IRT’s CEO, Adrian Hatch, just returned from a two-week trip to Uganda where he visited IRT projects and talked to people to see how else we can help in the region.
Redeemer Childrens’ Home
The new piggery is doing well
One of IRT’s projects is the Moyo Redeemer Children’s Home (RCH). The Home now has several income generating projects: a poultry unit, a dairy, a grinding mill and a shop. Recently, a farm and a piggery were set up. The piggery has started very well and currently four sows have between them forty-five piglets. Feeds are produced by Sr. Pasqua on the farm which works out 50% cheaper than buying readymade.
The farm is located 20 minutes from the Home in a particularly fertile valley. It consists of 30 acres which were cultivated with beans, maize, simsim, groundnuts, cassava and onions last year. Although bean and groundnut yields were modest due to rainfall, cassava is doing very well and is mature enough to survive prolonged drought conditions.
To further support the RCH, IRT will provide funds for six oxen, ploughs, supplementary seeds, training and drugs. IRT is also negotiating to supply the dairy project with another bull and to install a solar system for the borehole in order to reduce energy costs. To improve accountant systems and train staff at both the RCH and another of IRT’s projects, the Moyo Babies Home, IRT will send an Accountant volunteer to Moyo in September. Furthermore, it is planned to purchase two laptops together with printers for each Home.
The Comboni Samaritans of Gulu project ‘Access to Quality Education’
Children in front of the new classrooms at Pawel Ayiga
The ‘Access to Quality Education’ project has come a long way. When visiting Pawel Ayiga school in March 2009, Adrian found only one old classroom and no people living in the area. Now, he was proud to officially open one block of three classrooms. Work has just started on another two blocks of classrooms and teachers accommodation. The area is now livelier with many households being re-established around the school. IRT also agreed with local authorities to support the construction of classrooms and teachers accommodation at Orapwoyo primary school this year.
The project includes six schools which all run two income generating projects: Tree Nurseries and Bee Hives. Each of the six schools produced pine tree 
seedlings both for sale and also for planting of woodlots for the respective school. They raised considerable money through sale and planted over 3,000 seedlings themselves. Furthermore, a total of 35 bee hives at the six schools have been successfully colonised. Harvesting will begin in August this year.
The Gulu and Amuru District ox ploughing project
Fully trained and matured oxen working in Olwal zone
Adrian was particularly pleased with the performance of this project. Launched in 2007, the project targets 4 zones comprising 44 groups of nine families in total. Each group of nine families has one pair of oxen and a plough. In 2009, three of the four zones produced the impressive amount of 44.2 metric tonnes of food. This food comprised beans, maize, millet and groundnuts. In 2010, those three zones have ploughed and planted 729 acres. This equates to approximately three acres per family. The fourth zone was established more recently and has ploughed around 153 acres (one acre per family as the oxen are still immature).
To sustain this successful project, IRT is planning to build storage buildings in each zone. The stores would allow groups to store their surplus produce (that which is not consumed by the families) until the best price can be obtained for it. Secondly, IRT would like to provide two ox carts per zone to move surplus produce to the storage buildings.
All in all, Adrian was pleased with the progress made by IRT projects in the region. Yet, there is still more to be done. We will keep you updated about how things go.
by Christina zur Nedden
Friday, July 9, 2010 at 11:13AM 
