There’s no age limit on having a big heart. Six year old Megan from New York heard about the water crisis in Africa and wanted to help. Megan held sponsored read-a-thons amongst other things and managed to raise $1000 all on her own.
For Miriam’s 8th birthday she decided that instead of gifts she would ask her friends to help children in Africa, so she sent out an invitation with this written on it; Please don’t bring a gift for me – We will make a cool group present while you are here. For my birthday, I would like to make a donation to a charity. I would like to help dig a well for a school in Africa. If each of you brings $5 instead of a present I will send the money to help children who don’t have clean water.
The name of the woman pictured here is Gune Sylvia Mikaya. She is the Headmistress of the Lire Secondary School in South Sudan.
She graciously allowed us to interview her after the well was installed at the school.
Question: What is your educational background?
Answer: Because of the civil war in Sudan, I had my education in Uganda right from the lower level to the University of Makerere where I graduated with a degree in Education.
Question: When and how did you join Lire Secondary School?
Answer: (she smiles) I joined Lire Secondary as the Headmistress in 2007 after the person who was the Headmaster before failed to satisfy the expectations of the Board of Governors.
Question: How has the water situation been in this school?
Answer: The situation has been worse, especially when students have to move two kilometers to the nearest borehole . This has not only been hectic, but time consuming as well. It has also been making it very hard to control the discipline of the students. What makes it worse is when students fight with the community for water because of who should take water first.
Question: Would you like to pass a message to the donor?
Answer: (she pauses for a minute) I actually have run out of words, I don’t know where to begin and where to stop. I appreciate the donor for providing us with very clean and abundant water, which I know will save our lives, save us time and improve community-school relationships.
Question: Are there any challenges you have had to face?
Answer: Of course!! As a woman controlling the behavior of men on the staff, it is hard given the cultural background of women being under men. But I keep myself focused and ready to meet any challenge.
Amoko Anthony Alibe is the headmaster from the Stars of Hope Primary School in Malakia near Nimule in the Equatoria District of South Sudan.
Anthony was born in 1978 in a village,not far from the school where he now teaches, called Matara. Unfortunately, In 1989 the LRA attacked Anthony’s village and he had to leave Sudan for a refugee camp in Uganda.
Although life in the refugee camp was tough for Anthony. The educational he was able to receive in Uganda was considerably better than the one he would have received in Sudan, so Anthony was able to stay in Uganda and get his secondary education in Ajumani. After graduating he went for his teacher training at the Arua Primary Teachers College in Arua, Uganda. Two years later he returned to Ajumani and taught for another two years. Anthony loved teaching and the students loved his enthusiasm for the work. At the Uganda Martyrs University he received his Masters degree and after three years later he returned to Sudan.
In 2008 Anthony became the headmaster and English teacher at the Stars of Hope Primary School in Magwi county. There he was in charge of over 704 primary students and 241 nursery students.
“I had the skills to be a teacher, but never realized that you become a role model to the students, in every way imaginable,” Anthony reflected.
Before the well was drilled the school had to walk 1 km every day for water, which doesn’t seem as far as many schools in South Sudan, but when you take into account just how much water a school of nearly 1,000 students needs on a daily basis you start to look at it with different eyes. Every day the school’s cooks and other workers would walk with 15 jerry cans 3 times a day! Sometimes the had to pull students away from their studies to help with fetching water.
Stars of Hope is unusual for South Sudan in that it provides the children with food every day. For some of these kids this may be the only food they will eat all day, but the school needed water to be able to prepare the children’s lunch.
The nearest well was in the middle of town and being used by a lot of people , so there were always long lines for the water. “Sometimes,” Anthony explains, “the borehole in town will be so congested that the children will simply go without food for a day.”
Everyone at Stars of Hope is very happy about the new well. “We thank Drop in the Bucket and their donors for what they’ve done here for this school,” Anthony proclaims. “We shall never forget this moment in the history of Stars of Hope.”
This project was a collaboration between Drop in the Bucket and our friends at Water Harvest. Thanks to Steven and everyone at WHI for their hard work and dedication to the project. Also thanks to Godfrey Lilia for the photo and story.
A little bit of change can go a long way… Never take for granted the power of change. Eight year old Brayden of Colorado collected and donated all of his change to Drop in the Bucket. “I want to help Africa. I hope this money helps.” Thank you Brayden! Your generous contribution helped to provide clean, accessible water to children in Uganda.
Among other methods, the young students of the LaFrancis Hardiman School in Wyandach, New York raised money over three months byrecycling cans and bottles. Thanks to the kindergarten, first and second graders of this school, children thousands of miles away enjoy the right to clean drinking water everyday. Congratulations on your accomplishments LaFrancis Hardiman School, and thank you for helping Drop in the Bucket provide another community with safe, disease-free water.
Water you waiting for? If a student body of only 190 can raise $7000 in a week, imagine what your school can do. Students’ innovative fundraising methods helped spark the interest of the community, which helped them attain their goal. The Meridian Medical Arts Charter High School in Idaho became the first school in America to provide a complete water system in Uganda through their donation to Drop in the Bucket. Thank you for your commitment to community awareness as well as your donations!
The well at the Alworo Primary School of 593 children was completed in February 2008. The toilets, septics, hand-washing station, roundabout pump and underground reservoir tank soon followed. This was also the first school at which we upgraded the doors from wooden doors to steel doors.
Alworo Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) yield incredible results
While building wells is our main focus, we have also implemented several Village Savings and Loans (VSLA) programs in villages throughout Uganda, and we’ve seen tremendous results! We’ve established 13 programs so far, and they’ve worked so well we’re eager to establish more. Not only do the VSLAs promote small-scale economic development within the communities, but they also serve as well organized advocates for proper maintenance of the water and sanitation facilities. What’s more, they’ve resulted in many women earning money for the first time in their lives!
Each group has approximately 30 members who can save, borrow and lend money generated from village contributions. One successful VSLA is the Alworo VSLA in Lira, Uganda,
Alex Ogwang (man on right of photo in yellow shirt) used his loan to buy animal skins, which he sells to local agents who work for companies making leather shoes, belts and bags. This has enabled him to turn a profit that he uses to educate his seven children and buy livestock for his family.
Esther Okulo (center) used her loan to buy a “Mama” pig that had six piglets. She kept three and sold three, and used her profit to buy ingredients for selling meals at the local trading center. She put that profit toward educating her two children at a local boarding school.
The villagers also use the funds to maintain the wells in their communities, and help develop their money management skills and build self-esteem. With your support, we can establish more VSLA programs that enable villagers to achieve financial independence and support and educate their families.
Learn more about the VSLA programs,
Our good friend Robinah set up a nursery school named after her father in Imanyiro. She also runs a Primary school in the Jinja area, but “Pop’s Place” in Imanyiro is a particularly great school. Rather than trying to educate hungry children, Robinah makes sure that all the school children get to eat at least one nutritious meal daily, and now they also have a well.
