Flooding keeps thousands of Ugandan children out of school

Thousands of school children have been forced to stay at home as schools remain closed because of flooding in eastern Uganda. More than 150 educational institutions failed to open at the beginning of the new term today (September 17) after the floods washed away roads, homes, buildings and crops in the region. Education minister, Namirember Bitamazire, told reporters the Ugandan government was trying to find alternative strategies to allow the schools to reopen, especially in the districts of Amuria, Katakwi, Manafwa and Bukedea. The floods have affected tens of thousands of people. Many of those are families that had just returned to their villages after years of displacement in camps because of civil war between the government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Read the article at IRIN News.