-san toilet structure. We are thrilled that people are beginning to realize the environmental sustainability and opportunities that Eco-San presents.
Providing Clean Water and Training Students at Gayaza Vocational School
We have begun training vocational students at Gayaza Vocational School in the creation of ISSB Bricks. In addition to supplying a sustainable water source in the form of an underground rain water harvesting tank of 60,000 liters (our biggest tank to date), we are spreading the environmentally sustainable technology of ISSBs for future generations!
Brick by Brick Attends East African Water and Sanitation Conference
Program Coordinator Max Ssenyonga participated in a joint Water and Sanitation Conference between East African Nations Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in Kisumu, Kenya. #Water #Sanitation #InternationalDevelopment #BestPosterPresentation
Brick by Brick Construction Company Welcomes New Engineering Intern
Our new Engineering intern David Mutsesaasira working with the senior masons to plan our new project to build a two story chicken coop. David has been a huge addition to our team providing great insight and direction for our construction company.
Making Progress in Water and Sanitation
As we monitor and evaluate the success of our Water and Sanitation implementation project with International NGO: Link to Progress, we find that the households and schools that we partnered with have improved their sanitation habits drastically.
