HUGS Update August 2025
GROWING TOGETHER
This month the HUGS update comes from Andrew Baguma, the Chair of Good Shepherds special needs school. Andrew has long been a supporter of special needs education, and is now leading a new income generation project, to keep funds coming into this amazing school, the piggery project. Over to you Andrew.
In a quiet corner of Nteza village, the Good Shepherd Special Needs School is embarking on an inspiring journey that blends education and sustainable development. The new piggery project aims to provide a sustainable source of income and also serve as a unique learning opportunity for its students and staff, fostering a sense of responsibility and teamwork. The project started in June, is already proving to be a real success.
Good Shepherd Special Needs School, has always prioritized inclusive education for children with various disabilities. Director Sr. Theresa, a dedicated advocate for special needs education recognised the importance of having a sustainable project such as Piggery together with a hands-on learning experience for her students. “We wanted to create a project that would sustain the school and also engage our students and staff in a meaningful way. Pigs are not only a source of income but also provide manure that can improve crop yields. We already teach our students vocational skills, such as carpentry, tailoring, craft making and hair dressing. In the future they will learn about animal husbandry, nutrition, and the importance of hygiene in farming.”
So far, we have eight pigs that were bought when only 2-3 months old. They have grown a lot. We had excellent advice from Patrick Ssekyanzi, previously a HUGS Student who was sponsored to go to University to study animal farming. Our pigs are immunized, fed special food, they live in pens which are always clean and free of infections. Other pigs are kept in dirty places and they are not as healthy as ours and certainly don’t grow as quickly.
I am the supervisor of the project, but the day-to-day hard work is done by Denis Akugizibwe the farm caretaker. “I love feeding the pigs and watching them grow,” Denis says with a smile. “It makes me feel happy to help.” I have seen a positive change in his confidence and social skills since he began participating in the project. He’s more engaged and excited about learning. One of the other workers, Rodgers, is a caretaker of two dairy cows, which are still producing 100s of litres of milk a week. He has taken a special interest in all the farm projects and together we are a great team.
If you would like to help Andrew and the piggery project, please contact us on hugs.chair@gmail.com