Village school pupils have raised money for coffee farmers who lost their homes and saw their crops destroyed by devastating floods and landslide that killed more than 40 people in Eastern Uganda.

After hearing the news of the affected area, Ysgol Pontrobert and Ysgol Dyffryn Banw each donated £100 to support the Mt Elgon Agroforestry Coffee Community Enterprise (MEACCE).

During this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight, pupils at Ysgol Pontrobert welcomed MEACCE deputy chair Jenipher Wettaka Sambazi to present a donation of £100 from their Menter a Busnes project to support her community. Ysgol Dyffryn Banw also donated a £100 from their thanksgiving fundraiser to support the farmers of MEACCE.

County Times:

Pupils from Ysgol Dyffryn Banw and ysgol Pennant welcomed Jenipher Wettaka Sambazi from Uganda. (Picture by Ffion Storer Jones.)

Jenipher said: “I received such a warm welcome by the pupils and their communities in Montgomeryshire, and want to thank them for their generosity.

“I’m looking forward to taking the letter that Chloe wrote on behalf of the pupils at Ysgol Pontrobert back to Uganda.

“I hope that we can grow this connection between the two regions, and continue to stand in solidarity and call for fair prices and treatment for farmers and workers across the world.”

During her visit to Montgomeryshire, Jenipher met with pupils from Ysgol Llanfair Caereinion, Ysgol Dyffryn Banw and Ysgol Pennant.

Catrin Tudor, who farms at Llysun near Llanerfyl with her family, joined Jenipher to share with the pupils their experiences of being women in agriculture, in celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8.

Ffion Storer Jones, visit co-ordinator, said: “I’m passionate about young people in our rural areas getting opportunities to learn about farming here in Wales and in other parts of the world. Understanding the challenges that farmers face in producing some of the foods we love, helps us to understand the impact of our choices and the importance of paying a fair price to farmers.”

A visit made by MEACCE chairman Nimrod Wambette in March 2019 was part of a first of its kind Fairtrade project organised by Montgomeryshire Young Farmers Club, funded by the Wales and Africa Grants Scheme.

Nimrod taught pupils how coffee was produced and the challenges that farmers are facing – such as low market prices and climate change.

Chloe Taylor, 11, a pupil at Ysgol Pontrobert said: “It was such a great experience meeting Nimrod and learning about his life as a coffee farmer.

“We hope the money we raised will help his community.”