Uganda: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
67 Students Take DIT Exams: Q3 2018
November 17, 2018
Naku Charles Lwanga
Summary of Activities
School Support
- As of this reporting period, RMF’s education support in Kiryandongo is focused on the support of 14 vulnerable secondary school students.
Medicine and Human Resources Support
- The health centers have maintained a high level of cleanliness.
- Boosted the capacity of health facilities in the settlement—mainly Panyadoli Health Centre III, Panyadoli Hills Health Centre II, and Nyakadot Health Centre II—by continuing to provide adequate medical and cleaning supplies.
- Salaries, wages, and top-up allowances for medical and support staff in the health program were paid in a timely manner.
Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute (PVTI)
- We continue to provide financial support and guidance for the four departments at RMF’s PVTI.
- During August, the primary goal in all departments was to thoroughly review all materials and focus on fundamental skills in preparation for the DIT examination and graduation.
- On September 10, 2018, instructors and administrators briefed trainees on the DIT examination scheduled for September 12, 2018. The goal of the briefing was to boost the trainees’ confidence prior to the exam, as well as allow them to ask questions, particularly in regard to the examination cards and the time allotted for the examinations.
- PVTI held a graduation ceremony on September 19, 2018.
Kiryandongo Sports Development Program
- Held successful dialogues involving the participation of the players, coaches, managers, and community leaders among others. By discussing key problems such as indiscipline cases and misunderstandings between players or staff, the dialogues helped create peace within the Sports Development Program and the community at large.
- Conducted monthly meetings at all levels, as well as daily monitoring and evaluation of Sports Development Program staff. As a result of these meetings, personnel from the Head Office became involved in addressing the grievances of the coaches.
- RMF purchased essential sports training items, including balls, cones, sports bibs, uniforms, and cleats, among others.
Precious Children’s Centre
- RMF continued to provide financial support to the Precious Children’s Centre in Kawempe, Kampala, which takes care of orphans and vulnerable children. The funding from RMF is used to purchase food for the children. This has helped to keep more children in class and to stabilize the center’s operations.
- As the income base for the school widens due to RMF’s donation, the school is able to add curriculum activities. For example, the school organized a Speech Day in which students performed for their parents, and the school was also able to buy prizes for the children who performed well.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Medicine and Human Resources Support
Supplies Support Both Refugees and Nationals
During the reporting period, RMF/WCF provided medicine, as well as medical, laboratory, and cleaning supplies for the health centers in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement. This was supplemented by medical supplies from Kiryandongo District’s local government and the UNHCR. RMF/WCF’s medical support benefits both refugees and nationals who come for treatment at Panyadoli Health Centre III, Panyadoli Hills Health Centre II, the Reception Centre Clinic, and Nyakadot Health Centre II.
PVTI Trainees Register for DIT Exams
67 Certificates Earned
Out of 87 trainees enrolled in the May–September intake, 67 registered for the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) examinations. These 67 students took the DIT exams on September 12, 2018, earning certificates that will facilitate further studies and/or employment at reputable businesses. Both theory and practical trainings were carried out successfully; i.e., the syllabi were all completed before the final DIT exams.
PVTI Graduation
Ceremony Held September 19
PVTI successfully held a graduation ceremony on September 19, 2018. Attendees included representatives from Kiryandongo Settlement Implementing Partners, Bweyale Town Council, and Kiryandongo District Local Government. During the ceremony, speeches were made, the trainees entertained the guests, and certificates were awarded. Guests also received a tour of the graduation exhibition which featured finished products made by the graduates.
Sports Development Program
Bringing Communities Together
Successfully held community dialogues as a way of bringing communities together and promoting cohesion and peaceful coexistence among the involved communities. During this reporting period, teams engaged in tournaments and friendly matches both within and outside of the settlement.
Social Life Improves
Sports Development Promotes Peace
The social life of the players in the Kiryandongo Sports Development Program has greatly improved. Before the project implementation, the youths living in the settlement could not easily interact with the host community but as they gain experience socializing and interacting with the host community through matches, the capacity for peace between the two continues to grow.
Precious Children’s Centre
Saving For a New Kitchen
The Precious Children’s Center has also been saving funds to construct a better kitchen than the old one depicted in the photo below. The school’s largest expenditures are food and staff salaries, so RMF’s contribution goes directly to its primary need areas, and thus the school is able to work such developments using the little money saved up from the school fees of paying students.
Background
& Objectives
Background
The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Bweyale, Uganda, is a UNHCR managed refugee settlement that provides shelter, land, and support for more than 100,000 people. They are comprised of refugees from Kenya, DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. RMF has partnered with UNHCR in supporting Kiryandango Refugee Settlement, the surrounding community of Bweyale, and the greater Kiryandongo District (an additional 266,197 people) with health care, education, and vocational training since 2008.
Objectives
- To serve as a health care implementation partner with the UNHCR and Ugandan Government
- To provide health care services to over 100,000 refugees and persons in the community via the Panyadoli Health Centres
- To provide skills training for South Sudanese refugees to enable them to become self-reliant
More
Photos
Click to enlarge
Success
Stories
Stanley Sentamu
PVTI 2017 Graduate
Stanley Sentamu graduated from the Carpentry and Joinery department at Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute in December 2017. He operates from Molokonyi Trading Center in Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, where he rents a space. He said that he takes great pride and happiness in the vocational skills with which RMF has equipped him, since they have enabled him to become self-reliant and financially stable as well as support his family.
At present, Stanley works in roofing with his colleague who is an engineer. He has a workshop at home where he makes tables, chairs, and beds which he sells. This has encouraged him to venture into other projects, especially a pig farm project on which he is currently working.
Scovia Achola
PVTI 2017 Graduate
Scovia Achola graduated from the Tailoring and Garment Cutting department at Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute in December 2017. She operates from Bweyale market, where she rents a sewing machine. Scovia said that as a result of her vocational training she is able to support her family and pay rent for the machine she uses.
She feels so blessed to have the skills, and she appreciates RMF for training her and enabling her to support herself. With the money she is getting from making and selling clothes, she is now able to buy food for her family, and she is also participating in a local saving group in order to save up for her own sewing machine.
Kayeng Sinai
PVTI 2016 Graduate
Kayeng Sinai graduated from the Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy department at Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute in 2016 and currently works in a friend’s salon. She is grateful for the skills that she acquired at PVTI as well as to her instructors for their efforts and to RMF for supporting her training.
As a result of her vocational skills, she is able to buy food and other personal items that have improved her quality of life. She is also saving money to open her own salon, where she plans to employ her friends.
Abel Waiswa
PVTI Graduate
Abel Waiswa graduated from the Bricklaying and Concrete Practice department at Panyadoli Vocational Training Institute. He takes great pride in the skills he acquired through the program. He said that he has been getting building contracts both in and out of the settlement, which have enabled him to save money, buy building tools, and care for his family.
More Reports on: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project Archive
Country Page: Uganda
Initiative Page: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
