Roots of hope in Nakiloro

How the project began

In the Moroto district, Karamoja region of Uganda, hundreds of children attended lessons outdoors. When it rained — and in that area it rains hard between June and October — school stopped. When the wind blew or the sun beat down too hard, learning became impossible. Many children didn't attend at all, ending up working in nearby mineral mines.

Nakiloro Community Primary School had only three classrooms for hundreds of students. There were no latrines, no way to wash hands, no running water. Children practiced open defecation. The courtyard was dirty. There was no garden to supplement meals.

This is where "Roots of Hope in Nakiloro" was born, a project implemented by Costa Family Foundation together with local partner Insieme si può (ISP) in Africa, with support from the Autonomous Province of Bolzano.

What we did

New classrooms for sheltered learning

We built a pavilion with two new, solid classrooms that protect from rain and sun. Construction lasted from February to June 2025: foundations, walls, roof, doors, windows, plaster, paint. Everything was verified by the District Engineer who issued the occupancy certificate in July.

Along with the classrooms, we brought 42 new desks, 2 teachers' desks, and 2 bookshelves. Before our intervention, 130 students attended the school. In the third quarter of 2025, the average rose to 359 attending students, out of 434 total enrollments. Almost triple. Outdoor lessons are no longer held.

Latrines, water, and hygiene

We built a latrine block with four rooms: two for boys, two for girls. We installed a rainwater collection system with a 5,000-liter tank. We brought six mobile handwashing stations with buckets and soap, positioned at strategic points: near the latrines, outside the classrooms, next to the kitchen.

But structures alone aren't enough. We organized three WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) training sessions involving 126 students from first, second, third, and fourth grades, plus teachers. The trainer used the CHAST methodology: games, cloth dolls, colorful images, participatory discussions.

Before the training, only about 25% of students reported using the latrines. By the end, everyone understood the importance of hygiene practices. The school's WASH Club was born with 40 student members. Now there's a cleaning schedule, latrines are used correctly, handwashing stations function.

Garden, trees, and food security

We delivered vegetable seeds: tomatoes, kale, spinach, eggplant, onions, peppers. We brought 49 fruit trees including mango, lemon, papaya, avocado. And 156 trees for reforestation: acacia, grevillea, Indian neem, teak. Plus all necessary tools.

ISP's agronomist trained students on how to plant trees and create a garden. The students planted 205 trees in strategic positions: they will create a windbreak, improve soil fertility, supplement diets. They created two planting beds and planted vegetables.

Already by November 2025, after just a few months, the garden had produced 16.2 kg of kale and 7.8 kg of spinach, used to prepare meals. Technical knowledge was measured: correct answers increased from 73% to 99.79% after training and review sessions.

The setbacks

The teachers' strike kept schools closed for eight consecutive weeks between August and October. Eight weeks when the newly planted garden risked drying out. Fortunately, the teaching staff managed to mobilize some community members to continue caring for the plants.

The numbers of change

• 655 student beneficiaries
• 2 new classrooms
• 42 desks
• 2 teachers' desks
• 2 bookshelves
• 4 latrines
• 1 water collection system (5,000 liters)
• 6 handwashing stations
• 126 students trained in WASH practices
• 205 trees planted
• 24 kg of vegetables produced in the first months
• School attendance nearly tripled: from 130 to 359 students

Sustainability

The structures have been handed over to the school, which will manage them together with the Subcounty and the Education Office. The principal established cleaning shifts involving students. The school hired a night guard to protect the buildings.

The garden will continue to produce: students know how to care for it. The acquired skills will likely be replicated in family gardens as well, multiplying the impact. The trees will grow over the years, improving biodiversity, creating shade, producing fruit.

ISP in Africa will continue regular monitoring even after the formal conclusion of the project. And there's important news: Nakiloro school has been added to the list of institutions eligible to become government-run. If the request is approved, it will mean support from local government, more teachers, a fence, resources for future development.

A holistic approach

This project works because it didn't address just one problem, but looked at them all together. Building classrooms would make no sense if children get sick from lack of hygiene. Teaching hygiene would make no sense if there's no water to wash with. Bringing all this would make no sense if children arrive at school hungry.

That's why we worked simultaneously on education, hygiene, and nutrition. That's why we trained students and teachers, not just built walls. That's why we chose a local partner who knows the territory, speaks local languages, knows how to navigate.

The project involved district authorities from the beginning. It involved parents, community members, the school board. When the community feels part of the project, the project survives and grows even when we're no longer there.

The ceremony

On October 13, 2025, the inauguration ceremony was held with students, teachers, parents, the ISP team, district authority representatives, and the Italian delegation from Associazione Gruppi Insieme Si Può.

The school wrote a letter of appreciation. But the words that matter most are the silent ones: students entering the new classrooms in the morning, teachers who finally have a dignified space, children washing their hands before eating without anyone telling them to, the garden that continues to produce.

What we learned

That projects work when they listen to communities' real needs, not when they impose solutions from above. That training is as important as infrastructure. That involving local authorities isn't a formality but a necessity. That you need patience, flexibility, ability to adapt without losing sight of the goal.

We learned that the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, with its support for international cooperation, allows small foundations like ours to implement concrete projects that truly change people's lives.

And we learned that the best projects are those that, once finished, continue on their own. Because the community has made them their own. Because students know how to care for the garden. Because latrines are cleaned without anyone imposing it. Because those trees will continue to grow for years, and none of us will be there to see them grow tall, but it doesn't matter: they'll grow anyway.