Children take the lead in Uganda

Helen Kiyagondaze, 12, is the daughter of Magezi Topista, 28, an ESAP-supported farmer. She enjoys helping her mum with the animals [Annie Bungeroth]

Schoolchildren in Uganda are running Wildlife Clubs to reverse years of environmental degradation

In 1997, Uganda's government declared a policy of free primary education for all children.

Helped by funds released from debt cancellation, the numbers of children now attending primary schools is at a record high - almost seven million children are now enrolled.

And children are now taking a lead in their country's development. The Fort Portal Diocese, jointly funded by CAFOD and the EU, runs the Environment and Sustainable Agriculture Programme (ESAP), and as part of it, local schools have set up a Wildlife Club.

The aim is to reverse years of environmental degradation in the area caused by tree felling and overgrazing. Soil erosion has meant a fall in crop harvests, and so the children aim to improve yields through telling their parents about water conservation and by planting trees.

The clubs are part of a diocese-wide programme involving more than 80 villages in establishing tree nurseries and beehives, and encouraging composting, soil mulching and crop diversification. The use of fuel-efficient stoves is also reducing the rate of tree felling.

Learning about the environment

Helen Kiyagondaze, aged 12, is the daughter of Magezi Topista, 28, an ESAP-supported farmer and mother of three. Helen is in a boarding school in Kagongo but goes home for holidays and helps her mum.

She says: "I've learned a lot about protecting the environment at home and at school. I've learned about planting trees and growing crops and about disposing of rubbish properly.

"We've also learned about ways to stop the soil being washed away through mulching [adding dried/rotting vegetable matter with the soil to stop it being eroded] and terracing [making barriers with ditches or rocks, or planting seedlings/grass along the contour lines of the hillside, to trap water and stop the soil getting eroded].

"The environment is very important because if we look after it we get rainfall, the crops grow and we earn money from them."

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