Storm kills pupil Sironko school
Mar 17, 2009
One pupil died and several others were injured when a hailstorm blew off the roof of a classroom block at Soola Primary School in Bukiyi sub-county, Sironko district. The head teacher, Gertrude Kikome, identified the deceased as Esther Nakayenze, a P5 pup
By Daniel Edyegu
One pupil died and several others were injured when a hailstorm blew off the roof of a classroom block at Soola Primary School in Bukiyi sub-county, Sironko district. The head teacher, Gertrude Kikome, identified the deceased as Esther Nakayenze, a P5 pupil and daughter to Aneli Gimeyi.
“It started just after the pupils had entered the classrooms after the lunch break. A teacher rushed to evacuate them when the roofs started flying off,†Kikome narrated the Thursday ordeal. “Nakayenze asked her classmates to kneel down and pray instead of running away.
The walls collapsed on her while she prayed.†She said Nakayenze was rushed to Mbale Hospital where she died moments later. Kikome said the P1, P5, P6 and P7 classrooms, the staffroom and the head teacher’s office were affected. She said the pupil’s exercise books and text books were destroyed.
Mangled iron sheets from the block, she explained, were blown about 100 metres away from the compound. An iron-roof structure at Kaduwa Catholic Church, near the school, was also destroyed “We will not close the school because we will not be able to complete the syllabus.
We have decided to conduct classes in the church,†Kikome stated. Several grass-thatched houses in the neighbouring village were destroyed, leaving about 1,500 people without shelter. “I was in the house with my children when the storm lifted off our roof. We slept in the house without a roof.
All the neighbourhood was affected, so there was nowhere to seek shelter,†Harriet Bugosi Bulobe, 48, narrated. A team comprising of the district chairman, Wambi Kibale, the resident district commissioner, Kamara Bayeya, the education officer, Sarah Bugosi and the acting district engineer, Michael Madoyi, on Friday visited the school and the neighbourhood and promised to mobilise emergency relief from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Since most of the walls were not destroyed, we will consult the engineer on the possibility of re-roofing the block immediately,†Kibale said. He attributed the incident to lack of wind-breakers and directed the education officer to ensure that trees are planted in schools. Madoyi said the wall collapsed because it was built without a ring-beam.
The Uganda Red Cross Society has started an assessment of the damage so as to plan for relief aid.
One pupil died and several others were injured when a hailstorm blew off the roof of a classroom block at Soola Primary School in Bukiyi sub-county, Sironko district. The head teacher, Gertrude Kikome, identified the deceased as Esther Nakayenze, a P5 pupil and daughter to Aneli Gimeyi.
“It started just after the pupils had entered the classrooms after the lunch break. A teacher rushed to evacuate them when the roofs started flying off,†Kikome narrated the Thursday ordeal. “Nakayenze asked her classmates to kneel down and pray instead of running away.
The walls collapsed on her while she prayed.†She said Nakayenze was rushed to Mbale Hospital where she died moments later. Kikome said the P1, P5, P6 and P7 classrooms, the staffroom and the head teacher’s office were affected. She said the pupil’s exercise books and text books were destroyed.
Mangled iron sheets from the block, she explained, were blown about 100 metres away from the compound. An iron-roof structure at Kaduwa Catholic Church, near the school, was also destroyed “We will not close the school because we will not be able to complete the syllabus.
We have decided to conduct classes in the church,†Kikome stated. Several grass-thatched houses in the neighbouring village were destroyed, leaving about 1,500 people without shelter. “I was in the house with my children when the storm lifted off our roof. We slept in the house without a roof.
All the neighbourhood was affected, so there was nowhere to seek shelter,†Harriet Bugosi Bulobe, 48, narrated. A team comprising of the district chairman, Wambi Kibale, the resident district commissioner, Kamara Bayeya, the education officer, Sarah Bugosi and the acting district engineer, Michael Madoyi, on Friday visited the school and the neighbourhood and promised to mobilise emergency relief from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Since most of the walls were not destroyed, we will consult the engineer on the possibility of re-roofing the block immediately,†Kibale said. He attributed the incident to lack of wind-breakers and directed the education officer to ensure that trees are planted in schools. Madoyi said the wall collapsed because it was built without a ring-beam.
The Uganda Red Cross Society has started an assessment of the damage so as to plan for relief aid.