Today we are at Rubondo secondary school in Nakivale. In order to finish secondary school, you must complete the final exams which require a lot of preparation. For the students of Rubondo, when the sun is gone so are your chances to study. This gave our staff the idea for today’s Changemakers 365 - solar powered lights! These lights will help illuminate students’ studies, increase safety, and overall makes for a better environment at the school. “I am going to encourage parents to send their students for evening classes to help them boost their performance because the school is fully lighted and will support both the secondary and primary students in their reading, thank you Alight for the support to the school.” Said one of the parents of the school. Now the students will have increased time and opportunities to study! … [Read more...] about Secure and Solar

Today we are in Nakivale and focusing on mothers – future mothers to be exact. At the maternity ward in Rubondo, a part of the settlement far away from other health services, there lies a building with no accessible light. Seeing as babies do not respect people’s schedules when a baby is born at night there can be issues! Our team got right to work installing solar power into the building. “We have been suffering at night as caregivers that we couldn’t move out for short or long calls in the night due to fear, this solar will be very helpful to us mothers in this community and also the doctors will be able to attend to us when we come at night which, makes us feel safer and assured of services.” Said Franscine one of the mothers at the maternity ward. A police officer named Amooti told us, “This new solar system is going to ease our night inspection works as it provides for security lights that were not on the old system and it also has more panels and batteries that we hope can … [Read more...] about Lighting Up the Maternity Ward

Today our COVID-19 response brings us back to Nakivale Uganda. Everyone knows to stop the spread of the virus you need to wash your hands but what happens when you don’t have soap to wash with? Today, our teams are tackling the issue of lack of soap in Nakivale. Through this Changemakers 365 project, we were able to provide raw materials for making 8,000 liters of liquid soap. That’s a lot of soap to go around! The soap will be going to different community members, busy places like reception center, hospitals, police, and offices. Joseph at MTI told us, “From the time the pandemic was officially announced in Uganda the prices of essential items like soap have gone high and yet for the health facility liquid soap is one of the most wanted items for the cleaning of the facilities and in this period of time more cleaning and hand washing is required this makes the facility strained, thank Alight for the support and being thoughtful in this trying moment.” This change made possible … [Read more...] about Sanitation for Days

Today is the last day of setting up a new quarantine space in Nakivale. As part of our COVID-19 response, we’ve been working with our teams on the ground to identify what changes we can make to control the spread of the virus. In refugee settlements, space is an issue that presents a problem for social distancing. Over the last couple of days, we’ve been setting up a new quarantine space and today we put on the finishing touches. The final touch comes in the form of water basins. Our team procured 30 water basins so that everyone who is in the quarantine space can easily wash themselves and their clothes. These basins have multiple uses and will be able to provide a sense of normalcy to patients during these times as basins are commonly found in everyday life. “Thank you Alight for the support,” one medical worker said as the last supplies were delivered. With quarantine space ready to go, our staff are feeling much better and more well equipped to take on anything that may come … [Read more...] about Wash Wash Wash Your Hands

Today, we are back in Nakivale continuing our COVID-19 preparation. Our response in Nakivale has been focused on creating a quarantine space in the event of COVID-19 reaching the settlement. We’ve got beds, blankets, and today our staff had another great idea! Their idea was jerry cans for holding water. During this time people are going to need water to drink, wash their hands, and for cooking. The ability to keep their water with them will help with social distancing and reducing the need for excess movement. These quarantine spaces are slowly but surely becoming a human worthy place of recovery. “On behalf of OPM, I am pleased and happy for your immediate support that is great and lifesaving, if all organizations in the settlement would respond with such a positive attitude then we shall overcome this challenge as on big family with much strength,” the Deputy commandant told us. This change made possible by Tradition Capital Bank. … [Read more...] about Water at the Ready

Changemakers 365 is back in Nakivale and we are focused on providing things the staff needs for COVID-19 preparation. We’ve been hard at work setting up an isolation space that is comfortable and human worthy. As everyone in the world is experiencing right now, two weeks is quite a long time to be apart for everything and so we want to make these spaces as comfortable as possible. We had already added beds to these isolation spaces, so the natural next step was blankets! Our team procured 30 blankets so that during their stay, patients will be comfortable and warm as they recover. This is a great example of how simple changes that add up to a huge difference in the lives of those we serve. “CM365 has always been our hope in Nakivale, we are always grateful for their immediate intervention in the community concerns and this has made our working more simplified and effective in all aspects, thank you to changemaker team,” said Rebecca the team lead. This change made possible by … [Read more...] about Not Just a Blanket Fix

Today our global COVID-19 response is all about spreading awareness. In places like Nakivale, many people are not aware of the virus, it’s effects or preventative measures. Our teams also noticed how much misinformation about the virus is being spread, things like Ugandan’s cannot get the virus. Our teams came up with a great idea to spread information easily. At the reception center, the place that refugees first enter the camp, the teams knew they could help spread correct information about the virus if they just had a way! Their idea - megaphones! These megaphones allow them to spread important messages about handwashing, social distancing, and about proper action to take if you think you have the virus. Thanks to our quick-acting staff, the megaphones are in daily use and the health messages are being spread. Well done Nakivale crew and excellent work keeping the community safe! This change made possible by Tradition Capital Bank. … [Read more...] about Amplifying Awareness

Today’s COVID-19 response brings us to Nakivale Uganda. As preparation begins for COVID-19 response in Nakivale our staff identified an issue. With the number one way to prevent the spread of the virus being social distancing, we needed a place for quarantine. A space that we can immediately transfer cases to the quarantine space which will reduce on the risk of spread and should any positive cases arise. Once we had found the place, we needed a soft place to rest. We got right to work and picked up 30 mattresses to make our quarantine spaces a comfortable place to rest. Deo one of the leaders of Medical Teams International told us, “With thus support we feel our burden has been offloaded am sure we shall be able to attend this ever growing number of suspects and this will also create great hope and courage to my staff and trust in the community, we are ready to receive the cases and transport the suspect to the institutional quarantine area where were shall have close … [Read more...] about Sleeping Sound and Separate

For the past few days, we’ve explored a bit further into the benefits of having a bright light in your pocket – a solar-powered headlamps from Watts of Love. Today is our last day in Nakivale for a while, so we wanted to be sure our last headlamps went to folks who could really need them, but that we haven’t met quite yet. The ARC teams in Nakivale had an idea. People with disabilities living in Juru – a rural area of the large settlement – don’t have a lot of resources to support them. It’s their families that take care of them, but they’re struggling to get by, too. “Many people with disabilities rely on one family member or sometimes two for everything,” said Doreck from the ARC team. “Any extra support they can get goes a long way.” So today, we wanted to give our last lot of Watts of Love headlamps to people with disabilities in Juru who our team has identified as particularly in need. A tool to rely on at night, that will help them see a little … [Read more...] about Some Extra Support

We all know what it’s like to cram all night for an exam. It’s stressful, but you can make it through with some coffee, good music, and a friend or two to keep you company. But there’s one absolute necessity that you may have taken for granted as a student – access to electricity. Without something to light up your books, papers, or charge your computer, how could you possibly get your work done? But as the students at Nakivale’s only high school are preparing for their own final exams, those are the very challenges they face. “We don’t have a generator,” says Issah, a senior student getting ready to graduate. “When the power is out, your work is done.” While this may seem like the perfect excuse to skip out on studying, for the high school students in Nakivale this can be a real detriment to their education. And for kids like Issah, who loves history and wants to be a journalist, they’re looking to soak in all the knowledge they can get. “I love history because it tells … [Read more...] about Getting Ready to Graduate