By Sophan Niwamanya.
apearlnews.com
Environmentalists from Kigezi sub-region have launched a campaign aimed at saving Maziba Primary School in Kabale district. The school was hit by landslides in May 2020, destroying a 7-classroom block, the head teacher’s office, and the staffroom, among other structures. Recently, the government allocated over USD 500 million towards the construction of the school.
It is against this background that environmentalists led by the Africa Disaster Reduction Research and Emergency Mission (ADREEM) have reached out to the school to establish long-lasting solutions against such disasters. According to Milton Kwesiga, the executive director for ADREEM, their intervention aims at helping all school stakeholders take charge of doing all it takes to combat future calamities.
“The school was destroyed because there was a lack of environmental interventions, but we are here to mitigate any likely occurrences in the future,” said Kwesiga.
They have also established a disaster management club at the school. “We want these children to learn skills that they will use here to develop approaches that can conserve the environment.
The same skills should be exercised in their homes if they are prone to disasters.
This is our hope for the future, “added Kwesiga. Beneficiaries speak outJulius Kamukama, a primary five pupil at the school, said that since their academic journey resumed this year, they have not had a desirable experience at school. Since our structures collapsed, we have developed a lot of fear whenever it rains.
Some of us decide to run away from school when the rain starts to appear. We always want to avoid encountering the same thing as happened last year, “said Kamukama.
Kamukama noted that interventions of such nature give them hope for a better academic journey. “We had started thinking of even finding other schools, but some of us could not due to financial challenges.” Apparently, these interventions are giving us a breath of fresh air and we believe that our struggle in the academic world will soon get better, “added Kamukama. School administrators hailed the move and vowed to support all efforts aimed at restoring their school. Christine Ahimbisibwe, the school’s deputy headteacher, noted that since the tragedy happened, their hearts were left restless, wondering how the school would function in such a state.
“We surely felt bad when these landslides hit us. We were left in great fear, but thankfully there was a lockdown and when the president announced that schools were going to re-open, our hearts were not settled. We were wondering what we would do with learners who were on their way to school, “she noted. Leo Ndarwine, the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) chairperson, said that as parents, they were ready to implement any guidelines that would see the school back to its position.
Climate change disasters in KigeziThe Kigezi sub-region is one of the areas currently experiencing the effects of climate change in all aspects of life. January 24, 2022, an evening downpour around Mount Muhabura in the Kisoro district brought heavy stones and soil to the nearby villages of Rukeri and Gasiza trading center.
The mud also covered houses in Budeyi village. Other villages that were affected include Kabaare and Rucantege. Nine people died in the calamity. In September 2017, 13 people were killed when landslides hit Rubandadistrict in the sub-counties of Muko, Nyamweru, Ikumba, Ruhija, and Bufundi.
What do the experts think?The Kacwekano Zonal Research and Development Institute (KAZARDI) director, Dr. Alex Barekye, called for expert guidance on some of the interventions in environmental protection like tree planting.
Effective tree planting should be done on lands where other crops are not grown so that we do not try to solve one problem and then lack food in the future, “he said. Herbert Mugisha, the coordinator for Mgahinga Cultural & Crafts Centre in Kisoro district, stated that landslides were never common in the Kigezi region, but they are now on the rise due to the negative effects of climate change.
Whenever it rains these days, we lose a lot of property and at times, which was never the case before in the region. This clearly shows that there is a great problem with loading in the area, “said Mugisha.
