Kiwoko Coordinating Center Library Project

This is a picture of the building that I do work in. It is called the Kiwoko Coordinating Center and it is connected to my office. This building is supposed to be utilized as a resource of information by the educators and children in my community. I know! It looks really resourceful doesn't it? Sakaya John (my Ugandan Counterpart) and I are responsible for ensuring that the building is being used for its purposes. One way that we fulfill this responsibility is by inviting teachers to the Coordinating Center to take part in workshops on how to improve their instructional approaches. They also come to the center to gather information and borrow materials that supplement their lesson plans. This is what the building looked like when I arrived in Kiwoko.


Unfortunatley, the building was originally poorly constructed and as a result the floors were falling to pieces. The damage to the floor caused a great deal of dust, which essentially destroyed any resources that were put in the building. The Center was also an unsafe environment for both educators and children alike. After brainstorming a great deal about how we envisioned the building to be utilized by both the children and the teachers, Sakaya and I wrote a grant in order to renovate the building so that we could get started in providing support to our community. This picture is of P.7 girls from Kiwoko Primary School. They are helping me to clean up the newly layed floor.


Once the new floor was put in we were able to start giving the center a much needed face lift. This is Sakaya John learning how to paint. We thought a black chalkboard was a good way for him to learn. He did a lovely job and now wants to paint his own home.



Lucky for me I have great Peace Corps Volunteers as friends who were willing to come and help me paint the center for nothing but a grilled cheese sandwich and a cold beer. (Oh wait! We are Peace Corps Volunteers! There isn't a whole lot we wouldn't do these days for good company, cheese and cold tasty beverages.) It would have taken Sakaya and I ages to complete it on our own. Thanks to a little cooperation we got the whole place painted in a weekend. This is a picture of Cynthia Murray painting the window frames of the center in what I believe could be referred to as a John Deer Green. Today she is taking an unusual break from her responsibilities as a superhero to help a sister out!