Inter Campus Uganda: the long grass

"The grass is so high!" When Mrs Josephine, the headmistress of St Joseph's Primary School in Nagalama explains how things are going during this current period following the outbreak of the virus, it’s these words which leave the biggest impression on us. The school’s playing field, where hundreds of children normally train and play, is now made up of long grass with the youngsters in quarantine at home.

But from 1 June, according to government plans, schools will reopen and, with all the possible safety measures in place (the school which we work with is adjacent to the hospital established thanks to the work of the non-governmental organisation Doctors with Africa CUAMM), the children will be able to train again. Obviously, we’ve been asked to proceed with maximum caution, even if the country hasn’t felt the full force of the pandemic. But we’re sure that our instructors/coaches, who already provide health information with the aim of preventing endemic diseases (malaria, AIDS, waterborne diseases), will know how to manage the reopening in the best possible way.

Almost 300 boys and girls can’t wait to return to school and, of course, play football with Inter Campus again. This has been confirmed by Michael, a local instructor, who we keep in touch with via whatsapp. The network connection isn’t great, but we’re always happy to see him and, through him, share information and study materials that can be used by him and all the teachers, who continue to provide an education from distance. We would once again like to thank MP Filtri, a worldwide leader in the field of hydraulic filtration equipment, and Giovanni Pasotto, the CEO of the Lombard company, for their support, which has allowed us to carry out this project for many years now. This has provided us with the certainty that those children will always be able to enjoy themselves and grow up playing on that field, including and especially when the pandemic is over and the youngsters start trampling on the grass as they play. “I’m delighted with the activities that we’ve been developing together with Inter Campus in Uganda for a number of years now. The hope is that we’ll one day be able to visit the school in Nagalama and these wonderful children together,” said Pasotto