Dear followers,
After a short holiday in Rwanda and Uganda, I went back to Life Dairy in Kateete (Mukono District). My parents, who have been in Rwanda/Uganda as well, joined me to see the Yoba activities in Kateete.
This visit I especially planned to see the progress of the Yoba production at Life Dairy and to see the schools that participate in the school feeding program. Due to very long school-holidays in Uganda, most kids leave school around Christmas and come back to school on the 3rd of February. When I went to Kateete on the 30th and 31th of January, few schools in this region did already start, but with lower occupancy.
First of all, Fred did a very good job regarding the Yoba production. The hygiene practices and the protocols were followed well and administration was kept properly. I was very satisfied.
On Friday 31th, I planned to join the school feeding program. Instead of supplying the public school next to Fred’s house, we went to a school feeding program for a private school. Fred supplies this school once or twice a month with Yoba yoghurt, while he is supplying the public school every week!
The first moment that Fred told me it was a private school, I did not really understand the added value of the free Yoba supply to this school. Why not supply schools with less financial resources with free Yoba Yoghurt, instead of the ‘rich’ private schools. Fred told me to wait…
And indeed I was mistaken. The school looked, with all respect, more like a shelter. A wooden construction wherein some school benches and an old blackboard were positioned. No doors and no windows exist, since the constructions are not at all completed.
I asked Fred why people send their children to private schools. According to him, many parents spend their last money on school fees and want to give their children a better future. They believe s private school has better education. Unfortunately the governmental (public) schools are funded by the government, but private schools are fully financed by the school fees. Therefore private schools, do often look no better than governmental-funded schools.
Some kids did not wear shoes, some did not even wear the required school uniforms, because of a lack of funds. It is clearly now that I was mistaken and that this school also really requires Yoba yoghurt.
The kids were unbelievably happy and elated when we arrived with the Yoba yoghurt. At such a moment, you understand how important a smile of a kid can be.
The unfortunate part of the story keeps that despite of the fact that these kids can enjoy the Yoba yoghurt, thousands or even millions of other kids in Uganda do not have this opportunity. Imagine that most of the kids do not get lunch and sometimes even have to skip other meals. Going to school or going to bed while being hungry… Yoba is then, despite of the health benefits, also a good alternative to fill their stomachs.
Fred does also produce extra on exam-dates. Since he started with this initiative, school-grades of many children raised, since they have more energy and can more easily concentrate on the questions asked in the exams.
So Yoba is not just healthy, in this way it also stimulates the progress on the schools and fills the bodies of these young children.
To give more children this opportunity, please donate (even small amounts are warmly received).
I would like to end up by thanking you a lot on behalf of the Yoba for Life Foundation,
Mark
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Please feel free to leave a reply! Thank you very much!
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