“From my childhood, I have always read about Uganda being the pearl of Africa. My dream was always to get to this beautiful place. My first time in Uganda was in 2010. While on a bus to Soroti, a lady seated next to me drank water from a bottle and threw it out upon finishing. On reaching Soroti, the town was all littered with Rubish,” said Dana Simovic, a Swedish lady behind and initiative to have a clean green Uganda. She was addressing media, Friday.
Dana (C) with producer Washington (R)
She says that the rubbish she saw all over the place pushed her into thinking on how she could help Uganda return to the green clean country that she had been reading about.
“I thought of beginning with the young generation to save their future. I knew this was a very big task I was undertaking but once you are doing something that you love, nothing can stop you. But before I could begin anything, I had to first fly back home (Sweden) to draw my plan.”
While here, she told her relatives about her idea “and they all asked, ‘Are you crazy?! You don’t have resources, how will you achieve this?’”
But the lack of funding didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream. She mobilised her resources and returned to Uganda.
At the moment she has managed to convince nine primary schools towards her dream of having a clean green Uganda.
Among these include; Kibuli Demonstration School, Kitebi, Bright and Kabowa Church of Uganda primary schools among others. At these schools, the pupils are taught how keep a clean environment and the benefits of a green environment. They are equipped with urban farming methods, given tools and seeds to plant at their schools.
“We encourage pupils and teachers to plant trees. Some science Teachers use the gardens for teaching purposes like mulching, pruning etc. Dana came with new things. We also got new skills. We never knew the importance of trees apart from firewood and furniture but we now know. But now we are able to grow crops and plant trees. We have been skilled on how to grow crops even those in urban areas. Thank you alot Dana,” said Justine Alowo, a pupil from Kabowa church of Uganda.
She says she has a dream of extending the project to other areas “but it is not an easy thing because it is not about dealing with pupils alone. I have to bring their teachers on board. My dream is to cover all primary schools in Uganda. With the help of Ministry of Education, the number of schools will increase. I believe I am to be here in Uganda forever!”
Since her first trip to Uganda, Dana has been here 18 more trips to and fro Uganda.
Meanwhile, Dana emphasised that her idea is not about farming alone but having a clean environment is her number one priority.
“This is not about farming and planting trees only but it is a healthy program. This generation is to help the future. I am a mother and a grandmother so I have a feeling it’s children who can save their future. Because you have alot of diseases today, if this generation gets a clean environment, the numbers of diseases will have reduced in 20 years from now.”
On why she chose primary pupils for her program, she says that because these will be joining secondly and universities thus taking this knowledge with them. Dana has since been joined by musicians on her initiative. Among these include; Ragga Dee, Producer Washington, Coco Finger, Rema, Jay I, Levixone, Chris Evans among others.
Dana, Washington, Gareth Onyango and pupils who turned up for the conference pose for a group photo
Speaking on behalf of artistes, Washington said that she joined Dana’s project because he found it good for the future of Uganda.
“None of the artistes was paid to be part of the project. Money shouldn’t be the motivation to everything. If we change this mindset, we would be very far. Dana, are you aware I am the most expensive producer in East Africa? You are so lucky that you got me free of charge!” he joked.
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The title of the song recorded is called Keep Going.
He added that the main motivation for being part of the project was because he has ever been to Sweden and knows how clean it is. “I would wish the same for even Uganda.”