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REPORT OF THE TRAINING ON ARTEMISIA GROWING FOR A FREE MALARIA COMMUNITY
IN LODONGA PARISH, LODONGA SUB COUNTY, YUMBE DISTRICT
HELD FROM THURSDAY 7TH-SATURDAY 9TH AUGUST 2014
Location: Lodonga Parish is located within Arua Catholic Diocese but in Yumbe District in terms of the political affiliation. It lies in the extreme end of Uganda to the north bordering Sudan about 18 kilometers. It also lies on the western side of the Great River Nile hence the name West Nile.
 Chris listens to a question from a participant |
Background: Yumbe District is predominantly Moslem. The communities in general have negative attitude towards education and more so, girl-child education is generally neglected. When the Comboni Missionaries came to the place, about 80 years now, they requested some Moslems to give them a piece of land to introduce Catholic religion. They were given a piece of land at Lodonga, a place that they (Moslems ) thought was not productive. The Missionaries brought in some couples from the neighboring Countie like Terego, Maracha, Ayivu, Yumbe e.t.c . the families gradually reproduced and now Lodonga is surrounded by Christians who are not originally the people of Yumbe. Because of this, the non Christians of Lodonga have embarked on staying in associations for some support, guidance and to encourage each other. Access to health services is difficult. There are few health centers and only one Hospital managed by the government but with very poor health services. The essential drugs are always missing in the government aided health centers and hospitals. Malaria infections and deaths are high with the children and women as the most victims.
Target group: I have targeted the women of Lodonga parish who belong to the Catholic Women Association. Since they are already in an association, it is easy to work with them. They have a varied educational background. Some few attained the Secondary level of education, others stopped at the Primary level and many do not read and write. But despite these different education levels, they have had a successful projects like goat rearing, poultry, small scale savings among others.
 receiving artemisia seeds from Martina.JPG)
Magret(left) receiving artemisia seeds from Martina |
The training: This non-residential training on Artemisia growing ran for three days i.e Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
The topics covered included:
- Sowing Artemisia seeds both the theory and practical,
- How to plant it in the garden,
- How to take the cuttings,
- How to harvest, dry and store.
- Use of Artemisia leaf powder as prophylaxis against malaria; (working to achieve your dream). This was the main emphasis in the training and the main AIM of the training.
- Record keeping and
- The actual treatment of malaria with Artemisia leaf powder.
Activities before the training:
- Translation of some pages in the seminar hand book into the local language-Lugbara
- Buying of the materials for the seminar
- Printing and photocopying of the texts
- Drawing of the pictures for easy learning
- Organizing the venue and getting the people to cook
- Transportation of the materials to the venue
Christopher showing artemisia plant |
Methods used during the training included:
- Explanations
- Group discussions
- Buzzing in pairs
- Singing and dancing
- Role play
- Question and answer methods
- Practicals i.e participants were involved in the practicals
- We took Artemisia, lemon grass and hibiscus teas during the break tea time (10:30am)
The handouts:
- Seminar hand book
- Artemisia seedlings ready to plant
- Artemisia seeds sown in the jiffy pot
- Grain amaranth seeds
- Moringa stenopetala seeds
- Hand drawn picture on flip charts.
Illustration of how to make artemisia tea |
The way forward: At the end of the training I asked them; How shall you successfully carryout this project? They took a good amount of time to discuss this question and came up with the following plans to be implemented:
- To meet once a week on Tuesdays at 9:00am to share on the progress of the Artemisia seeds sown in the jiffy pot.
- To have a piece of land next to their house Lodonga Womens Club house to grow Artemisia at a central point.
- To report timely on the positive and challenging experiences at the individual level for appropriate actions.
- To meet the quality standard of the Artemisia leaf powder so that malaria can be effectively eliminated from the communities.
- To have timely and accurate recording at each of the stages in order to arrive at an accurate and undisputable reports.
Participants enjoying A-3 tea |
The financial report: The women expressed happiness and joy for having received this great knowledge. They extended a sincere thanks to you Mr. Stuart Spani for this donation. I on behalf of the women and on my own behalf also wanted to sincerely thank you for this great offer to the women in Lodonga Parish. May the Lord God shower you with abundant blessings, good health and more opportunities. I also wanted to extend my heart-felt gratitude to Dr. Hand Martin Hirt for opening us this gate to enter the heart of Mr Stuart Spani. The struggle for a malaria free community is indeed a joint venture. May the Lord provide you with more. I received 1000Euro(3,460,000Ush) through Dr Hans Martin Hirt, this is how I spent it.
| Stationary | ||
|---|---|---|
Item |
Quantity |
Total cost |
Exercise books |
22 pieces |
22,000= |
Bick pens |
22 pieces |
11,000= |
Cello tape |
1 |
3,500 |
Flip chart |
1 set |
20,000= |
Marker pens |
1 packet |
15,000= |
Stapling machine |
1 |
15,000= |
Printing paper |
1 rim |
20,000= |
|
Total |
106,000= |
| Materials | ||
|---|---|---|
Buckets |
2x10,000= |
20,000= |
Transparent cups |
25x500= |
12,500= |
Spoons |
4x1000= |
4,000= |
Knives |
2x3500= |
7,000= |
Seminar hand books |
22x12,000= |
264,000= |
Starter kit |
1x397,900= |
397,900= |
Measuring jug |
2x5,000= |
10,000= |
|
Total |
715,400= |
| Transport | ||
|---|---|---|
Lodonga to Kampala |
|
50,000= |
Kampala to Lodonga |
|
75,000= |
Lodonga to Arua |
|
20,000= |
Arua to Lodonga |
|
35,000= |
Lodonga to Koboko |
|
55,000= |
|
Total |
235,000= |
| Allowances/Remunerations | ||
|---|---|---|
Nyakuni Christopher(Facilitator) |
3x100,000= |
300,000= |
Stephen Ajuma(Driver) |
|
50,000= |
Angelina Buderu(Cook) |
3x10,000= |
30,000= |
Grace Inzikuru(Cook) |
3x10,000= |
30,000= |
Christine Wadiku(Cook) |
3x10,000= |
30,000= |
|
Total |
440,000= |
| Meals | ||
|---|---|---|
Breakfast |
3x4,000=x21 |
252,000= |
Herbal tea |
3x3,000=x21 |
189,000= |
Lunch |
3x7,500=x21 |
472,500= |
Tea break |
3x4,000=x21 |
252,000= |
|
Total |
1,165,500= |
| Communication | ||
|---|---|---|
Airtime |
|
20,000= |
Data bundle for internet |
|
35,000= |
|
Total |
55,000= |
| Others | ||
|---|---|---|
Translation of the texts |
3x30,000= |
90,000= |
Printing |
|
173,000= |
Feeding while travelling |
|
25,000= |
Accommodation |
2x20,000= |
40,000= |
Hall hire |
3x100,000= |
300,000= |
|
Total |
628,000= |
Summary
- Stationary…………………………………………………………………. 106,000=
- Materials…………………………………………………………………… 715,400=
- Transport…………………………………………………………………… 235,000=
- Allowances………………………………………………………………… 440,000=
- Meals………………………………………………………………………… 1,165,500=
- Communication…………………………………………………………. 55,000=
- Others……………………………………………………………………….. 628,000=
Grand Total…………………………………………………………………………….. 3,344,900=
Balance…………………………………………………………………………………… 115,100=
Conclusion: We are so grateful for your donation towards the struggle of having a malaria free community. I together with the twenty women shall try our best to implement this project. I shall also monitor them so closely to ensure success and continuity. As I distributed seedlings directly to them, I am sure in two months time, we will begin to harvest the Artemisia. To produce quality Artemisia leaf powder indeed we will need clean rooms, drying racks, drying sheets and plastic bags. We hope that the bond between Lodonga Women Group and you will continue.
We will therefore be grateful to you if you can support us again particularly towards having quality Artemisia leaf powder.
May Almighty God give you good health as you struggle to fight the enemy-Malaria.
Yours’ in Christ, Christopher Nyakuni.
Lodonga, Uganda.
+256775712246
Ugandan Students |