African Impact works closely with the local community. We have relationships with several schools, and we have been making an impact at one of them by helping to create a vegetable garden. This was started in June, and is already well established. The school is part of an ‘eco-training’ partnership.
Our initial job was to finish some fencing. For this, big posts are first put into the ground, with three strands of wire between them. We then ‘thread’ the smaller posts in, which highlighed the OCD in some people; if the colours were not in the same order they couldn’t cope! Of course we got to a point where we had run out of the ‘correct’ colour so they just had to deal with it!! Each post then had to be tied (with wire) to the horizontal strand to hold it securely, which is what I’m doing below.
The school cuts down on its water usage by hanging these bottles full of water for the children to wash their hands. If they had access to a running tap they would waste it, so this method ensures that only a little is used.
Here is the veggie garden:
Lessons were in progress but at break times several children came to work in the garden. Some were watering the vegetables, and others were mixing cement – whilst wearing their school uniform! Can you imagine the uproar if Western children went home with cement on their uniform?
After we had done all we could on building the wall, we helped out on the compost heap. Rather alarmingly there was a snake at the bottom but luckily one of our volunteers spotted it and it was moved away through the fence. 
