Suubi Secondary School Blog

1-8-2015, Foundation Work Begins On The New Workshop

Only a week after the construction began on the new workshop and kitchen at SSVC, we can already see the walls rising up. Nkuke Paul and his team of builders are setting a cracking pace as usual.

The first brick was carefully put in place to make sure everything was perfectly in line.

Paul was responsible for getting the all important first line of bricks in place.

Then it was all hands an deck as the northern wall started to rise.

With the height of the workshop set to be almost double that of the original classroom block, extra metal strengthening is being woven in to the brickwork.

Bricks are also being laid at 90 degrees to the usual method and support pillars are being placed closer together internally and externally; all to help create extra strength.

A congo line of workers passed bricks from outside the construction fence.

Before long the entire structure was starting to shape.

What a wonderful sight to see the classroom block in the background. It wasn't very long ago that we were watching it being constructed and now we have phase 2 well underway. How exciting!

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24-7-2015, Workshop/Kitchen Construction Begins At SSVC

There was much excitement in Lubanda Village, in particular at Suubi Secondary & Vocational College, as work got underway on 2nd stage of construction at the school. The next structure will consist of the all important workshop for the vocational subjects. With a wide variety of tools, which were so generously donated by Tools With A Mission, now currently making there way on a shipping container from the UK, the workshop will be the perfect place to house them. It is extremely exciting to think that, by the beginning of the 2016 school year, we will see SSVC students learning vocational skills such as carpentry, metal fabrication, bicycle and motorbike repairs, tailoring, knitting, hairdressing and baking; all in this purpose built workshop.

And not only that, a permanent kitchen and storeroom is to be built on the northern end of the workshop. This will enable us to tap in to the nearby biogas and a fuel efficient stove will also be installed. Both these methods of cooking will be far better for the environment as they will reduce on the large amount of firewood that is currently required to prepare school lunches.

Check out the exciting first lot of photos:

The first job required was to fence off the area to help keep students and the community out of the construction site.

The foundations were then pegged out and day 2 saw the digging get underway.

Many locals got involved in this, making light work of a big job.

Although the red dirt was rocky and dry this didn't deter the hard working team.

The end of day 2 saw the digging of foundations, for the external walls, completed

and bricks delivered in readiness for the bricklayers to start.

Remember to check back in often because, as were saw when the classrooms were being built, the builders work at a cracking pace!

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24-7-2015, SSVC Students On Agricultural Study Excursion

The students from SSVC, along with their agriculture teacher, Mr Deo, the home based project coordinator, Miss Shanitah and Suubi Centre director Ssemwogerere David spent a fabulous day at the St Jude Family Rural Training Centre today.

The students home based chicken project is what had peaked the schools interest in visiting the training centre but they also came away from the day with a multitude of other skills surrounding integrating crops and livestock on one piece of land.

The excited SSVC students arrived at the St Jude Family Project Training Centre with their agriculture teacher, Mr Deo.

The day began with inspirational talks about the best farming practises that help to make the many various crop and livestock projects at the centre so succesful.

With SSVC students having their own home based chicken project they lapped up every bit of information they could about caring for chickens.

Other livestock such as pigs, goats and cows are also kept at St Jude. Throughout the day it was highlighted to the students about integrated farming, where by on the same piece of land, one can grow a variety of crops and livestock and each aspect can benefit another. For example, chicken manure can be feed to the pigs, which in turn creates further manure that can then be incorporated in to making compost for the crops.

Intercropping is also encouraged at St Jude, as is seen here with the motooke underplanted with vegetables.

The students were happy to learn about how to make compost from, what may otherwise be seen as waste, from the livestock and plants that are grown on the property.

The size of the cabbages at St Jude's gives a great indication of how much of a difference it can make when crops are well cared for and composting is incorporated.

A variety of garden beds, that can be incorporated on even the smallest piece of land, were all clearly doing well at St Jude's.

Even items like old jerry cans were planted out, showing the students what is possible. Every home in Uganda has damaged jerrycans that can no longer be used for collecting water; clearly they should not be thrown away as they can be turned in to a garden.

Small seedlings that have been grown in a nursery bed are protected from the strong sun with banana fibre from the matooke trees. This protects them from the harsh elements and allows them to grow stronger while they are still young.

The students checked out the large dam on the property that is used for fish farming.

They were also showed that this too is possible on a smaller scale at a family home.

The SSVC students, teachers and St Jude staff were happy to take a group photo at the end of the day.

The agricultural study tour to St Jude training centre was definitely a huge success. The students have not only come home with great advise on the ways to care for their chickens but they have also leant many other skills that they are now keen to try out on land at home and/or at school.

An exciting outcome from todays tour is that the founder of St Jude, Kizza Josephine, is more than willing to continue working with Suubi Centre and SSVC in furthering this kind of training. They have a new project that is soon to begin for extension training in schools, and they promised SSVC will be one of only 5 schools to have the opportunity to participate.

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30-6-2015, SSVC Home-based Chicken Project Thriving

With the 2nd term at Suubi Secondary & Vocational College well underway it is fabulous to see the students home-based chicken project going from strength to strength. When SSVC started earlier this year, the home based project was set up to help the rural children surrounding Lubanda Village to raise money for their school fees and scholastic requirements. We started by loaning out 5 adult, local chickens to all of our senior 1 students.

Each student has diligently been caring for their chickens and are now reaping the rewards from their efforts. It is exciting to see the students now bringing in their eggs on a daily basis and the school helping them to find a market for them.

Some of the SSVC students proudly display some of the eggs they have collected from their chickens.

Recently SSVC eggs were even used as part of some of our partnering primary schools' fundraising days. SSVC sold eggs to St Jude and Bright Light Primary Schools for 300UGX each and then the schools on-sold them to parents and their school supporters for a slightly higher amount. This means the eggs have not only made money for the SSVC students but they have also helped both St Jude and Bright Light to raise much needed money to improve their own school. So its a win, win, win for everyone!

Some of the eggs being sorted out for distribution and sale.

A huge thank you goes to all our supporters who helped to kick start this wonderful initiative!

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13-5-2015, Students Enjoying Holiday Vocational Training

Since April 30th the students at Suubi Secondary & Vocational College have been busy, even though it is their holiday break from academic subjects. They have spent the last couple of weeks getting started on one of the four vocational subjects that are now up and running at the school; tailoring, knitting, baking and soap making.

The students were able to select which subject they were most interested in, with numbers participating in each subject ending up surprisingly even. During these holidays each student has concentrated on learning one specific skill but they will have the opportunity to move on to others as the year progress and during future holiday programs. By having the time to learn one skill well, rather than rushing from one to the other during this time, it is envisaged that students will have gained enough skills to help pass them on between each other during after school and weekend vocational opportunities throughout the usual school terms.

It was a busy day when the five new treadle sewing machines, that were donated by an Aussie family, were put together in readiness for tailoring classes to begin.

A knitting machine, donated by a local Ugandan business man, was also set up and added to two from Suubi Centre so that there would be enough machines available for students to share during this initial holiday program.

Students concentrated on perfecting the pedaling and joining small piece of material together during the first week of tailoring sessions.

This week Muwalimu, their instructor, has been busy moving students on to measuring and cutting out items so they can begin joining pieces together to make an actual article.

Knitting students were guided by two of the Suubi ladies, Betty and Kizito, who learnt the skills themselves from Suubi Centre. Fabulous to see them sharing the skills they had gained.

Betty watched closely as Nasiismu tried out moving the needles for herself.

By the end of the first week the students were able to make scarves and had also started to learn how to make school jumpers. Perhaps this years students will be the ones making the uniform for the 2016 students!

Liquid soap making was taught by a group of Ugandan university students that have been doing their internship at Suubi over the past 3 months. Peter, in green, made sure the students were thoroughly stirring all the ingredients together.

The liquid soap was than poured into smaller bottles in readiness for sale or to be used for cleaning at the school.

Baking was also another big hit with the students. They listened intently to Easnest, the facilitator, as he explained how to make various recipes.

Once the ingredients were in tins the boys were keen to get them in to the wood fired oven.

Everyone was very proud to show off the finished muffins and functional cakes.

Donuts and samosas were also soon added to items the students are now able to make.

So as you can see, the first couple of weeks of vocational training have been a huge success. Vocational studies are what drew many of the students to attend SSVC so it is wonderful to see all the students now enthusiastically taking part in these activities!

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24-4-2015, 1st Term Ends With World Malaria Day Event

The last day of first term today was the ideal time for students and staff from Suubi Secondary & Vocational College to join forces with the Suubi medical team to promote World Malaria Day. SSVC students and staff had, earlier in the term, met with the Suubi Clinic staff to learn about the best ways to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria. With the correct information in hand, teachers and students then worked together to write and practise songs, a poem and traditional dances that could pass on this vital information to everyone that attended todays event.

But the day certainly wasn't just about malaria; it was a jam packed way to finish off and celebrate the very successful 1st term at SSVC. It also gave us a chance to meet with the parents, to show them classrooms filled with computers, sewing and knitting machines, and to hand out the first term reports.

Parents, students, teachers and the wider community joined together to celebrate the success of first term. Everyone was happy to be entertained by the SSVC students.

Parents and students also took the opportunity to speak about how their home based chicken project is progressing.

A tour of classrooms gave the parents the opportunity so see where their children have been studying from and some of the equipment, such as sewing and knitting machines, that they will be using as part of their vocational training over the coming holidays.

Parents were also impressed to see the computers that their children now have the opportunity to learn on - quite a sight to see in Lubanda village.

The malaria themed entertainment on the day worked perfectly as parents, siblings and wider community were happy to watch the students performances; what a wonderful way to learn about such an important health issue. And of course it gave the Suubi medical team a captive audience to explain even more about the deadly disease that kills between 70,000-110,000 Ugandans every year. Brilliant!

SSVC students performed a poem that told of the best ways to prevent, diagnose and treat malaria.

The Suubi medical team then took the opportunity to pass on important facts about malaria to the captive audience.

The traditional dance, filled with color and energy, was a wonderful way to finish off the day's entertainment.

One of the last things to happen on the day was the handing out of school reports. Everyone was excited to hear that 95% of the students had passed their end of term exams. The five top students were very proud to be presented to parents, teachers and the large crowd.

Vincent, Arnold, Syrus, Joseph and Sylvia were thrilled to top the class and be congratulated on their wonderful exam results by Suubi Centre director, Ssemwogerere David.

What a wonderful way to finish off the hugely successful first term. Students and teachers will have 1 weeks holidays now and are all excitedly looking forward to starting vocational training in sewing, knitting, baking and soap making on April 30th. Be sure to check in for the next blog post to see them in action!

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27-3-2015, Monthly Meeting For Home-based Projects Begin

The home based projects, that are setting Suubi Secondary & Vocational College apart from other schools in Uganda, took another very positive step forward today when the first monthly meeting of parents, students and staff was held. These meeting will not only be used to pass on important information relating to the project from the school, but also to encourage students and families to learn from each others experiences. Whether someone’s chicken are doing exceptionally well, or if someone is having problems; everything will be discussed.

Suubi Centre director, Ssemwogerere David, explained the concept behind the chicken project to the packed classroom; each student has 5 chickens and each of them will lay 1 egg each per day. This means the 42 students, currently involved in the home based project, will each bring 5 eggs to school each day, making 210 per day - a total of 1050 eggs per week! He went on to explain that this many eggs is certainly a marketable number and by everyone working together the project can only prosper.

Ssemwogerere David spoke to the packed classroom about the first home based project of raring chickens to sell their eggs.

It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm in the room and the open discussion that flowed as the meeting progressed. At most schools in Uganda parents are only able to visit their children’s school on one day per semester. At Suubi Secondary College we are establishing a three way partnership between the students, their parents and the school. It was certainly evident at todays meeting that this combined approach will bring out the best outcome for each student and their family.

Both parents and students enthusiastically took part in discussions about working together to make sure the chicken project will succeed.

Namugerwaj Jane, who was the first to have her chickens begin laying eggs was proud to show them to the other students and parents.

She was happy when the parents of other students were keen to ask her about what she is doing differently in her home that has helped her chickens to begin laying.

Ssemwogerere David also took the time to relate a story from an Australian newspaper to the SSCV community. It told of a 14 year old boy, Josh, who had started selling eggs from the chickens he raised. Although he also started off very small, he now sells approximately 1500 cartons of eggs per week to big supermarket chains right across Australia. With Josh being almost the same age as the SSVC students, they were certainly inspired by his story and they are now aiming to be just like him.

Ssemwogerere David shared Josh's story with the SSVC Parents & Students

Jane was inspired by Josh's story and looks forward to seeing her 14 eggs grow in to many more trays in the future.

In fact, if the whole SSVC class and their families work together they may just give Josh a run for his money in the egg selling stakes!

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14-3-2015, SSVC Showcased At Graduation Party

A huge graduation party was thrown at Suubi Secondary & Vocational College today to honour our very own Ssemwogerere David, who recently graduated from his Masters in Rural Development. More than a 1000 people from the local community, district level, Kampala and across country, all gathered in Lubanda Village to heap praise on David for everything he has been able to achieve in his life. This of course meant all of these people were able to see first hand the wonderful new facilities at Suubi Seconday & Vocational College; the latest addition to the Suubi Centre Project which David first established in 2008.

The logistics of organising and event of this size were enormous but two very committed groups of organisers (one in Lubanda and one in Kampala) worked tirelessly in the lead up to the event to make sure the day would be a fitting celebration for David; their hard working friend, uni mate, mentor, colleague and Suubi family member. David has certainly touched many lives in a positive way and the graduation party was a way for EVERYONE to say thank you!

In true Ugandan style, everything needed for the party came from contributions made by the people who would attend; from financial contributions through to donations of matooke or sticks of firewood - everyone gave something, depending on what they could afford.

Friday saw a swarm of people descend on the school site as tents and PA systems were set up in readiness for the party.

Mountains of matooke was peeled by the ladies to make sure their would be enough food for everyone to enjoy the following day.

For the very first group of SSVC senior one students, who only recently commenced classes in February, the graduation party will surely be something they will remember forever. They certainly looked the part on the day, in their newly made uniforms that the Suubi sewing groups had worked around the clock to have completed in readiness for the day.

A class photo with Ssemwogerere David and Helen Brown from HUG, on the morning of the graduation party, saw all of the inaugural class looking fabulous; all kitted out in their newly made school uniforms.

The actual days event began with a service to bless the new school buildings. This also presented an opportunity for the Father to explain to the students, and all those who had gathered, about how the home based chicken project, which the school has initiated, will help students and their families raise money to cover their school fees.

David's close friends Moses and Jimmy were happy to be along side him during the service and hear more about the how the SSVC home base project will help the students and their families.

Once each of the classrooms and offices had been officially blessed everyone gathered for different group photos with David to make sure they would all have a lasting memory with the inspirational man who had truly bought rural development to Lubanda Village.

Madelana, David's mum, was joined by other family members - they were all unbelievably proud of what David has done to help so many people.

Staff members and Suubi ladies were happy to see David being recognised for the great work he has done across the many components that now makes up Suubi; education, health and livelihood projects.

The first group of SSVC students certainly have a wonderful role model in David. To know that he has come from the same village as they do, and has been able achieve so much in his life, is something they can aim to emulate in the future.

Once the guests of honour arrived the entertainment and official speeches got underway. In the lead up to the party the SSVC students had practised long and hard to make sure the two songs that Mr Robert (the head master) had specifically written for the event would be just perfect. Everyone in the crowd thoroughly enjoyed their performance and many commented what a wonderful message they were sending to everyone in the audience.

Hon. Ssendaula Gerald (former finance Minister), Hon.Mbabaali Muyanja, Governor Mutabaazi George, Governor Hajji Abdu Kiyimba, Hon .Sarah Nkonge, and Cissy Namujju formed the official party.

The SSVC students were an important part of the entertainment for the day and were certainly not over whelmed by preforming in front of official guests and more than 1000 people.

The Suubi ladies group also impressed everyone with their energetic traditional dancing.

David's Mum, Madelena, told the crowd of how she had always supported David to follow his dream of a good education, even selling her only sewing machine and land to be able to afford to pay his school fees. Many people doubted her at the time but now she is rightly very proud of the fact that he has gone on to help so many people.

Helen Brown from HUG, praised David's ability to make 'REAL' change in the village rather being content just to have learnt about rural development theoretically at the university. She proudly represented the many, many international friends he has made along the way and passed on their love and congratulations.

With speeches complete it was time for gifts to be given and the dancing to begin. Once again people bought gifts they could afford; some came with woven mats, cups, flasks, clocks, cash or even livestock like the goats that the Suubi ladies group had bought!

With David having done so much for them, the Suubi ladies group combined to show their gratitude by presenting him with a goat.

David and his partner Hellen happily excepted all sorts of gifts from family, friends and community groups.

Another exciting thing to happen on the day was a gift that was given to the school from a very prominent business man. He provided two full woodwork kits and a electric sewing machine and knitting machine. He had been impressed by what had been achieved at SSVC to date and is keen for the students to have the necessary equipment needed to begin some of the vocational subjects to be taught. It is wonderful to see local support like this increasing as people see for themselves what a positive impact Suubi continues to have on the community.

The sewing machine, knitting machine and tools were gratefully excepted and will be put to great use at SSVC.

So as you can see, David's graduation party was indeed a great event. A fabulous way to thank and recognise him for everything he has achieved to date and also a wonderful way to showcase Suubi Secondary & Vocational College. It is exciting to think what else may lay ahead for our inspirational friend, Ssemwogerere David and the Suubi community!

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20-2-2015, Home Based Projects Kick Off

It was another exciting day today when the first lot of chickens were distributed to students as part of Suubi Secondary & Vocational Colleges' home base project. Fifty five chickens were handed out and more will follow over the coming days as chicken are sourced from within the local community. Each student will be responsible for caring for their chickens at home and their whole family has agreed to support them in this project. Families are happy knowing that the eggs they collect will create an income, making it possible for them to pay their school fees. The project will become part of the students day to day learning as students record information about how their chickens are doing and the number of eggs they are laying. Families will also meet regularly at the school so they can be guided and learn from each others experiences.

Nakuya Catherine and her Mum were happy to be one of the first student to receive chickens today.

Namulindwa Mayimuna was also happy to take chicken home to begin her home based project.

Suubi Secondary & Vocational College has certainly had a positive impact on the surrounding community since opening on February 2nd. Everyone associated with the school is excited by the new structures, that provide a wonderful learning environment, and all of the opportunities that the school has bought with it. Students, teachers and parents are all appreciative of being part of SSVC - Here is just a small sample of what they have had to say:

Nakasiige Jacenta (Student) "This is total new experience studying in such an environment. Good looking classes, seats, toilet, teachers and having meals at schools is all a new experience to me. I hope to perform better than before. I am happy to also be studying computer and keyboard here at SSVC. I can’t imagine all this."

Ssebombo Emmanuel (Parent) "I am personally impressed and happy for the introduction of SSVC in Lubanda village. Many things have come in our lives just because of this school. For example the students’ chicken project is another unique and supportive initiative, not only to the student but also to the entire family. Creating jobs in the community for the locals like myself, now making students schools uniforms, also cooks and teachers. Besides, our children especially the girls, are now saved from all risks associated with walking long distances to schools. We are always updated on what is happening in class on a daily basis by our children, so we can keep track of our children’s’ presence at school."

Nantale Noelin (Parent) "This is really a blessing in our community. Reports from our children are that they are feeding well and teachers are also doing a good job. The kind of patience the school is showing us in regards to demanding school fees is really relieving for us to look for money to pay. We hope with this kind of understanding and collaboration, our children will also a acquire the education."

Sebadhuka Richard (Deputy Director of Studies and Chemistry/Physic Teacher) "The school is still too young but am impressed with the way how everything is set up. Having only one class to start with, is another good strategy that I haven’t seen in many other schools and areas in Uganda. This will give us the opportunity to plan very well for future classes. Students are showing a big potential of good performance in future. Parents are so co-operative and the entire community has welcomed us well in the area. We hope to do the best."

What a fabulous first month at SSVC - We look forward to to keeping you up to date with everything that is going on!

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2-2-2015, Classes Begin At SSCV

Monday 2nd of February 2015 will certainly go down in the history book as an important day for Suubi Secondary and Vocational College; the day when the first group of students began classes! It has been a thrilling ride over the last 8 months as everyone excitedly watched the classrooms and biogas latrines being constructed, but now we are embarking on the next giant step forward at SSVC.

The inaugural 50 senior one students will spend the first week settling in and making the adjustment from primary to secondary education. This is an exciting and challenging time in every child's education but for children from remote, rural Uganda, who may have thought they would never have an opportunity to attend secondary school, it is almost unbelievable to be starting their secondary education at SSVC in their village!

Navuga Maria showed her enthusiasm by being the very first student to arrive at SSVC on Monday morning.

Head teacher, Robert Walugembe and his deputy, Lydia Nabadda were also in their office bright and early to make final preparations for classes to begin.

Students were excited to finally be seated in Zadini's class on their very first day of secondary college.

They busily took notes about how everything will run at SSVC this year.

Once orientation week is complete both the students and our enthusiastic staff are keen to get stuck into the many academic and vocational subjects that will be taught throughout the year. In the not to distant future, students will also be guided to set up their own home based projects. Small initiatives, such as raising local chickens at home to sell their eggs, will be set up by each student and their family. The project will become part of the students day to day learning and families will meet regularly at the school so they can be guided and learn from each others experiences. As well as this, the school will work with the students and their families to help them find a market for what they produce - selling as a group, rather than individually will give them a greater chance of succeeding. On an ongoing basis, these home based projects will create an income that will make it possible for the families to pay their school fees.

The enthusiastic teaching staff who will be the guiding light for Suubi students:

(L-R) Robert Walugembe - Head Teacher, Samuel Kyalubimba - Computer Teacher, Deogratious Tinjebwa - Biology /Agriculture, Ssemwogerere David - Suubi Centre Director, Kasosi Emanuel - Suubi Clinic staff member, Richard Ssebadhuka - Chemistry/physics, Nabadda Lydia Luganda/Chrisitian Religious studies and Deputy Headteacher, Ssamula Moses Mathmatics Teacher.

As we said at the start of this post, this is just the beginning of a very exciting journey ahead for Suubi Secondary & Vocational College. We will have lots more photos coming shortly as students and teachers settle in so please remember to check in regularly to see what is happening.

A huge thank you goes out to each and everyone who has helped to get us to this point. It is truly amazing what can be achieved when so many people work together! Webale nnyo, nnyo, nnyo!

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Suubi Secondary School Blog

1-8-2015, Foundation Work Begins On The New Workshop

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24-7-2015, Workshop/Kitchen Construction Begins At SSVC

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24-7-2015, SSVC Students On Agricultural Study Excursion

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30-6-2015, SSVC Home-based Chicken Project Thriving

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13-5-2015, Students Enjoying Holiday Vocational Training

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24-4-2015, 1st Term Ends With World Malaria Day Event

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27-3-2015, Monthly Meeting For Home-based Projects Begin

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14-3-2015, SSVC Showcased At Graduation Party

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20-2-2015, Home Based Projects Kick Off

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2-2-2015, Classes Begin At SSCV

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