Nsambya girls make soap, juice and shoe polish
Mar 17, 2009
IT is such a relief for Damali Walakira. Just a few years ago, this middle-aged woman used to spend a lot of time and money on her daughter’s school requirements. But that is no more.
By H. Ssempogo
IT is such a relief for Damali Walakira. Just a few years ago, this middle-aged woman used to spend a lot of time and money on her daughter’s school requirements. But that is no more.
Today, Walakira’s daughter, Winfred Namayinje, reports to school almost bare-handed because she can buy or make everything she needs at school, including juice, shoe polish, bathing and washing soap, liquid and powder detergents among others.
Welcome to St. Joseph’s Girls Secondary School Nsambya, where girls are boldly setting foot in entrepreneurship. The girls make everything from soap to shoe polish, thanks to the entrepreneurship programme that was introduced a year ago. Recently, they displayed their work at an exhibition leaving their parents dazed.
At one of the stalls for liquid detergent, 15-year-old Catherine Namazzi in Senior Three identified the ingredients as salt, chemical compounds and pine oil such as CMC, STPP and SMET.
“First, salt is placed in a basin in which all the other items are poured and stirred. After a while, a powder to which sulphuric acid is added forms,†Namazzi explained.
“To neutralise the acid, soda ash is added. Pine oil is also added to the detergent for a nice scent.â€
Teopista Nakitende, 15, who was at a stall for herbal skin care items explained that they use the bark of the neem and mugavu trees, and kanzironziro, a type of grass. The bark of the trees and the grass are medicinal and readily available in forests and bushes. They are then dried under the sun.
“When the herbs are dry, they are crushed to form a powder, which is mixed in a hot white base. Residues settle at the bottom of a container while the finer bits gather close to the top. The finer bits are measured before they are packed in neatly labelled, small plastic containers,†Nakitende told parents.
She is confident that with her skills, she will be able to get employment easily.
Other products that the students produce are chocolate and juice. Many of the supermarkets in Kampala sell the students’ products.
“These are skills that will be beneficial to our children in future,†Walakira said.
Mark Matsiko, a researcher at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, pledged support to the initiative. He said the products were good although they needed “a few adjustments†for better quality. Matsiko challenged other schools to include such skills on the curriculum.
The headteacher, Sister Agatha Mugwanya remarked, “As we teach the head, we need to teach the hands as well,†she said. But much of the work would still be a dream were it not for 42-year-old Pascal Ssentamu, the proprietor of Centre for Industrialisation located along Mityana Road.
With support from the school, he meticulously teaches the students how to make the products using modest equipment, which he says is not primary in making products.
Other schools where Ssentamu has introduced the project are: Trinity College Nabbingo, Uganda Martyrs Secondary School, Namugongo in Wakiso district and Rubaga Girls’ Secondary School in Kampala. About 1,500 students in the three schools study what Ssentamu refers to as as ‘science and entrepreneurship skills.’
The brand name for Rubaga and Nabbingo products is Rugisco and African Lady respectively.
The weakness of the education system is that it is not geared towards production, he argues: “The content of most subjects is not practical,†says Sentamu. He adds that the basic test for the students is the ability to create ready-to-sell products, from raw materials.
He says industrialisation should start from schools. His strategy is to have a class of people that will leave school and start producing commodities immediately.
IT is such a relief for Damali Walakira. Just a few years ago, this middle-aged woman used to spend a lot of time and money on her daughter’s school requirements. But that is no more.
Today, Walakira’s daughter, Winfred Namayinje, reports to school almost bare-handed because she can buy or make everything she needs at school, including juice, shoe polish, bathing and washing soap, liquid and powder detergents among others.
Welcome to St. Joseph’s Girls Secondary School Nsambya, where girls are boldly setting foot in entrepreneurship. The girls make everything from soap to shoe polish, thanks to the entrepreneurship programme that was introduced a year ago. Recently, they displayed their work at an exhibition leaving their parents dazed.
At one of the stalls for liquid detergent, 15-year-old Catherine Namazzi in Senior Three identified the ingredients as salt, chemical compounds and pine oil such as CMC, STPP and SMET.
“First, salt is placed in a basin in which all the other items are poured and stirred. After a while, a powder to which sulphuric acid is added forms,†Namazzi explained.
“To neutralise the acid, soda ash is added. Pine oil is also added to the detergent for a nice scent.â€
Teopista Nakitende, 15, who was at a stall for herbal skin care items explained that they use the bark of the neem and mugavu trees, and kanzironziro, a type of grass. The bark of the trees and the grass are medicinal and readily available in forests and bushes. They are then dried under the sun.
“When the herbs are dry, they are crushed to form a powder, which is mixed in a hot white base. Residues settle at the bottom of a container while the finer bits gather close to the top. The finer bits are measured before they are packed in neatly labelled, small plastic containers,†Nakitende told parents.
She is confident that with her skills, she will be able to get employment easily.
Other products that the students produce are chocolate and juice. Many of the supermarkets in Kampala sell the students’ products.
“These are skills that will be beneficial to our children in future,†Walakira said.
Mark Matsiko, a researcher at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, pledged support to the initiative. He said the products were good although they needed “a few adjustments†for better quality. Matsiko challenged other schools to include such skills on the curriculum.
The headteacher, Sister Agatha Mugwanya remarked, “As we teach the head, we need to teach the hands as well,†she said. But much of the work would still be a dream were it not for 42-year-old Pascal Ssentamu, the proprietor of Centre for Industrialisation located along Mityana Road.
With support from the school, he meticulously teaches the students how to make the products using modest equipment, which he says is not primary in making products.
Other schools where Ssentamu has introduced the project are: Trinity College Nabbingo, Uganda Martyrs Secondary School, Namugongo in Wakiso district and Rubaga Girls’ Secondary School in Kampala. About 1,500 students in the three schools study what Ssentamu refers to as as ‘science and entrepreneurship skills.’
The brand name for Rubaga and Nabbingo products is Rugisco and African Lady respectively.
The weakness of the education system is that it is not geared towards production, he argues: “The content of most subjects is not practical,†says Sentamu. He adds that the basic test for the students is the ability to create ready-to-sell products, from raw materials.
He says industrialisation should start from schools. His strategy is to have a class of people that will leave school and start producing commodities immediately.