First lady hails UNDP partnership

The First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Mrs Janet Museveni, has commended the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and government partners for their successful collaboration in implementing the Nehemiah Initiative, a nationwide school greening project that has transformed learning environments and strengthened the protection of school land across Uganda.

She described the Nehemiah Initiative as a critical intervention that has laid a strong foundation for greening schools, transforming and building climate-resilient schools and instilling environmental stewardship among learners.

Mrs Museveni was speaking during the Nehemiah Project closeout meeting, which brought together officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, UNDP, the Ministry of Water and Environment, the National Forestry Authority (NFA) and some headteachers from beneficiary schools, at State House Nakasero on Monday.
The meeting reviewed the final results of the UNDP-funded $600,000 (sh2.2b) initiative implemented in 41 pioneer schools across the country.

INSPIRATION
Mrs Museveni reflected on the biblical inspiration behind the project’s name, noting that Nehemiah, the great rebuilder, mobilised people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem so they would no longer live in disgrace. “Our schools are still in need of the same restoration — more greening and fencing. The work is not yet complete,” she said, stressing the importance of live hedges to keep animals out of school compounds and restore order and beauty.

“I must thank UNDP for accepting to hold hands with us to implement this very critical project for our schools and institutions,” the education minister said, adding that the closeout marks “not an end, but the beginning” of renewed efforts to green and beautify schools nationwide.

GREEN COMPOUNDS
Reflecting on her own school days, the First Lady noted that beautiful, green compounds were once the standard for Ugandan education. “I believe it is just the beginning of restoring the glory of our schools and institutions,” she stated, emphasising that the project was about the restoration of pride.

Mrs Museveni stressed that while the project has ended, the work of greening schools nationwide to restore their beauty, dignity and safety must continue.
She directed the education ministry permanent secretary, Dr Kedrace Turyagyenda, to ensure that greening activities are budgeted for deliberately and maintained by school management teams moving forward.
“As we close out this phase, I believe it is just the beginning of restoring the glory of our schools and institutions,” Mrs Museveni said, calling for hands-on participation by leaders and communities to model what well-greened school environments should look like.
“The foundation has been laid. We now have no excuse not to continue and ensure that our schools are green, protected and conducive for learning,” she said.
Mrs Museveni reaffirmed her commitment to championing the next phase of the initiative and called on all stakeholders to build on the gains made to ensure long-term impact.

The Nehemiah Initiative: Greening Schools Project was launched in October 2022 with a vision of building climate-resilient schools, promoting environmental stewardship, fencing schools as well as providing shade and beautification of school compounds. It ended in December 2025.

JOINT EFFORT
The project is a joint effort of the UNDP, the ministries of education, water and NFA. It spans five regions: West Nile, eastern, western, central and northern Uganda.
Turyagyenda recalled that the 2026Nehemiah Initiative was conceived following concerns raised by Mrs Museveni over limited tree cover, lack of fencing and encroachment on school land.

The UNDP resident representative for Uganda, Nwanne Vwede-Obahor, said the project had significantly benefited students and communities. She noted that complementary UNDP initiatives further strengthened school greening efforts, especially in hard-to-reach region.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Key achievements highlighted in the project report presented by UNDP project officer Rose Wanyana include: the establishment of tree nurseries in 41 secondary schools across all regions of Uganda and the raising of over 516,000 seedlings, including fruit trees, timber species, medicinal plants and live hedges.

There was also training of 1,889 students and 93 teachers in nursery management, environmental stewardship, leadership and in entrepreneurship, and the provision of water infrastructure, including rainwater harvesting tanks and shallow wells, to support nursery sustainability, with some schools expanding benefits to nearby primary schools and surrounding communities.

To ensure the long-term impact of the investment, the Ministry of Education and Sports will now take over the management of these nurseries. Key strategies for sustainability include: mainstreaming greening activities into the national school co-curricular program, supporting schools to run nurseries as profitable ventures to supply surrounding communities with seedlings, and incorporating nursery consumables into the formal school budget.