Month: February 2020

Feb 15 2020

By Haakon

One week later I can tell you how the idea of our soap project took shape and turned into a community commitment     

First, we thought about what type of soap, and settled on liquid soap because the latrines and sinks are outdoors so that bar soap would turn to mush in the rain. With the help of the the local Rotary Interactor youth group coordinator connected us with Denis (a commercial soap maker) who gave us a procedure for liquid soap. Our Kampala Rotary contact was able the obtain the ingredients and bring them to the village. Denis then came out to Nsawo and taught the three of us how to make liquid soap.  After learning the procedure, we brought our first batch (a 20L jerry can) to the clinic and taught the staff how to make it. Two days later we went to the local high school where we taught the chemistry teacher and 100 chemistry students how to make it along with what chemical reactions where happening while making it.

The next day, on valentine’s day, together with two of the Rotary Interactor students in the chemistry class we had taught, we went to one of the three primary schools (ages 3-12) to deliver the soap and show why it was important. At first the youngest students were running around while yelling “masungo” (the name for white people here) and not giving us the slightest chance to talk but that changed when we pulled out a box of chocolates and handed them a valentine. Once all the kids were quiet and contently sucking on their chocolate, we got on top the concrete stoop in front of the school and put on our How-germs-spread skit. First my mom acted like she had gone to the bathroom and had gotten germs on her hands (a squirt of peanut butter) but wait there was no soap or water to wash her hands so she walked back to class. She then asked the teacher (one of the high school students) for an orange the teacher said yes, so my mom took an orange and got her germs on it before asking me to help her peel it. When I peeled it, I got the “germs”; then my mom borrowed someone’s pen; then took a sip of somebody’s tea; then played a hand game with my sister, Siri; then I went to the hand pump and got the germ I had picked up from her on the handle of the pump. Soon all of us had the germs (peanut butter) all over our hands and the kids seemed to get the point and laughed too. After the skit we explained the importance of good hand hygiene to the kids and the local high schoolers told the kids about making the soap and their commitment to continue to make and supply the school with soap. We also shared procedures for making bar soap by creating lie from ash, which all households have from their cooking fires. Then all the villagers need to do is add rainwater and fat/oil. The Chemistry class is going to work out the proportions

              We completed everything we wanted to and now all that’s left to do is generate adequate funding to keep soap supplies going to Nsawo. So, I made a GoFundMe page with a goal of $250 (enough money to keep soap going to Nsawo’s three primary schools for a year). It would be greatly appreciated by us and everybody in Nsawo if you would donate. 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/soap-is-a-simple-solution?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_campaign=p_cf+share-flow-1

Febuary 8 2019

By Haakon

I have been in Uganda since the 1^st, so far four days in Kampala, and since then we have been in Nasawo. This is a village where people make a living farming. There are banana and coffee tree fields, people raise chickens and pigs, they grow their own vegetables mostly. The primary schools do not have electricity, nor glass windows. There is one pit latrine for all the students to use and there is a sink to wash hands, but I did not see soap.  Dysentery is one of the highest causes of death for small children, good hand hygiene helps to prevent its spread, so soap is very important. I also noticed the clinic had no soap to wash your hands in the bathrooms. It’s sad to think about, say a woman goes to the bathroom, now her hands are dirty from the bathroom; she then puts her hands on the bed where she is recovering after delivery and caring for her new baby. Now with bathroom germs getting on surfaces, it’s not sanitary for anyone. It makes me wonder if childbirth and check-ups could be made safer if there was just some soap in the bathroom?

              So, my mom and I started brain storming ideas that Siri and I could begin to help this problem during the next two weeks, or at least get some system laid down to solve this problem over time. We decided we want to learn how to make soap, then teach a trusted adult figure in the village how to make it safely for example the clinic lab tech or teachers at the Secondary School. Also teachers and the nurse can teach about the benefits of hand hygiene. However, there are a couple draw backs. One, we have to find where we can buy the chemical ingredients for the soap. Two, we need to figure out who can make the soap and how they can learn to make the soap. We are thinking of going to the local high school and asking if they would be willing to teach how to make soap in chemistry class because making soap is a great science project, you have to mix the chemical ingredients correctly otherwise its not safe and it doesn’t turn out just like many other chemistry experiments. The last big drawback is if we want to make solid soap it takes around a month to cure, so we may learn to make liquid soap instead.

              I also want to start making hand soap when I get to Seattle and all of the proceeds could go to getting new schools books that will excel the children’s learning. There are many very dedicated teachers in these small villages, but they do not have adequate learning supplies so they can only teach the kids so much. Children are taught in English which is their second language. For example, 9-year old’s are learning how to break up the words (like banana into ba-na-na) which we learned in kindergarten.

I feel most of the kids, if not all of the local kids here have an incredible struggle to make a better future for themselves with what they have. I’m not trying to say they can’t but the resources and lack of funding here is extraordinary. Private school fees are expensive for people here. Even if the parents send their child to a government funded school, it isn’t always worth it because the kids could be better help at home; especially on the days the teacher doesn’t show up. Their wages are so low that if its planting or harvest time, the teachers might stay home and work in their garden instead of go to work.

              This is the project I will be working on for the next two weeks along with getting to know the locals, playing, and working with them. I will hopefully find a way to make the soaps with the help of my mom, Siri, and Deborah (a local family friend), feel free to ask any questions or give suggestions. I’ll let you know how it goes.