Acknowledgements

My greatest appreciation is to my thesis advisor, Dr. Amanda Branscombe. Your

expertise, encouragement, motivation, and support were received from our first encounter
brainstorming ideas to the end of the thesis defense. Thank you for acquainting me with the
teachers, children, their parents, and faculty at the Child and Family Study Center. I feel lucky
to have had such a magnificent advisor.
To my committee member, Dr. Barbara Knous, I thank you for your extreme knowledge
of nutrition, research skills, and guidance. To, Dr. Lou Milanesi, expert committee member, I
thank you for your wisdom, patience, and leadership. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the
opportunity to learn from your superior research expertise.
A sincere appreciation goes out to the children and the parents who participated in the
study, for without you, there would be no study. Thank you for spending time getting to know
me and completing the questionnaires.
For all the head and student teachers, I am tremendously grateful for all of your warm?
welcome while I was at the daycare, but most importantly, for the assistance in transporting the
children from their daycare to the Nutrition Assessment Lab.
I do not know where to begin on my overpowering thanks to Kathy Markum, (MT.,
ASCP) for accepting the request to conduct the finger stick process on the children involved in
the biochemical testing. Your cooperation and dedication enhanced the validity, quality, and
significance of this study.
My gratitude for John and Debra Wesolek and UW-Stout for choosing this study as the
recipient for their grants. Also, a special thanks to Ryan Diagnostics, Inc. and Cholestech
Corporation for donating testing supplies for the equipment.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I praise the almighty God for his loving kindness and grace which accompanied me during the entire
research period.
I thank all my lecturers at Makerere University School of Public Health, from whom I have learned
much throughout my training in the field of Public Health. I am deeply grateful to my course mates
with whom we shared lectures and experiences. Through the questions and critical comments of my
supervisors, Dr. Guwatudde David and Dr. Nabiwemba Elizabeth, the overall content of my study
proposal and this dissertation report was tremendously enriched. My appreciation goes to Dr. Edith
Nakku-Joloba who was the final reviewer of this report.
I would like to thank the entire Tororo District Health Team them for all the support they availed to
me from the very first time I visited the District. Many thanks go to The AIDS Support Organization
(TASO) for all the financial support. Dr. Abdallah Nkoyooyo who mentored me from my first year
of studies. My appreciation goes to the management and staff members of TASO Tororo service
centre where this research was carried out.
I wish to thank my immediate family; my wife, Ms. Nabwire Jacqueline, my sons Egessa Jeffrey,
Egessa Jared and all the other family members for having endured my irregular presence at the
times they could have needed me most. Finally, this book could not have been written without the
valuable information voluntarily given by the study participants and the research assistants. I would
therefore like to register my sincere thanks to them.