A Better School Lunch

The experience of a lifetime is how I would describe my recent trip to Uganda. Even though I've been there many times now, each visit has been filled with incredible experiences. This one was no exception.

Seeing the difference your donations have made, along with the hard work our team puts in, was incredibly rewarding.  Yes, I see photos, and videos, and hear from the team each day. But seeing the progress in person was amazing!

Of course, there is still great need, especially for women and children.  I know those great needs weigh heavily on our team members. But, we took time to celebrate what is going well and the progress that's been made.  It's that progress that we'll continue to build on.

One of the highlights of my trip was visiting our gardens at Buwanume and Nayenga schools.   These were started with donations from all of you and have been important in improving nutrition for the children. The students and teachers were so proud to show me how the crops and trees are growing.

While government schools lack in most supplies needed to teach effectively, they are located on large pieces of fertile land.  With the ingenuity and hard work of our team in Uganda, and help from the teachers and students, the gardens are thriving.  

The Buwanume school garden is huge! They are harvesting tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and fields of beans and corn.  During my visit, and thanks to many of you, we delivered and planted 100 trees!  

We have been teaching the importance of reforestation and we are seeing the results in more mature trees providing much-needed shade for the crops, and protection for the soil.

The students are very proud of the trees they've planted and are caring for. 

We also gifted 3 trees each to the students at Nayenga who have been caring for the garden and the trees at school. These trees were taken home and planted on their property.  Because of the tropical climate, tree growth is relatively fast.

Climate change is a big topic of discussion among Ugandans. They rely on subsistence farming for their survival and the shift in when and how much it rains is having a big impact on the country's food supply.

The gardens and some of the sustainable and organic growing techniques our team has been teaching are helping promote a more stable food supply.  Food security and nutrition have a direct link to poverty.

Thanks to all of you, the school gardens are making a difference for children in Uganda!

 With Gratitude,

Mary

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