By Peter Abanabasazi
As Uganda marks the water and environmental week, communities in Kololo village, Butoole parish in Kyangwali sub-county, Kikuube district have praised the head teacher Kibaale Parents school, a government aided primary school for initiating a climate change project.
The school was started by the community in 2007 and later taken over by the government in 2011.
The school is implementing a Woodlot project that seeks to green the area and protect the environment. The project was initiated by Julius Mugabe, the school head teacher in 2018.
Mugabe explains that by the time he was posted at the school in 2015, the school was bare without trees and which was posing a threat to the school structures since the area is prone to strong winds.
He notes that project situated on two and half acres of land and has seen several types of indigenous tree species planted.
He adds that the project has been crucial to the school by acting as a wind breaker also provides a cool and fresh environment.
Peter Asiimwe, a teacher at the same school who doubles as the personnel in charge of the environment described his head teacher as an environmental hero.
He notes that several head teachers had headed the school but no one had sought of initiating such a project. He adds the land where the school is sitted was part of Bugoma forest reserve but because of human activities such as farming and charcoal burning, the area had been left bare without a single tree.
Uganda Water and Environment Week (UWEWK) is a weeklong event that is organized annually by Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) through the Water Resources Institute (WRI). The 6th edition of the event commenced March 12, 2023 and ends on March 17, 2023 with key events in Kampala, Uganda.
Positioned to deliver value internally and externally by promoting a multi-sectoral and integrated approach that links all sectors to water and environment the event will provide a platform for knowledge exchange, learning, advocacy and partnership building within the water and environment spectrum. It will bring together experts around the theme: “Water and environment for climate-resilient development”. The event presents an opportunity to highlight and address Uganda’s contextual, and global challenges of water, sanitation, and environment, with a strong focus on climate change and resilience.
