Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
GULU DISTRICT
From the People of Japan
The Republic of Uganda
A Pictorial
Report
The Republic of Uganda
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
A Pictorial Report GULU DISTRICT
From the People of Japan
Published for UNICEF Uganda P.O Box 7047, Kampala, Uganda COWI LTD Crusader House P.O Box 10591 Kampala, Uganda By: Advanced Communications Ltd, P.O Box 11670, Kampala, Uganda E-mail: info@advancedcommunications-ea.com www.advancedcommunications-ea.com ŠUNICEF Uganda. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of UNICEF and her partners.
Table of Contents Page
Page
Bobi Foundation Primary School
3
Pawel Ayiga Primary School
11
Coopil Primary School
4
St. Marys Lapinyoloya P S
12
Gwengdiya Primary School
5
St. Martin’s Lukome P S
13
Lamintoo Primary School
6
Awach health center IV
14
Loyo Ajonga Primary School
7
Odek Health Center
15
Minja Primary School
8
Tegoot Atoo Health Center
16
Orapwoyo Primary School
9
Patiko Health Center
17
Pagik Primary School
10
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Introduction This report has been compiled by COWI Ltd to document the developmental contributions by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the reconstruction of schools and health centers in six districts in Northern Uganda that were affected by the insurgency in the past 20 years. It portrays the reconstruction efforts for works executed by UNICEF with funding from the government of Japan in the then districts of Gulu, Amuru, Kitgum, Pader, Lira and Oyam. It is important to note that other districts have since been curved out of the six districts and it shouldn’t be surprising to find that some of the institutions dwelt on in this report are now actually found under different districts. The project was implemented by UNICEF with funding from the Government of Japan and was executed under the supervision of COWI Ltd. The project construction activities commenced in August 2009 and were substantially completed in June 2010.
Project background Two decades of armed conflict between the Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) resulted in a complex humanitarian situation in northern Uganda, notably in Acholi and Lango sub-regions characterised by massive internal displacement of people. More than 1.8 million people were forced to shift from their homes by the insurgency to the more secure Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) camps where the Uganda government forces offered them protection. This led to drastic deterioration or even outright collapse of infrastructure particularly schools and health centers due to abandonment and lack of main-
tenance. The existing facilities were abandoned while temporary facilities were set up at the IDP centers till the insurgency subsided. With positive developments in 2006, the humanitarian situation in northern Uganda gradually improved and by the end of September 2007, more than half of the formerly displaced people had been repatriated with over half a million settling permanently in their original villages. The return has certainly not been smooth as almost all families had to return to destroyed, damaged or dilapidated facilities and infrastructure and in most cases, a stark lack of institutional, social and economic structures. Not only did the conflict disrupt the provision of critical social services such as primary health care and education, it also contributed to the breakdown of traditional community structures for support and assistance. Through the Child Friendly Environment and Community Empowerment (CFE) project, UNICEF with support from the government of Japan embarked on a comprehensive rehabilitation process that saw the revitalization of two of the most critical services impacting the survival and development of children in these regions. These comprised services in primary schools and the health care facilities. In October 2008 UNICEF with funding from the government of Japan contracted COWI, an engineering consulting firm to offer technical expertise in the aspects of design, planning, tendering and post contract supervision of rehabilitation and construction of new facilities in 72 schools and 24 health centre facilities in the 6 districts. The project was aimed at improving education, hygiene, sanitation and
safe water access especially by the children in these areas. The total project cost was approximately USD 5 million (12 billion Uganda shillings) and covered 4 districts in the Acholi sub region (i.e. Amuru, Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader ) and 2 in Lango subregion (i.e. Lira and Oyam). In all, 72 primary schools and 24 health centres were targeted to be improved. This project was effectively completed in November 2010.
Project objectives and achievements The overall objective of the project was to ensure that after the conflict, children and women were placed at the centre of the recovery and development process in northern Uganda, and that the facility based structures of the formal sector are strengthened with the ownership and participation of communities:The project has so far achieved the following:1. A remarkable improvement in access to primary education by the children in the region through provision of sound classroom structures, scholastic and recreational materials. 2. A remarkable improvement in the provision of safe and clean water in schools and health centres with improved sanitation through provision of sanitation and hand-washing facilities 3. Improvement in teachers’ commitment and morale through provision of decent staff houses and sanitation facilities. 4. A remarkable improvement of health care service delivery
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Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District through rehabilitation of health centres and related sanitation facilities.
About Gulu district
10. 11.
At the time of Uganda’s independence in 1962, the entire Acholi subregion formed what was then known as Acholi District. This was later divided into East Acholi and West Acholi districts in 1974 which were subsequently renamed Kitgum and Gulu respectively in 1980. Today, Gulu is one of the districts that make up the Acholi sub-region, the other districts being Kitgum, Pader and Amuru.
12.
Pawel Ayiga Primary School St Mary’s Lapiny Oloya Primary School St Martins Lukome Primay School
Health Centers 1. Odek health Center 2. Awach Health Center 3. Tegoot Atoo Health Center 4. Patiko Health Center
Map showing location of Gulu district
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GULU
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The CFE project covered the following institutions in Gulu district:Schools:1. Bobi Foundation School 2. Coopil Primary School 3. Gwengdiya Primary School 4. Lamintoo Primary School 5. Lapuda Primary School 6. Loyo Ajonga Primary School 7. Minja Primary School 8. Orapwoyo Primary School 9. Pagik Primary school
Adjumani
Arua
Kayung
CFE project coverage in Gulu
Kitgum
Yumbe Maracha
Ntungamo
Gulu district has a population of over 468,407 of which 240,226 are female and 228,181 male. It accommodates the biggest town in northern Uganda which makes the district partly rural and partly metropolitan. At the time of assessment for the CFE project, the district had a total of 220 primary schools - 217 government, 3 private and 8 community owned. The district also had 26 Government dispensaries or health center II, 14 health centres III at county level, 3 health centres IV and two hospitals, one of which is a referral hospital. It had two private/ NGO dispensaries, 25 private clinics and two private hospitals.
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Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Bobi Foundation Primary School Bobi Foundation School is located in Bobi Sub-county, fairly close to the Gulu-Kampala highway. At the time of assessment, the school had a population of 323 children (167 boys and 156 girls), 7 government-paid teachers and was one of the few schools in the district that had all 7 classrooms all in good condition, furnished with desks and in use. It also had a separate head teacher’s office and staff room, in good condition. The school had no accommodation for teachers and as a consequence, all the teachers commuted from the nearby Minakulu and Palenga towns approximately 5 and 10 km away respectively. The school had 5-stance latrines in very poor condition, but still in use with four stances allocated to girls while one was for boys. The teachers had no separate toilet facility and thus either had to share with the pupils or went to the nearby Onono Memorial Secondary School.
The only existing toilet facility at Bobi P S before CFE
There was a borehole within the school compound in good working condition which would have been supported by the rain water harvesting tank but was not functional because of missing roof collection gutters and broken controls. There was neither hand washing facilities nor drinking water storage for both teachers and pupils. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following intervention:i) Construction of one block of 5-stance latrines for boys with hand washing facilities.
The newly completed toilet facility
3
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Coopil Primary School Coopil Primary School is located in Paichoo Sub-county. At the time of assessment, the school had an enrolment of 170 (81 boys and 89 girls), with 9 teachers. According to the head teacher, over 700 pupils had been enrolled in previous years but had left to join other schools which had better facilities. The school had 7 classrooms all of which were smaller than the standard size recommended by the Ministry of Education & Sports.
The existing latrine in use before CFE intervention
Newly constructed toilet facility just before completion
Though the classrooms were in use, the floors, doors, windows as well as the roofs had never been completed and were in bad state. The dirt floor made the classrooms susceptible to termites as seen by the mounds in the picture. The teachers were housed in mud and wattle grass-thatched huts constructed by parents. Although the school had a functioning borehole about 150 metres from the school, it had only make shift latrines. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Renovation of seven classrooms. (ii) Construction of one blocks of latrines, with hand washing facilities
Termite mounds in one of the classrooms
The rehabilitated classroom block before completion
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Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Gwengdiya Primary School Gwengdiya Primary School is located in Awach Sub-county and at the time of assessment had an enrolment of 441 (178 boys and 194 girls), with 9 teachers. The school had six classrooms one of which was being used as an office leaving only five effective classrooms. Three of the classrooms required rehabilitation of the floors, windows and walls. Teachers were accommodated in grass thatched huts constructed by the community. The school had only one block of a 4-stance latrine with a borehole about 100 metres from the school which was not fully functional and needed rehabilitation. The rain water harvesting system was also not functional. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Rehabilitation of classrooms, staff and store room. (ii) Rehabilitation of the school borehole.
Teacher’s houses constructed by the community
Newly refurbished classroom block
5
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Lamintoo Primary School Lamintoo Primary School is located in Paichoo Sub-county with an enrolment of 319 children. at the time of intervention, many of the families had not yet returned to the area although the school had been re-opened following the return of a few families. The school didn’t have enough classrooms but had 7 teachers who were housed in the grass thatched huts near the school. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Construction of a 2 classroom block. (ii) Construction of a 5-stance block of latrines. New classroom block near completion
Existing teacher’s house
New toilet block near completion
6
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Loyo Ajonga Primary School Loyo Ajonga Primary School is located in Lalogi Sub-county. At the time of assessment the school had an enrolment of 645 pupils (353 boys and 292 girls), with 8 government-paid and 2 parentpaid teachers. It had four classrooms, one of which was used as a store. All the rooms were in a dilapidated state and required rehabilitation especially on the floors, doors and windows. These were supplemented by a tent provided by UNICEF. Parents had constructed 9 grass thatched huts for housing the teachers.
Old teachers’ houses
Newly constructed teachers’ house
The old dilapidated classroom block
Newly constructed classroom block
Existing toilet facilities
Newly constructed toilet block
The school had 3 makeshift latrine stances for girls and 4 for boys, all of them in bad condition and had no borehole in its vicinity. The nearest water source was about 2 km away while the rain water harvesting system was not functional. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Construction of one block of two classrooms. (ii) Construction of a staff house. (iii) Construction of one block 5-stance VIP latrines . (iv) Provision of a borehole.
A tent classroom provided by UNICEF
7
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Minja Primary School Minja Primary School is located in Lalogi Sub-county. At the time of assessment, the school had an enrolment of 614 (333 boys and 281 girls) under the superintendence of 9 teachers. It had 7 incomplete classrooms. Although they were in use, they were dilapidated and required rehabilitation especially of the floors, doors, and windows. The school had a 5-stance latrine block for girls and a 3-stance for boys that were in good condition but were not sufficient for its population. The school had a functioning borehole about 150 metres from the school and a rainwater harvesting system. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following intervention:i) Construction of 5-stance latrines for boys with hand-washing facilities.
The newly constructed latrine
8
The existing classroom block
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Orapwoyo Primary School Orapwoyo Primary School is located in Binya Parish, Odek Sub-county. It had an enrolment of 452 pupils (237 boys and 215 girls) with 4 government-paid teachers at the time of intervention. The school had 4 classrooms, in poor condition and were obviously short of the rooms expected in a full primary school. As a consequence, pupils in P1 & P2 shared a classroom, and P3 & P4 did the same. Some of the rooms were used as head teacher’s office, store and staff room. There were no decent teachers’ houses, but parents had built grass thatched huts. The school had a total of 15 latrine stances; 5 for boys and 5 for girls in good condition, and another 5 stances that had been newly built by the district local government awaiting commissioning. There was a borehole in good working condition within the school compound.
Inside one of the old classrooms
Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following intervention:(i) Construction of one block of 2 classrooms, a store and head teacher’s office.
A newly built classroom block
9
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Pagik Primary School Pagik Primary School is located in Paichoo Sub-county. At the time of assessment, the school had an enrolment of 788 (431 boys and 357 girls). It had 5 classrooms in good condition and a borehole nearby but had no latrines at all owing to the proximity of rock below the ground surface. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following intervention:(i) Construction of 1 block of a 5-stance Eco-san latrine.
Existing classroom block
Existing borehole
New eco-san toilet facility
10
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Pawel Ayiga Primary School Pawel Ayiga Primary School is located in Patiko Sub-county and had an enrolment of 322 (165 girls and 157 boys) with only 4 teachers. At the start of implementation of the CFE project, the school was still in its displaced location because there was not a single structure at its original location but only bush. The community had attempted to build a temporary structure for the school which showed there was a real need on the part of the community for the school to return. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Construction of one block of two classrooms with a staff / store room. (ii) Construction of another block of two classrooms.
Abandoned and overgrown incomplete structure
The new classroom block
11
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
St. Mary’s Lapinyoloya Primary School St Mary’s Lapinyoloya Primary School is located in Lapainat C Parish, Koro Sub-county. It had a pupils population of 383 (205 boys and 178 girls) under the superintendence of 8 government-paid and one teacher paid by the parents. The school had one classroom block with only 4 classrooms, 3 used as classrooms and one as a head teacher’s office. The other pupils studied under trees. The school had only 124 desks. Because there were no teachers’ houses, all the teachers commuted from the nearby town and Internally Displaced Peoples’ camp.
The old toilet facility for boys
The school had two 5-stance latrines; one for girls and the other for boys. These were in poor condition with no door shutters or hand-washing facility. There were no exclusive toilet facilities for teachers. The school however had a functioning borehole within the compound in good condition and jerry cans provided by UNICEF for water storage. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Construction of a staff house. (ii) Construction of a block of 5stance VIP latrines.
The new staff house
The new toilet facility
12
The old toilet facilities for girls
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
St. Martine’s Lukome Primary School St Martine’s Lukome Primary School is located in Bungatira Sub-county. At the time of assessment, the school had an enrolment of 962 (533 boys and 429 girls) under the stewardship of 17 teachers. The school had 8 classrooms, 4 of which were in bad state and needed rehabilitation mainly the walls, floors, windows and doors. There was one block of staff houses intended for two families but actually housed 8. The school had two old blocks of 5-stance latrines, without doors or hand-washing facilities. There was a functional borehole with rusted pipes that affected the quality of water. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:(i) Rehabilitation of the eight existing classrooms. (ii) Construction of two blocks of latrines, one for boys and one for girls with hand-washing facilities. (iii) Rehabilitation of the borehole.
The floor of the old classroom in disrepair
Front elevation of the old classroom block
Rear elevation of the old classroom block
The new toilet block near completion
The rehabilitated classroom block near completion
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Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Awach Health Center IV Awach Health Center, being a HC IV, is the busiest health center in Gulu. It is expected to have an OPD, pharmacy, maternity among other facilities. It is as such required to have staffing with the commensurate accommodation up to doctor’s level. At the time of assessment, there was hardly enough accommodation for all the staff and the OPD was insufficient for the patient population. Through the CFE project, the school was supported through the following interventions:i) Construction of staff house. ii) Construction of 2- stance VIP toilet facility.
New toilet facility near completion
Newly constructed staff house near completion
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Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Odek Health Center Odek Health Center is located within the precincts of Odek Sub-county administration center. There was no accommodation for the staff running the unit and as such they had to commute from Odek trading center about 5km away. Those who stayed around the health center resided in mud structures. Through the CFE project, the center was supported through the following interventions:i) Construction of staff houses. ii) Construction of 2-stance latrine.
the new staff houses
The new eco-san toilet facility
15
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Tegoot Atoo Health Center Before intervention, Tegoot Atoo Health Center had an old dilapidated OPD with similarly dilapidated accommodation for staff. The center services were so inadequate that patients preferred to trek 15km to Gulu town to attain reasonable services.
Newly constructed staff houses
16
Through the CFE project, the health center was supported through the following intervention:i) Construction of two blocks of staff houses.
Child Friendly Environment in Northern Uganda
Gulu District
Patiko Health Center Before intervention, Patiko Health Center had an old dilapidated OPD. There was however ample accommodation for staff.
Through the CFE project, the centre was supported through the following intervention:i) Construction of a new Out Patient’s Department.
Newly constructed OPD
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UNICEF Uganda P.O Box 7047, Kampala, Uganda COWI Crusader House P.O Box 10591 Kampala, Uganda By: Advanced Communications Ltd, P.O Box 11670, Kampala, Uganda E-mail: info@advancedcommunications-ea.com www.advancedcommunications-ea.com
From the People of Japan