HOPE NORTH UGANDA
COLLABORATION WITH THE CLINTON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS HONOR'S COLLEGE Located in Northern Uganda, Hope North is an organization that helps to build conditions for peace by educating and empowering young victims of Uganda's civil war. This organization was founded by Okello Sam, a former child soldier and artist, in 1998 in order to protect and empower youth against the horrific violence that has plagued Northern Uganda. These victims, who include orphans, refugees, and former child soldiers, are educated at an accredited secondary school and vocational center by 26 Ugandan educators on the 40-acre Hope North campus. The University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service has established a partnership with Hope North in order to address a particular set of needs. In 2014, the Honors College at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville began a collaboration with the Clinton School of Public Service in order to provide more assistance with these needs. My main projects at Hope North included redesigning their entrance gate and determining the location and design of hand washing stations. My goals were to involve students in these projects and create a more aesthetic and healthy environment for the community of Hope North. MARY NELL PATTERSON • FAY JONES SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE SUMMER 2014 • DEPARTMENT OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
PROJECT 1 - ENTRY GATE
ENTRY GATE INTRODUCTION AND PLANNING PHASE
PROJECT II - HAND WASHING STATIONS HAND WASHING STATION INTRODUCTION AND PLANNING PHASE
Before arriving at Hope North, I was charged with the task of redesigning the entry gate. I was to implement a mural, flowers, and an archway. One of my goals was to involve the students and teachers of Hope North in this process. I began by sketching out ideas and asking teachers and administrators what would be possible. I worked with the two art teachers of Hope North to develop a mural for the right side of the gate. I also collaborated with the head teacher of an organization on campus, Hope Family, to organize a day where the students of this organization could plant seeds around the gate and other areas of campus. I also worked with the vocational teacher on developing a design and budget for the archway. However, there were a number of challenges during the implementation process.
The hand washing station project was an effort completed by Bolton Kirchner, Jackie Nyamutumbu, and I to design a hand washing station model that was appropriate for the students and staff of Hope North. There have been cases of typhoid at Hope North due to inadequate cleaning methods in their latrines. We began this project by first setting up two temporary hand washing stations in different locations. We did this to alleviate the current issue of typhoid and to educate the students on when and how to properly wash their hands. From there we began to design different models of hand washing stations. We experimented with hands free systems, but determined that they would require too much maintenance that the staff at Hope North could not sustain. We also looked into the tippy tap system which is a hands free system that is supported by the United Nations, but it was not appropriate for the needs of the students. We finally settled on a design and began working with the two vocational teachers on a budget and how it would be constructed.
ENTRY GATE IMPLEMENTATION
HAND WASHING STATIONIMPLEMENTATION
There were a variety of challenges before reaching the implementation phase of the gate project. For example, I prepared a budget for the archway over the gate. Previously, I had arranged for the vocational students to build the archway, but the project was beyond their scope of skills. It was later suggested that we hire a professional from the nearby town of Bweyale. I decided that the project was becoming too expensive and that the funds could be used for cleaning supplies and hand washing stations which the students desperately need.
Once we set up the temporary hand washing stations we monitored how much water was being used per day and poured liquid soap into them each afternoon. We began working with one of the vocational teachers to design a more permanent station. He, in turn, designed a station of his own and incorporated the construction into the vocational school curriculum. We worked with a number of students to paint the station as well as to monitor its further use.
Sketch of gate archway with planting
We originally planned to construct a hand washing station over the existing well head on campus and to implement two more hand washing station stands near the kitchen and the teachers’ quarters. Our design for a hand washing station over the well head was not implemented due to budget constraints and availability of materials. In order to alleviate this problem we researched and constructed a budget for metal stands that would hold two new water tanks. These tanks would include valves with handles that you can push with the back of your hand. These stands were made in Bweyale by a local welder and were placed by each latrine.
The two art Teachers of Hope North and I worked on a design for a mural on the right side of the entry gate. They asked a number of students who are pursing art to help in this endeavor. The students drew their own version of the mural concept and were able to come up with a common picture for the gate. Several students also helped to prepare the soil around the gate for planting seeds the following day.
Well Head Hand Washing Station Design
Concept sketch for gate mural
CAMPUS BEAUTIFICATION DAY - JULY 19
WATER MANAGEMENT TEAM
Campus Beautification Day was an effort to gather together students from different organizations on campus and create a more aesthetic and healthy environment. The Hope Family participated in planting seeds around the gate, underneath the flag pole on campus, and near the girls’ dormitory. The Water Management Team, an organization that demonstrates clean water practices, cleaned up the bore hole and cleared a canal to allow for adequate drainage to the adjacent aloe crop.
The water management team is a group of students elected by their fellow classmates to conduct a water audit of the campus and adjacent areas. They also developed a situational analysis based on this audit. Based on these findings, the water management team then helped to share smart water practices with the surrounding community. We met weekly and also participated in a variety of projects such as discussinglocations for hand washing stations, painting the newly constructed hand washing station stand, cleaning up the area surrounding the bore hole, and creating a drainage canal connected to the bore hole. We also lead a program to teach children who live in the surrounding community how to wash their hands.
DAILY LIFE AT HOPE NORTH Every day the students who attend Hope North wake up at around six in the morning. They begin their classes at eight and continue until four thirty in the afternoon. After classes they usually play soccer, do chores, fetch water from the bore hole, or practice Acholi dances. My fellow travel companions and I would join in on as many things as possible with the students. I enjoyed talking with them and learning about their daily lives. Every morning I would begin the day with a cup of instant coffee and a few pieces of chapati made by our amazing cook and Hope North mother, Mama Rose. I would then go about my day whether by having meetings with teachers or sketching out ideas for a new hand washing station. At night we would usually play cards or read aloud to each other. There was always something to see or hear at Hope North. It is a very peaceful place filled with beautiful people.