On 11th July 2024, St. Anthony Nursery and Primary Schools, Kajjansi organized a study tour to Jinja. The tour was for only two classes that was Primary Six and Seven.

In the morning, all the pupils of primary six and seven woke up very excited about the tour. We had our breakfast at 5:00am before we started our journey to Jinja. We used the Kajjansi Express Highway such that we could reach there early. We travelled for three hours before we reached at Mabira Forest where we saw different tree species and animals like monkeys. Then we continued to Jinja City.

When we arrived at Jinja, we visited Nyanza Textile Industries (Nytil). At Nytil, our tour guide told us that Nytil was started in 1974 by a Britain called Sir Andrew Cohen. She told all of us to wear a facial mask before entering the factory. She also warned us not to touch any machine in the factory. While in the factory, we saw different machines and their functions. The machine that amazed me most was the dyeing machine. It could change different pieces of cloth into different colors. The tour guide told us that Nytil uses cotton to make clothes, curtains and bed sheets. From Nytil, we journeyed off to Vitafoam Uganda Ltd factory.

Vitafoam is a factory found in Buikwe District. On our way to the factory, we saw different places like Kakira Sugar factory, Lugazi sugar factory, tea plantations, sugarcane plantations and the Nile Bridge. When we arrived there, the tour guide, Mr. David Mukasa, welcomed us. He first greeted us then he told us about the history of vitafoam. He told us that vitafoam was started by Ugandans who later sold it to Indians called “Rai group”. He told us that Vitafoam makes different things like mattresses, pillows, cushions and baby coats. He told us that mattresses are not made from cotton, but they are made by mixing different chemicals. He informed us that they mix different chemicals like polyol, TDI, chalk, tin, amine, silicone oil, color and water. He told us that all the above chemicals are imported from South Korea. He also added that a foaming machine is used to cut the mattresses into different pieces. We then left Vitafoam for the Masese Fish landing site via the Nile Bridge.

When we arrived the landing site, the place was as cold as ice because it is near the lakeshores. There were different things to buy like watches, goggles, ice cream and fish. The tour guide gathered us in one place and taught us about the different types of fish caught at Masese. He gave us different types like Nile perch locally known as “Mpuuta” tilapia locally known as “Ngege” and lung fish locally known as “Emamba”. He added that they use methods like gill netting, long lining and trawling to catch the above fish. He told us that the poor methods of fishing are, using poison and pursuing methods. We left Masese and travelled to Jinja where we had our heavy lunch. We ate delicious food like pilau, meat and soda. After heavy lunch, we traveled back to school, and we reached school at night.

In a nutshell, I would advise all schools to organize study tours to different educational places for children to study and experiment what is taught in the classroom in addition to having lots of fun.

KAYONGO MALIK GADDAFI
P7 North