In semi-arid Moroto, students embrace green solutions

Jul 18, 2024

Moroto High School is engaged in tree planting, vegetable growing and elimination of polythene bags (kaveera) from the school environment.

A student of Moroto High School in Karamoja sub-region checks out tomatoes they grow in the school garden. (Credit: Eddie Ssejjoba)

Eddie Ssejjoba
Journalist @New Vision

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 GREEN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE PROJECTS EVALUATION 

📍 KARAMOJA REGION

Every Thursday, the members of the Environment Club of Moroto High School in Moroto district (Karamoja sub-region) get down to general cleaning, including collecting polythene bags (kaveera) and plastic bottles.

The school is part of the Green Schools Initiative, which is in its second year of implementation by Vision Group in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and funded by the Embassy of Sweden in Uganda.


Andrew Lochugai, a Senior Six student, is part of the 15-member Environment Club of Moroto High School.

He says the projects they are engaged include tree planting, vegetable growing and elimination of polythene bags (kaveera) from the school environment.


Every week, they collect all the garbage and later do sorting of plastic bottles and polythene bags, from which they make various products. 

They also practise smart agriculture in the gardens, where they grow vegetables, including sukuma wiki (kale), green pepper, onions and spinach.

They sell the vegetables to the school to get money, which money is in turn used to buy seedlings for planting.




Moroto High School, which started in 1965, is one of the oldest in Karamoja sub-region with a current student population of 1,221.


Another member of the Environment Club, Elijah Amejan, says he joined the club last year (2023) after he was elected the environment prefect.

One of the projects he has been actively engaged in is tree planting, considering that the school is located in a semi-arid region. 

They make an effort to water the planted trees, especially during the long dry season.

Barbra Ojao, another member of the club, says recently they planted 57 trees around the school to fight climate change. 

They also make products such as doormats from plastic bottle tops, decoration items from paper and polythene paper, baskets, keyholders, sandals, and ropes for recreation purposes.

Faridah Bwenene, the Environment Club patroness and a teacher, says the students have planted shade trees and plan to plant fruit trees by next year. 

They also make energy-saving stoves.

With the support of the school, they have made six large fire stoves that the school is using for preparing students' and teachers' meals.


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