Day 7 was low in activity since we only had to water the gardens. The challenge was in fetching water from a nearby borehole and using one watering can. The boys helped a lot with the pumping of water which is a tiresome activity.We are starting the naming process of our plots so that we can produce them on scale.
Later on in the day we took off time to start on the design of the agro-play and this made the whole camp enjoyable. Thanks to our teacher Penina Amulen- a senior six on vacation who seems to love community work. She was the head of the Mathematics community project even when she offered History at A-level. Penina was a student of Music at Gayaza High School and her performance in Music, dance and drama competitions was excellent. She is now tasked with guiding the young farmers in producing a play to be recorded that should encourage the youth to take up agriculture and we are happy to have her.
On Day 8 we went off for a tour at Katende Harambe rural-urban training centre in Namugongo. http://www.katendeagrotraining.com . It is amazing how an individual sets up an educational centre that is so inspiring that we all left ready to replicate the practices we saw. From rabbit rearing to fish farming; from Doddo gardens to the Matooke garden; from mushroom growing to silk worms all was worth the visit. We met with two other groups from Makerere University touring and this said a lot about this institute. I think we have found the story that we must read in detail and change the face of our farm. I was in company of our farm manager and one of the teachers of agriculture and I hope and pray that we all catch the same vision. The 26 children we took had a nice time and when we returned to the camp we reviewed the day and agreed to start on a few practices we learnt tomorrow. Interestingly some were visiting Namugongo for the first time and they had chance to see the catholic shrines. In fact one of the children joked and said he thought they had visited America. The fact is that some children were able to travel furthest in their life time and chance they owe to the garden plots they are working on and this is a good thought.