Education infrastructure enhancement project in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement Yumbe district.

Abstract

By the end of March 2017 Uganda had become host to 1,199,051 refuges, with over 68% from South Sudan. The South Sudanese refugee population in Uganda was 880,211 by the 15th of April 2017, mostly in the West Nile district, with the average number of new arrivals being 1,862 people per day in the first two weeks of April. In Bidibidi settlement the 272,206 refugees are settled in an area previously hosting 221,300 people, more than doubling the population and leaving existing services woefully under resourced. This has had a negative impact on the local host communities, with schools and health Centers being overcrowded and lacking basic resources to cope with the influx hence resulting to child protection emergency in the sector of health and Education. The Government of Uganda (the Recipient), represented by the Office of the Prime Minister (The Project Executing Agency) received a grant from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, represented by German Federal Ministry of Development and Economic Cooperation (BMZ) through KFW, in the amount of Euro 10 Million towards the cost of the Refugee Response Fund (RRF). RRF was partly implemented by Save the Children Germany. The project includes the construction of, 105 class rooms, 14 units teachers house, 14 units teacher’s kitchen, 14 units 2 stance latrine,55 stances of latrine with Urinal and disabled stance for Boys,120 stances of latrine with Wash room and disabled stance for Girls,16 units of rain water harvesting system aimed at addressing some of the above challenges faced. The project is designed to ensure Primary schools have improved learning spaces and facilities to educate both refugee and host children, Children have improved learning outcomes through equitable inclusive and quality education and lastly to ensure local have strengthened commitment and capacity to maintain school structure and increase engagement with quality education provision. Proved learn The Project was implemented in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Yumbe District for a period of 4 years from 2018-2021.The project was designed to be implemented in 3 phases (1st, 2nd and 3rd phases). The first phase was implemented in 2019, Second phase in 2020 and third phase in 2021 with details in table 1 below. It’s on the basis of this background under Output 1 that Primary Schools have improved facilities to educate both refugees and host children, this report therefore presents the status of construction.by the end of project period,90% of the projects were completed within cost and2 schedule with except of 10% remaining that were completed beyond the estimated Budget and schedule. The main stake holders Includes; Save the children international, Office of the Prime Minister, NIRA’S, Yumbe District Local Government, United nation High Commission for Refugees and the various school administration’s within and outside Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement. The aim of this field attachment was therefore to develop the student’s skills to develop study issues in management of construction projects, collect data from various sources, analyses the data and present findings in a logical way. This report therefore gives a detail account of what transpired during the project right from inception to commissioning, Environmental Impacts Assessment/ESMP, Occupational Health and safety, activities executed and Project management.