1. The Microfinance component of Nyaka’s strategy is currently implemented through the “Nyaka Credit Program” launched in 2006. The objective of the Microfinance component is to provide access to credit for income-generating activities to the women who are taking care of the orphan children attending the Nyaka AIDS Orphan School so that they may increase their incomes. This objective of improving the women caretakers’ incomes is important because numerous studies have shown that women tend to especially prioritize ensuring the children’s nutrition, education, clothing, health and housing improvements. With improved standards of living at home, the Nyaka students will be able to maintain the necessary good health and morale in order to complete their primary education at the Nyaka School.
2. Nutrition and Community Gardens Program: Nyaka obtained the catering services of a local contractor to prepare meals for the kids. They get breakfast (milk or porridge and a roll/pastry) at 10:30am and an assorted lunch between 1 – 2 pm. The menu for lunch changes from day to day to offer the kids a balanced diet. The items provided for lunch include beans (regularly), meat/protein (once a week), posho/corn mash, rice, banana paste (Matooke), sweet potatoes and/or Irish potatoes.
3. The Community Gardens program includes free distribution of vegetable seeds provided by Seed and Light Inc. of Albuquerque New Mexico. In addition, Nyaka continues to work with the community on promotion of agriculture and nutrition programs. A school farm is available as a demonstration for pupils to learn agriculture as a subject and to act as a demonstration farm for the community. The guardians through the Guardians Teachers Association (GTA) provide labor for tilling the land and provide some of the seeds. The pupils go to the farm with the head of agriculture department to learn basics of agriculture and do practical work on the farm. A school porter keeps the farm to ensure that we do not lose our plants.
4. Primary education. The education component of Nyaka’s strategy is currently implemented through free primary education. The objective of this component is to provide students with quality free education, uniform and books in a nurturing environment suited to their situations. This objective is apart of our larger goal to build a self-sustaining, community-based free primary school for AIDS orphans in Nykagyezi and other villages in Uganda. In this regard, the Nyaka School is an ongoing project that will continue growing each year. At the end of 2008, the school will have seven classes, and will be a full-fledged primary school with approximately 250 students. We will continue to enroll and retain students during in each school year and increase the number of students at Nyaka by 25% each year.
5. Vocational Training About 50% of Ugandans are under 25 years of age. Only a few of them have access to proper vocational training which enables them to become employed or self-employed. While this lack of opportunities has a severe negative impact on the life of many individuals, it also hampers the development of the country as a whole. The objective of this program is to assist in establishing a viable vocational training system which is demand driven and employment oriented but also as an income generating activity for the school’s sustainability.
Proposed program will include Carpentry, brick making and laying, tailoring, weaving, computer classes and pottery.
6. Community AIDS Education and Outreach program. Nyaka AIDS Orphan’s School provides education and other needed services to children who were orphaned due to the AIDS epidemic. Currently, outreach and community education efforts are provided through organized efforts of the Nyaka Anti-AIDS children’s choir. The children perform songs, plays, and distribute literature during their performances to educate the audiences on the far-reaching effects AIDS has had on them, their family structure and community.
Educating and informing the public of the effects of HIV and AIDS are the keys to combating the overwhelming challenges facing many communities disproportionately effected by this disease. The objective of the Nyaka Community AIDS Education and Outreach program is to deliver effective HIV/AIDS messages through a variety of community education and outreach mediums to bring needed attention and heighten community awareness of the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS on the community. Specific outreach initiatives will include performances by the children’s choir, distribution of medical information on AIDS and prevention methods in print and lecture formats, and community-focused events that will heighten awareness of the effects of HIV/AIDS in hopes of having a direct impact that will result in decreased numbers of new HIV/AIDS cases in the community.
7. Health and Physical Education Program: We have been and continue to provide basic healthcare to all Nyaka students and their host families. In 2005, we provided mosquito nets to all students. During 2006, school our school nurse continued home visits teaching hygiene and sanitation and how to keep clean water and drinking water. Our major accomplishment in 2006 was testing all Nyaka students for HIV/AIDS. This was done with the help of two medical students from St George’s Medical School in UK and two visitors from USA. Only two students were found to have be HIV/AIDS positive, they are already on medication. We are working with Kambuga Hopspital in extending basic healthcare to all families that host Nyaka students. Our long term goal is to build a self sustaining clinic to serve all people in Nyakagyezi village and surrounding areas.
8. Clean Gravity Water System: In 2005, with a help of three professors that visited Nyaka from UC Davis, Rockefeller Foundation and UK, we were able to raise money to build a clean water gravity system that is serving Nyaka School, two other primary schools, two churches and more than 120 households in the community. The number of people utilizing this clean water is estimated at 9,800. In 2007, we have secured funding to expand this water system.
9. Volunteer Program: Eight international volunteers served at the Nyaka School in 2006, and a volunteer manual was created for them. These individuals and students came from Canada, Norway, UK and USA. Other volunteers in the past have come from Japan, Israel and many USA Colleges. Contact us if you would like to get in touch with any of the visitors who has been at Nyaka. Mission trips and donor visits will be organized twice a year beginning 2007.
10. Nyaka Grannies (Mukaaka) Project. Nyaka grannies project will help them through:
1. Group support on village, sub-county, county, and district level to create a common voice support system.
2. Help them start up income generating projects to improve their household incomes.
3. Support each other with skills in childcare through regular group meetings where they share different experiences and learn from the facilitators.
4. Encouraging Nyaka nurse to visit their homes and teach hygiene and sanitation and also help them better nutrition for themselves and the children by introducing to them high yield and resistant variety seeds, modern methods and practices of agriculture. (This is supported by Seed and light Inc)
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