WE TALK TO EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY - It is only from these conversations that we can identify needs where we have the skills and experience to help the community develop. We have a number of projects being delivered currently. These include Community Fire Safety, Capacity Building and supporting the Sustainable Development of this vibrant community.

Fire Safety

We also use football as a vehicle to introduce the safety messages to young people. We offer coaching sessions (using FA qualified coaches) on the condition that those attending have had fire safety training first.

There is a great need for Fire Safety Education/Awareness throughout the whole community - but especially so in schools, because that is where the future lies. Newspapers regularly carry stories about a fire in which children have died - and these fires are often in school dormitories.

The aim of the project is to give every school pupil in Mityana some Fire Safety Education and make them more aware of the dangers of fire. Whilst carrying out this work we train student primary school teachers in Colleges to ensure that the message is sustainable.

in the past three years, we have trained over 40,000 school children and more than 1,000 student teachers
in basic fire safety. We have also provided basic equipment and trained the local police in defensive fire fighting [the nearest fire engine in Kampala 1.5 hours away !]. That training is required because more children die in fires caused by candle misuse than from gunfire.

The training, using interactive lessons, includes basic fire prevention, what to do when fire occurs, and, critically, evacuation procedures. The training is provided by a team of professionals from Fire and Rescue Services across the UK.

Water and Sanitation

The District Public Health Officer has recognised the lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation around Lake Wamala as being the cause of some of the most significant disease issues within the whole District. The most significant diseases are malaria, typhoid and diarrhoea, with bilharzias prevalent around the lake shore We decided to work with the community to tackle this problem.

Our project will purchase and install a 70,000 litre capacity tank for rainwater harvesting and 20 urinary diversion toilets. Four members of the village will be employed to run and maintain the facilities as well as to provide training and education to the rest of the community. This training and education will be on-going and ultimately make the scheme self financing and sustainable.

Capacity Building

We are working closely with the District and Town Councils to provide a progressive series of workshops for the Senior Managers and elected Councillors on key subjects such as transparency community engagement, disaster and emergency planning, sustainable development and environmental health. This training will have a major impact, particularly for women, allowing them to have a clear and constructive voice with elected representatives. It will also provide more confidence in the financial integrity of the local councils, a coherent and well structured policy on sustainable development and significant improvements to hygiene, sanitation and water supply.