Interns
Harriet Agemo (Agricultural Extension Education), Dennis Katuramu (Horticulture), Alice Wokibua (Agricultural Land Use)
Interns on VEDCO's 2006 School Gardens Project
Kamuli district, Uganda
Three recent graduates of Makerere University interned with VEDCO alongside the ISU students who participated in the school garden service learning course. The Makerere students completed detailed reports of their internship and these are some of their comments about strengths and benefits of the experience:
- The involvement of different development partners in programme development; participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the programme is necessary. For example the partnership of VEDCO, ISU and MUK, Namasagali Primary school, parents of the school and the community led to successful completion of this programme.
- Broadening my skills and experience in practical agriculture through working at the school garden and the visits I had with the farming families
- I also observed that the pupils in the school are brilliant, but because of their background and little exposure, the level of English speaking was low and not a very common language of communication but there is a potential for a bright future in them as evidenced from the interactions we had during teaching time. Through these interactions I got to learn the inspirations and future dreams/plans of these young people.
- The interaction with the American professors and students enabled me to discuss a number of issues relating to agriculture and human development especially in a developing country setting like Uganda.
- Local government concern about environment and food security
- Ability to learn Lusoga as another language was a good opportunity for me
- Pupils were very social and eager to learn to reach the level of the interns and their professors or faculty members
- Program should go on so that pupils get to know that agriculture is taught throughout the world and probably gain interest for higher studies
- Start a new internship program where university students go out to work with and teach agriculture in schools.
