Students solve nutrition challenges in refugee settlement schools

The scene was frenzied. Students were all about the compound akin to busy bees. I took interest in a stout and well-built young man. His shirt was a little creased on his left side just under the breast pocket and as he collected three buckets from one table it was immediately obvious why. As he collected the little buckets, he turns and smiles at us noticing our interest and curiosity in his actions. He carefully loaded one bucket between his left hand and ribs which gently caused a few folds of his shirt and collected two more before proceeding to his colleagues. He was beaming with excitement and his colleagues were no different.

Windle International Uganda in Partnership with USEP arranged science and Innovation fairs in Windle International Uganda-supported schools in Adjumani District. These include;

• Nyumanzi Secondary School
• Pagirinya Secondary School
• Ayilo Secondary School
• Maaji Secondary School
• Leewa Secondary School

These are located in refugee settlements and therefore predominantly have refugee students from diverse backgrounds.

The Science fair projects enable the students to pose their own questions and answer them. Doing a science fair project, therefore, involves developing and “owning” the question; researching literature; forming a hypothesis; designing a project; gathering and organizing the data; analyzing, graphing, and discussing the data; making a conclusion; writing the literary and research reports, and making an oral and visual presentation.

In this process, students develop and apply skills in literary and laboratory research, statistical analysis, and public speaking, while gaining a sense of empowerment and building self-esteem. Because science fair projects are actually cross-curriculum projects that train students for real-life problem solving, the science fair project integrates all aspects of education and helps to prepare them for real-world job assignments. Having completed a science fair project, students will have the skills necessary to design future investigations in a variety of different fields.

A science fair project may become the impetus for a future career. These fairs are generally competitive events where contestants present their science project results in the form of a report, display board and models that they have created. The fairs are typically intended to demonstrate learned and applied scientific concepts on a small scale.