" future" Walk.

Time check 5:00 am, little Brenda should have woken up by then to prepare for the "future " walk. 8 year old brenda lives furthest from St theresa School, the school that all primary school girls supported by the 52 kids foundation attend. She has to walk for 2 hours to school and 2 hours back every single day of school.

Brenda is under the care of a single mother."My mother wakes me up at 5:00 am, I bathe my body, clean my teeth, smear vaseline, comb my hair , put om my uniform and shoes, then , im ready to go. I normally leave home at 6: 00 am. I try to walk as fast as I can, and in between, I have to run. On a lucky day, I may hitch a ride from a sympathiser who is headed in the direction of Kamuli town." explains Brenda.

Winnie, Immaculate, Hilda, Aminsi, Benaleta, Tony ,George are some of the other 52 kids with similar stories. Atleast 25 of the 52 kids in primary school have to commit 4 hours every single day to the "future" walk.

" The journey back from school is much more fun than the journey to school . We always walk back in a group conversing,telling each other interesting stories. The morning journey is rushed everyone moves on his own most times. No one wants to be late for school because late comers are punished. " observes Benaleta.

The "future " walk has got its own challenges. Most of the kids who have to endure the "future "walk confess that it contributes to the toughest part of their day. The walk becomes tougher in the rain season especially if it rains in the morning when the kids have to walk to school.

Micheal Kisige was bitten by a stray dog one early morning as he was walking to school in 2008. Winnie is nursing superficial bruises she obtained when whe fell off a friend,s bicycle on their way to school in september 2009." I asked for a ride from a friend who insisted that I should ride, I do not have so much experience that is probably why we fell off the bicycle" explained Winnnie, looking at one of the healing bruises.

The Boda-Boda motor cyclists ride so recklessly and fast on the village roads and paths, pedestrians especially kids are at risk of getting knocked down.

Despite the challenges posed by the walk, the affected kids understand that it is the walk that is intended to transform their lives and those around them in future.

With the completion of the 52 kids dormitory, the face of the "future walk is expected tonever be the same for the 52 kids , who will be accomodated in the facility.

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Long Term Impacts

For two weeks in July and August of 2009 I spent my time in Kamuli with the 52 Kids Foundation. Up until that point I had my heart dead set on going to medical school to become a doctor. Going on the trip to Uganda, we were welcomed with incredibly open arms into the homes of every family we visited. We were showered with gratitude, affection and interest in our lives back in the United States. I was able to create friendships and relationships that I will always cherish and remember. After being home for about a month and a half my entire life perspective and plan for my future have changed. I crave the excitement of waking up each day in Kamuli, ready to see what experiences and people we would confront that day. Just seeing the smiles on each student's face as I give them a hug or play a game with them was enough to make me want to stay forever. Since my trip I have come to an amazing realization: the reason I wanted to study medicine was because I want to help people. After realizing this simple truth, I tried to connect my learning back to the 52 Kids Foundation. I realized that I don't need to sew up stitches and prescribe medications to make a difference in someone's life. The changes that The 52 Kids Foundation does to make a difference have to do with healthcare, sure. But they also go deeper than that. By changing the living situation, or improving the education of a child you are giving them hope for the future, you are giving them a basis for a more sustainable lifestyle where THEY can become the change that they want in their country! My trip to Uganda opened my eyes to a completely different approach to helping people. I realized that you have to start at the root of the problem, you have to address basic needs such as nutrition, a water source, a safe home, and an education before anything else. Since my trip I have started my college application process. When it asked me in the Common Application what my intended major was, I bypassed "pre-med" and went straight to "International Affairs". I believe with the knowledge that I took from my stay in Kamuli, I will be able to make a change in the world far greater than I ever expected. The 52 Kids Foundation allowed me to look at the world in a completely different way, and it has potentially changed my life and future forever.

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Ecominc Survival A Major Threat To Environmental Conservation In Kamuli.

Changing weather patterns are a challenge and threat to the human race in the present world more than ever before. Day to day man’s activities have directly or indirectly contributed to the deterioration of weather patterns.

Economic survival in Uganda is tougher today than ever before. This has compelled the population to engage in any activity which will improve their economic wellbeing with no or minimal regard to its environmental impact. Among the many activities that have been on the increase with minimal regard to its environmental impact is brick making.

Focus on brick making:
One of the most noticeable features as one moves around the villages surrounding Kamuli town are giant piles of bricks organized into a sort of oven, ready for firing. The amount of fire wood required to fire and harden bricks in a single oven is enormous.

The growing construction industry in Kamuli town is fueling the demand for bricks. Bricks are a key component in modern building construction. Before the use of bricks, wattle, poles and mud were used.
Among the youth, brick making is looked at as a quick way of making a living compared to traditional activities like agriculture. For many youth, agriculture is perceived as tiring, time consuming, and unreliable especially in the face of unpredictable weather patterns and absolute reliance on hand farming tools like hoes, machetes, etc.
At a cost of about 70shs per brick, a brick maker stands a chance

of making close to $ 70 ( shs 140,000) for a single oven with 2000 bricks made in a period of less than 2 months. With such levels of profitability, brick makers have been depleting trees in their localities to maintain their business. “If I see a good tree in some body’s land, I will buy it from him, make timber out of it and use the remains to fire my bricks.” explains a brick maker only identified as Waiswa. Few community members can decline trading their trees for money.

Big fruit trees like mangoes and jack fruit trees have not survived the determination of brick makers to provide wood for their businesses. It is common to find a fruit trees rid of all its branches. This implies that the tree cannot produce fruit until branches re-develop. Many families rely on fruit trees food. This trend of events is likely to interfere with the nutritional needs of many families and the most affected are kids.

For as long as the demand for fired bricks prevails, environmental degradation through deforestation will prevail unless intervention and mitigation plans are sought and implemented.

Intervention Plans:
The 52kids foundation through its "environmental recovery movement" is creating awareness in the communities it is involved about environmental conservation. Among the campaigns it has carried out is the “ plant a multi-purpose tree campaign” in which fruit shade trees were distributed to and planted by the 52 kids guardians in their homes. The campaign involved increasing the survival chances of the planted trees by erecting a fence around the tree to keep off domestic animals from eating up the tree leaves.

The foundation intends to encourage replanting of local species of trees by using locally available tree seeds. The 52 kids foundation and its partner Local nonprofit organization KAPIDA have worked with communities in Nawigulu sub county Kamuli district to promote fuel efficient stoves to save the number of trees cut down to provide wood fuel for domestic use and encouraged agro forestry

On many occasions the fact that specific challenges require specific interventions means that to reduce the impact of brick making on deforestation, technology to provide alternative bricks to fired bricks needs to be made available to local communities. For now, more trees will be lost to firing bricks in Kamuli by the day after all the demand for bricks remains high.

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Buwanzu community sustains 52kids established water project

Kids pump water from the 52 Kids well.

A 70 foot protected hand dug well, with a manual pump was successfully constructed in December 2008, through a partnership between the 52 kids foundation, and Buwanzu community.

Buwanzu village is located in Nabwigulu subcounty, Kamuli district Uganda. It is a community with a population of atleast 700 people.

It is one of the villages in which the 52 kids live .

The open well where the Buwanzu community previously collected water.

Cattle graze in the vicinity of the open well.

Prior to December 2008, the community's only source of domestic water was an open well. The well was shared by both humans and domestic animals like cattle and goats.

"We now get our domestic water from the "bore hole", we have left the open well to cattle and goats" explains Mr Tenywa, a 35 year old community resident who donated the land on which the well was constructed and current community elected well supervisor. " Gone are the days when one had to spend up to 3 hours to collect a 20 litre jerrycan of safe drinking water,life was tough,our children suffered bad skins and diarrhoea disease from bathing and drinking dirty water from the open well, they did not understand the effect of drinking dirty water," further explains Mr Tenywa.

Left: Mr. Tenywa, the borehole supervisor. Right: A girl happily carries away a 20 liter "jerrycan" of water from the borehole.

Mama Salaama, one of the 52kids guardians and community resident explains that she currently worries less about water and dedicates a lot of her time on other activities like garden work.

"I open the 'borehole' in the morning, lock it at mid day and later open it in the evening.This allows enough time for every family to collect enough water to use. We lock up the well in the night because no body can watch over it in the night," explains Mr Tenywa when asked why a padlock had been placed on a chain next to the pump handle.

The community has put in place a pool fund into which each family will contribute a basic monthly fee. We want that money to accumulate so that in case of any repairs, and maintenance, we can pay for the costs as a community.

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