As the COVID-19 cases decline in Uganda, schools are reopening! This is wonderful news for students and teachers alike! Due to the quick pace of the reopening, there was a problem, schools hadn’t collected school fees in a year, and supplies were limited. This is where Changemakers 365 comes in! Our team worked with the teachers to figure out what they needed to teach their classes. They came up with a list: laptops, projector, projector screen, notebooks for teachers, textbooks, cleaning materials, hand sanitizer, moveable chalkboard, chalk sticks, drawing boards, thermometer gun, and art materials. The team got right to work and went to procure the items for the teachers! The teachers were delighted to receive the new school supplies! “Most of our students have not yet paid their school fees and that’s means we are not able to provide to the teachers all the necessary equipment’s required for the teaching, with this support the teachers will be able to teach the … [Read more...] about Reopening Education

The focus of today’s 365 idea is to beautify the library. Library staff wants to create an exciting space outside of the library to match the inside. A wonderful plan was hatched to make the outdoor space for learning as well! The idea was a kitchen garden! Kitchen gardening is something anyone can do and enjoy. It helps make the community greener and supplies delicious and nutritious food. This garden had herbs, vegetables, and fruits - and who doesn’t like a nice fresh piece of fruit?! "We will have lots of green vegetables to balance our diet. This had greatly inspired me to start up a small-scale vegetable gardening at home for self-reliance" says 36-year-old. Ivan Nyarimana Congolese security guard at the library The garden is now growing and so is the anticipation of the delicious food to come. … [Read more...] about Growing Smiles

Everyone can use a little professional development! There’s always room for improvement. Maybe it's brushing up on interview skills or learning new ways of managing people, no matter what skill are always ways to be improving. Today in the Nakivale library, the staff wanted to provide just that – a learning opportunity. The team offered training in a ton of different topics! The topics were teamwork, conflict resolution, time management, communication skills, ways of promoting the library, customer care, and handling, and general information on the management of the information resource Centre. The training was a great success! When asked about the experience, Obadiah associate librarian said that “This is very good for us as incentive workers because such workshops help us to acquire new knowledge concerning the library.” Carine Muhoza an incentive worker said that “this is a very good treat for library staff I feel thought about. Excellent idea library crew and way to … [Read more...] about Professional Development

The Nakivale community library is a hub of information and learning. The perfect place to visit and connect with others. Inside the building is a thriving community. But what about the outside? Today, our story is all about spreading information outside of the library. Our teams knew that there was a problem with the spread of information about what the library was. People see the building but didn’t know what it was or how to use it. Our teams wanted to spread the message and spread the message fast so we got right to work. Hiring a communication van, a large vehicle with a speaker on top of it that spreads a message like an audio billboard, the message was out! The van told about the services the library offered - art classes, reading classes, storytelling sessions, and much more. “I was seeing the big building in the fence and I didn’t know what was going on inside there, now that you have informed us. I will be a regular user of the library, thank you Alight for … [Read more...] about Extra Extra, Hear All About It

The Nakivale library is nicely outfitted on the inside. Filled with books, tables, all sorts of wonderful things people need to learn. Now we shift our focus to the outside of the building. We all know you can’t judge a book by its cover but a building does always look more appealing with some nice paint! For creating an attractive, vibrant sense of place, wall art in a community is as important as appealing as a good storefront. It adds enormous value to the cultural, aesthetic and economic vitality of a community. It is now a well-accepted principle of urban design that public art contributes to a community’s identity, fosters community pride and a sense of belonging and enhances the quality of life for its residents and visitors. Murals create a tangible sense of place, destination, resulting in increased foot traffic while adding color, vibrancy, and character to the structure and community. Public art plays a vital role in public space because it adds creativity to the … [Read more...] about A Pop of Color

The Nakivale library has been growing in popularity! People are now visiting looking for not only a reading experience but to learn how to do other skills such as drawing. Because books can transfer all kinds of knowledge, the teachers wanted to mix some drawing books into the library's catalog. Jumping into action, our team tracked down the people who would have the knowledge of what the perfect books for learning to draw would be! Using the guidance of community artists, the library purchased 50 copies of drawing books covering topics from portraits to landscapes! Gabriel Dibwe from Nyandja Arts said that “these books will help Nyandja arts learners and library users on how to become professional artists as they will be their instructional materials.” These books will help usher in a new generation of Nakivale artists and we can’t wait to see what they draw! … [Read more...] about Learning to Draw

The Nakivale library is a relatively new addition to the settlement. Because reading is some important to youth development the library is always looking for new ways to bring young people in. Cue the creative corner! Our team on the ground wanted to help the library accomplish their dream of the creative corner so we got right to work! Lego sets, puzzles, arts & crafts, and educational games all now fill the creative corner! These are perfect for getting children to come spend time in the library expanding their minds and being around for storytelling hours. Through these sessions, children share their feelings, thoughts and learn social behaviors that help build their reading habits. “These materials are going to be of great impact to our library, we shall have more children coming to read and this will also help advertise the library to the community, we have more children coming to the library which also makes our work more interesting.” Said Saidi the library … [Read more...] about Fun for everyone!

Today we are back in Nakivale and we are tackling handwashing! COVID-19 has brought handwashing into the spotlight in a way like never before. One of the main measures that can be uses to prevent infection is handwashing and so we wanted to make sure refugees have access to handwashing facilities. The problem is that the current handwashing facilities are high touch but lucky for us Opportunigee is here to save the day! Opportunigee developed an amazing handwashing foot pedal that allows the washer to turn on and off the water without touching anything. “This mechanized handwashing facility will help us improve on the handwashing practice in the community and everyone who will visit this office must wash hands before entering any office because this is the only way we are able to fight this disease. Thank you for the partnership and also supporting the district in the implementation of the government directives,” said the Refugee Liaison Officer. Together with … [Read more...] about Hands-free Handwashing

In the wake of COVID-19, Changemakers 365 teamed up with Opportunigee Women group– a community-based group comprised of 15 members, to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak. The group was initially engaged in bar soap making and distribution at the reception Centre. Because of the importance of soap availability, Changemakers 365 saw a new way to partner with Opportunigee Women, through soap making! We were able to provide enough materials to make 8,000 bars of soap! This soap was distributed to the newly settled refugees in Nakivale! “From the time the pandemic was officially announced in Uganda the prices of essential items like soap have gone high and UNHCR distributes 2 pieces of soap on monthly basis per individual but considering health guidelines, it is not sufficient for washing hands, bathing and washing clothes, Bar soap is one of the most wanted items for the cleaning at the household level and in this period of time more cleaning and hand washing is required this makes … [Read more...] about Scrubbing Away to Keep the COVID at Bay

It’s no surprise that masks are in high demand in Nakivale refugee settlement. Just like where you live, masks are encouraged and an important part of keeping yourself and others safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Probably also similar to where you live, masks are more difficult to come by, this is where Changemakers comes in! We quickly found a women’s tailoring group who had more students then machines to teach on. “I only have two tailoring machines and yet I have 6 people to train so they have been coming in shifts and it does not give me time to rest because I have work the whole day to fulfill my shifts and ensure that my students get services,” says the trainer at Kiretwa center. Quickly, we procured 4 new sewing machines for the group to expand their operation! These machines will train more people and also help increase income from the masks that they make. “I would like to thank ALIGHT for bringing these machines in our village because they are going to help our … [Read more...] about Stitching Together Community Health