Environmental Ed - A Rocha Uganda

Environmental Education

Environmental education activities are strategically implemented in primary and secondary schools and churches, targeting the youth to inspire learning through participation.

Environmental Education activities aim:

To develop the knowledge, understanding and connection of the people and their impact to their environment.
To encourage sensitivity to environmental issues and challenges.
To make informed and responsible decisions at the individual, community and organizational level through the themes of water, land, people, climate, and Gifts with a Difference resources.

Goats project

During our implementation of the A Rocha Uganda Environmental Education Program (AREEP) in schools, we noted that some children are not able to access education even if subsidized. Hindrances include lack of scholastic materials, inability of their parents or guardians to meet their school fees contribution among other things.

Because some of these children come from families that are already doing subsistence farming, the goats project tries at hitting two birds with one stone. The child learns to care for their animal, embracing responsibility and at the same time raising an income to enable them to get basic education. We have highly noted that school enrolment in the project area has greatly increased and schools are more receptive to the message on creation care.

An opportunity came from A Rocha Czech Republic in 2021 who committed funds from the sale of their pigeon manure to supporting children in AREEP schools with goats. Female goats are given to the identified underprivileged children who are poor, orphaned, or from single parent families. The children keep these goats and breed them so they become a source of income to pay for their school fees and materials when sold. This has given them a hope for a bright future.

44 children in different schools have benefited from this project. Their goats have given birth and they have started to sell the kids, making it possible for them to stay in school. We extend our sincere gratitude to A Rocha Czech Republic for making this possible.

Plastic Free Campaigns

As part of the A Rocha Worldwide Family, we have had a number of conferences where we learnt about Plastic Free February Campaigns. This was embraced in AREEP schools and children are now involved in community cleans ups, picking up plastics from their surroundings. They make the waste into things such as plastic bottle gates, dust bins, door mats, table mats, skipping ropes and drip irrigation bottles for the trees in their schools. This has reduced the amount of plastic in the community and children have been taught the dangers of plastic to life on land and under the water. The Plastic Free Campaigns run throughout the year on a termly basis

Child Nature Connect Programme

This program gives a chance for school children to explore, experience and appreciate nature in order to enhance their environmental awareness, emotional well-being, physical health and learning abilities.

Children and their teachers are engaged in expert-led fun and social activities. They take trips to natural sites such as forests, game parks, lakes and farms. Schools engage in activities like tree planting, growing vegetables, bird watching, and studying about trees and animals. They are taught how they are relevant to humans and the need for us to protect and appreciate God’s creation.

Eco-Schools Programme

Eco-Schools is a growing phenomenon, which encourages young people to engage in their environment by allowing them the opportunity to actively protect it. It starts in the classroom, it expands to the school and eventually fosters change in the community at large. A Rocha Uganda partners with the Albertine Rift Conservation Society to implement this programme where young people experience a sense of achievement at being able to have a say in the environmental management policies of their schools.

Combining learning with hands-on experiences, the whole programme is run according to an all-inclusive, participatory approach involving students, teachers and the local community.