Projekt erfolgreich abgeschlossen! - Project successfully completed

Projekt erfolgreich abgeschlossen! - Project successfully completed

Handover Ceremony at Divine Mercy High School

Gathering for Handover Ceremony on the grounds of Divine Mercy High School

Handover Ceremony at Divine Mercy High School for Girl's Sanitation Project

Girls students, school administration and staff as well as Project Implementation Team and builders gathered for the handover ceremony on the grounds of Divine Mercy High School.

Thank you EWB

Namaganda Brenda holding "Thank you" poster for Engineers without Borders Germany (EWB)

Handover at Divine Mercy High School

Najjumba Esther Ritah, Health Prefect, with "Thank you" poster to one of the main donors, TÜV NORD,  an International provider of security, inspection and certification services in the fields of industry, mobility, natural resources, aerospace, training and IT.

Esther Ritha was chosen to speak on behalf of the students. And this was quoted from her speech;" On behalf of my fellow students, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our beloved donors, there is nothing at all we can give you in return. But we promise you this, we are going to own this wonderful facility at the heart, we are going to do our best so that the facility serves its purpose so that it does not become a liability to the school".

Hnadover at Divine Mercy High School

Mulungi Justine with "Tank you" poster for the foundation TOOLS FOR LIVE who has set itself the goal of connecting people in all regions of the world with the essential resources that are necessary for a healthy life.

Girls Sanitation Facility at Divine Mercy High School Uganda

Inside Girls Sanitation Facility for Divine Mercy High School aisle to flush toilets with hand wash basins and at the end opening to dispose sanitary napkins into the incinerator.

Girl's Sanitation Facilities Divine Mercy High School Kyotera

Girls' Sanitation Facilities: Handover to Divine Mercy High School Kyotera, April 8th, 2021

Projekt abgeschossen!

“You have all noticed the new Divine Mercy High School sanitary facilities coming out of the ground these last months, great projects, great work and one of them is the girls’ sanitation project (GSP) that has just been completed, courtesy of Engineers Without Borders Germany (EWBG), we greatly thank them,” beginnt die Botschaft von Mukasa Spire, Executive Director der Schule, zur Projektübergabe am 8. April 2021.

Die Schule hatte dazu eine „Handover Ceremony“ mit den Schülerinnen und Lehrer/-innen sowie dem lokalen Projektteam und den Bauarbeitern vor Ort gestaltet. Unser Projektteam in Hamburg konnte leider nur mit dem Herzen dabei sein, da eine Live-Schaltung wegen Ausfalls des Internets in Uganda nicht möglich war.

Im September 2020 hatten unsere Partner den Bau der Mädchen-Toiletten gestartet. Selbst Starkregen der im November beginnenden Regenzeit hatte sie nicht am Weiterbauen gehindert. Doch war der Grundwasserspiegel erheblich angestiegen und bedrohte die Sicherheit des Abwassertanks. Mit der Lösung unserer Kompetenz-Gruppe WASH wurde der Abwassertank abgedichtet und gegen Aufschwimmen gesichert. Nachdem das Dach geschlossen war, gingen der Innenausbau und die Installation der Sanitäranlagen planmäßig voran. So konnten der lokalen Projektleiter und der Bauleiter am 7. April 2021 die Bauabnahme durchführen und dokumentieren.

Wir, das Projektteam der Regionalgruppe Hamburg, sind stolz, das Projekt erfolgreich in enger und konstruktiver Zusammenarbeit mit unseren Partnern abgeschlossen zu haben – „remote“, aus der Distanz.

Unser besonderer Dank, auch im Namen unseres Partners Divine Mercy High School, gilt dem TÜV NORD, der Stiftung TOOLS FOR LIVE und dem Ing.-Büro Lüdecke, die mit beachtlichen Mittelbereitstellungen, die Realisierung des „Girls‘ Sanitation Project“ möglich machten sowie dem Rotary Club Dänischer Wohld für die Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung der staatlichen COVID-19 Hygiene-Vorgaben an der Schule.

Najjumba Esther Ritah als Sprecherin vom “School Health Club” wurde von ihren Mitschülern ausgewählt, bei der Handover Ceremony den Dank der Schülerinnen auszusprechen: "On behalf of my fellow students, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our beloved donors, there is nothing at all we can give you in return. But we promise you this, we are going to own this wonderful facility at the heart, we are going to do our best so that the facility serves its purpose so that it does not become a liability to the school."

Situation an der Schule

Nach dem Ende der Schulferien haben sich leider nicht alle Examen-Kandidatinnen und Kandidaten zurückgemeldet. Zu gravierend sind die Familien-Einkommen durch die COVID-19 Pandemie eingebrochen. Einkommen aus den wenigen verbliebenden Beschäftigungsmöglichkeiten reichen gerade zur Versorgung der Familien mit dem Nötigsten. Die Schule hat den Familien vorgeschlagen, zumindest das was sie ermöglichen können an Schulgebühren zu zahlen, um den Schulbetrieb weiter finanzieren zu können. Mittlerweile gibt es Rückmeldung von weiteren Examen-Kandidatinnen und Kandidaten, die in den nächsten Tagen zurückkommen wollen.

Und wann werden die Schulen wieder voll ständig eröffnet? Es ist nun mehr als ein Jahr vergangen, seit die Schulen im März des letzten Jahres geschlossen wurden. Die Regierung hat jetzt eine schrittweise Wiedereröffnung für April angekündigt. Doch bleiben besorgte Fragen: Was passiert mit denen, die am Online-Unterricht nicht teilnehmen konnten, weil sie es sich nicht leisten konnten? Werden sie aufholen?

Project completed!

“You have all noticed the new Divine Mercy High School sanitary facilities coming out of the ground these last months, great projects, great work and one of them is the girls' sanitation project (GSP) that has just been completed, courtesy of Engineers Without Borders Germany (EWBG), we greatly thank them,” starts the message from Mukasa Spire, Executive Director of the school, for handover of the project on April 8, 2021.

For this the school organized a “handover ceremony” with the girl students and school staff and the local project team and construction workers. Unfortunately, our project team  in Hamburg was only able to take part with their hearts, as a live connection was not possible due to a failure of the Internet in Uganda.

In September 2020, our partners started building the girls' toilets. Even heavy rain in the rainy season starting in November did not prevent them from carry on. But the water table had risen considerably and threatened the safety of the waste water tank. With the solution from our WASH competence group, the waste water tank was sealed and secured against floating. After the roof was closed, the interior work and the installation of the sanitary facilities proceeded according to plan. The local project manager and site manager were able to carry out and certify the final acceptance on April 7, 2021.

We, the project team of the Chapter Hamburg, are proud to have successfully completed the project in close and constructive cooperation with our partners - "remotely", from the distance.

Our special thanks, also on behalf of our partner Divine Mercy High School, go to TÜV NORD, the TOOLS FOR LIVE Life Foundation and Lüdecke Engineering, who made the successful implementation of the Dining Hall-Project come true by their significant funding. who made substantial contributions to the realization of the " Girls' Sanitation Project ”and the Rotary Club Danish Wohld for supporting the implementation of the state COVID-19 hygiene requirements at the school.

Najjumba Esther Ritah as prefect for the “School Health Club” was chosen by her classmates to express their thanks of the students at the handover ceremony: "On behalf of my fellow students, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our beloved donors, there is nothing at all we can give you in return. But we promise you this, we are going to own this wonderful facility at the heart, we are going to do our best so that the facility serves its purpose so that it does not become a liability to the school. "

Situation at the school

Unfortunately, not all exam candidates have re-registered after the end of the school holidays. Family incomes have collapsed too severely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Income from the few remaining employment opportunities is just enough to provide the families with the bare essentials. The school has suggested that the families pay at least what they can in school fees so that they can continue to finance the running of the school. There is now feedback from other exam candidates who want to come back in the next few days.

And when will the schools be fully reopened? It has now been more than a year since schools closed in March last year. The government has now announced that it will gradually reopen in April. But worried questions remain: What happens to those who couldn't attend online classes because they couldn't afford it? Will they catch up?