Training school
Life is a school for all of us. Our ‘school training project’ mainly consists of sharing time, material, knowledge & skills. This can be done on many fronts. Based on temporary and long-term deployment, people work with heart and soul on site to make various projects a success.
For example, Ouke and Hanneke Dijkstra kept the farm in Kumi running for 4 years, started the bakery and transferred as much knowledge as possible to the local population.
The farm is currently run by Sikko Seisma, a down-to-earth Frisian farmer, who uses all his knowledge and skills with verve to teach employees the tricks of the trade.
Sjaak Meertens was deployed in the run-up to setting up a vocational school in Tororo, a place two hours from Kumi. Sjaak already worked for the Kumi Hospital AgroPark and is now making the switch to focus more on education. Sjaak is both a qualified physics teacher and mechanical engineer with work experience in engineering and project management in South Africa and Ethiopia.
His focus, in addition to his organizational and administrative work for various projects, is on setting up a vocational school. In this way, girls and boys have a chance of succeeding in society by being able to work self-sufficiently.
Soccer Shoes and Sewing Machines for CBI in Kumi District
On Saturday June 18, 2022, 4 pedal sewing machines were handed over to the tailor training of CBI in Aterai on behalf of the Rietveld Foundation. CBI stands for Communities Beyond Imagination and was founded and run by Charles Obore, a high school sports teacher in nearby Kumi, a town of 40,000 inhabitants in eastern Uganda.
CBI aims to improve the position and self-confidence of girls. Mainly due to cultural patterns, the self-esteem of women and girls is low. Traditions dictate that they should be of service to their husbands and that they should not matter so much. While the rural economy relies on the efforts of women. They mainly work the land, do the housework and raise the children.
Charles thought that girls’ soccer could be a good boost to improve self-confidence in a relaxed way. This has proved successful and in a few years he has managed to set up girls’ soccer teams at 4 schools in the area, which organize training sessions and competitions together.
In addition, sewing classes are given to teach girls a trade with which they can earn an income. Boys are also welcome for the sewing lessons. A lot of clothing is still custom made here and usually a tailor is fairly busy with work. They also receive training in commercial skills and the creation of special designs. In order to expand the training capacity, the Rietveld Foundation has donated 4 sewing machines.
The soccer teams are supported with a donation of (second-hand) soccer shoes.
When we visited Kumi last March, we saw that most of the girls played barefoot and that shoes are very welcome.
Also triggered to help with the above project? Let us know and join us!