MBALE, UGANDA MARARE & NASHISA CHILD FOCUSED COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION MID YEAR PROGRESS REPORT JUNE 2016

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1 MBALE, UGANDA MARARE & NASHISA CHILD FOCUSED COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION MID YEAR PROGRESS REPORT JUNE 2016 PREPARED BY Food for the Hungry (FH) Uganda & Food for the Hungry (FH) Canada NATIONAL OFFICE # Peardonville Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T 1L2 TF TEL FAX IMED WAREHOUSE 1225 Avenue W South, Saskatoon, SK S7M 5W7 TEL FAX

2 INTRODUCTION Activities supporting Child Focused Community Transformation (CFCT) continue to impact the children and families of Mbale, Uganda to improve their well being in a sustainable way. Programs in the overarching areas of education, health, livelihoods and disaster risk reduction/leadership training are being integrated to maximize resources. This year, Food for the Hungry (FH) program activities in Mbale are focused on the following objectives: Greater access to quality education for boys and girls in Marare and Nashisa. Improve child and family health. Increase income levels of families. Enhance biblical worldview among rural households through church engagement. Increase resilience of local leaders and their rural households in response to disasters in their geographical areas. 2

3 EDUCATION School Fees & School Supplies Out of all the sponsored children who benefited from elementary school fee assistance this year, over half were girls. These payments enabled the children to continue their education without disruption. The number of children who received secondary school fee assistance has increased from Miriam, an FH staff member, 45 children in the last fiscal year to 125 this year. This indicates an increase counsells teenages. in the number of students continuing on to secondary school. In addition to school fees, FH was able to supply over a thousand students - two-thirds of whom were girls - with exercise books, pens, pencils and math tools! This support helps improve student performance and raise literacy levels in the community schools. School Gardens The goal of the school garden project is to provide a sustainable source of sufficient produce to feed the students on a regular basis. To that end, the two schools each plan to plant 50 kgs of maize and 100 kgs of beans. Five pieces of land have been acquired for the schools in both Marare and Nashisa. In the past six months the plots of land were successfully mapped, surveyed, and marked. All that remains is the processing and transferring of the land titles which has been slightly delayed due to national elections and subsequent holidays. When cultivated, these five acres will feed more than 2,000 students in the two community schools! 3

4 Education Promotional Training FH facilitated two leadership trainings on the value of child education, especially for girls. Teachers, parents, and community leaders attended, totalling 70 participants (41 women, 29 men). One sign of changing attitudes towards education is the financial support parents and leaders provided for teacher trainings in Nashisa (20% of budget). They have also promised to support the children s assessment tests on a monthly basis by contributing money for the running of these tests. AWANA school fellowships In coordination with churches, 48 AWANA school fellowships were held with 551 children (219 boys, 332 girls) participating. Through Scripture memorization, children are taught how to apply biblical truths to their lives and how to overcome current challenges. At AWANA, children are also equipped with life skills in decision making and moral values. These meetings are held in coordination with local churches and in partnership with the schools. HEALTH Cascade Groups & Critical Medical Care Young mother in Nashisa carries her baby. Cascade Group leaders have been trained on the importance of sharing what they learn, the value of working in groups in a community, and identification and appreciation of the talents of group members. Flip chart training materials have been translated into the local language and distributed to assist volunteer health workers and Cascade Group leaders in presenting lessons on clinical care, caring for the sick, and acute respiratory illness. Malaria prevention and control, including the use of mosquito nets, were also reviewed. There are 13 Cascade Groups operating in Marare and Nashisa where mothers meet in groups of about 12 to participate in health education. A Cascade Group gathers on the grass. The few reported critical cases of sponsored children having malaria, HIV/AIDS, or skin related issues were given medical and nutritional care on a case-by-case basis. Parents and primary caregivers were guided on what to do to improve the health of these children. 4

5 LIVELIHOOD Savings and Loans Groups 81 Savings and Loans Groups are thriving in Marare and Nashisa, 12 of which have been established in the last six months, double this year s target! To increase the security of each group s savings, FH Uganda has partnered with a local provider of cellular banking services. Irene Lukoye in her weekly Savings and Loans Group meeting. In follow-up visits to existing groups, FH staff discovered that some group management committees lack of transparency was causing significant friction among members. To remedy this problem, two refresher trainings were given to address conflicts, especially regarding adherence to group bylaws and constitutions. The trainings emphasized transparency, trust, good leadership, and stewardship as necessary to a healthy saving culture. As a result, some groups revised their bylaws to avoid conflicts and build cohesion. Healthy groups were encouraged to move forward on their own, while those that were struggling were given more attention and facilitation of corrective measures by FH staff. Livestock Care & Management Twelve farmer groups were identified, assessed, and selected to benefit from the planned additional heifers to be supplied by FH. Each group was trained in livestock management, feeding procedures and processes, off season feeding, housing and caring for the animal, and more. Each new beneficiary was provided with four bags of cement to begin cow shed construction before the arrival of the new animals. It is expected that the in-calf heifers will be delivered within the next few months. Women gather to embroider. Existing farmer groups have continued to do well despite a few challenges, especially having to endure the prolonged drought and resulting animal deaths. FH staff conducted monitoring visits with a focus on the hygiene of the animals and their environment, disease detection, management and control, milk generation and sales monitoring, and appropriate feeding and grass planting. A number of farmers had cows prone to disease and needed more attention from extended services of FH staff and government workers. Laying bricks. 5

6 A third of the dairy cows have already calved, and on average, the farmers are getting eight litres of milk per day, significantly improving their families nutrition. In addition, the farmers are now using the cow dung as organic manure to improve their crop yields. During the last two quarters, FH staff have been monitoring the performance of the 24 biogas units built in Marare and Nashisa last year. This project provides an environmentally friendly alternative to using wood-burning cook stoves, and is significantly mitigating the depletion of trees and the forest cover. Other benefits include a smoke free environment in the farmers homes, cheaper lighting, and easier and faster cooking. The twelve treadle pumps (a mechanical pump run by pedaling) given last year to the farmers of Marare and Nashisa continue to make an impact on food security and nutrition at the household level. In the three month period of October to December 2015 many farmers turned to their treadle pumps when a dry spell set in unexpectedly. Some farmers are now getting profits from rice and vegetable crops. A community member and her dairy cow. Sarah feeding her cow. 6

7 DISASTER RISK REDUCTION & LEADERSHIP TRAINING Disaster risk reduction Through educational meetings, local leaders and community members are regularly made aware of disasters common to their area and how best to prevent them. One recent meeting focusing on reducing the rate of deforestation was attended by 150 local leaders and parents (81 women, 69 men). Other problems addressed include soil erosion causing landslides, and a lack of vegetation cover to mitigate the effects of climate change. Through partnership with the sub-county, the community was promised 15,000 tree seedlings. Church leadership training In Marare and Nashisa, FH actively partners with nine churches. In the past six months, 46 church leaders were trained in Truth Centered Transformation (TCT). The TCT curriculum exposes the lies that keep communities in poverty and teaches that God has reconciled all things through Christ. Church leaders learned that, with God, all things are possible if they simply act on that belief by using the resources God has provided to care for others and the environment as he intended. The church leaders were amazed that they were all bound without this biblical truth and promised to go back and teach what they had learned to their congregations, as well as apply it in their communities. 7

8 COMMUNITY: NASHISA RESCUED FROM DEATH In 2013, Simon had a severe attack of meningitis and almost died because his grandmother believed so strongly in witchcraft and did not believe in her grandson receiving treatment at the hospital. She explains that her husband was a witch doctor and before he died; they didn t trusted medicine from the hospital or visit other doctors. So when her grandson s sickness worsened, she thought that the spirits had refused to heal him because they were not pleased with her. Her fifteen year old grandson was abandoned by his mother at just three years old and has never known his father or any of his father s relatives. Growing up with his maternal grandparents, Simon was constantly surrounded by poverty and sickness which motivated the family to seek interventions from witchcraft as the sole solution to their circumstances. Simon and his grandmother. Through the neighbours of Simon s grandmother, FH staff were contacted to take the child to hospital on realizing his condition was deteriorating and nothing was being done. Simon was admitted at Montana hospital for three days, and FH paid all the medical bills and other expenses to see that his health was fully restored. Simon s health was eventually restored and he is a living testimony in his family, and he doesn t hesitate to say so. His grandmother, without reservation, now thanks God for using FH to provide the treatment which her grandson got from the hospital. She finally accepts that there is a true God who healed her grandson, and not witchcraft. Simon also took his primary school graduation exams that same year (2015) and scored the highest out of all the students at Nashisa Primary School. He is now seen as an academic hero in his village and has been accepted into Maluku Secondary School. Simon and his grandmother sitting in front of their home. Simon thanks FH for assisting in taking care of his educational and health needs. He walks with his head up high, knowing in his heart that his future is bright! 8

9 COMMUNITY: NASHISA OUR SAVINGS, OUR FUTURE I grew up in a culture that defines poverty in terms of sickness, lack of peace, lack of decent clothing, lack of decent shelter, lack of food, and this stressed me, Irene narrates. Irene did not read much at school because she only studied up to Primary grade four then dropped out. Later, she married Mr. Lukoye. But even after getting married to Mr. Lukoye, she was restless about their income meeting their household needs. As a small farmer, every produce would end up in the husband s charge, as dictated by culture. Irene lacked a peace of mind due to the overwhelming needs and frustrating limits to help support her family financially. Irene and Willian Lukoye. When FH first introduced the idea of Savings and Loans Groups in Nashisa, Irene confesses how she was skeptical, fearing her money and other people s money was going to be stolen like had been done before by fraudulent organizations. Nonetheless, the FH staff kept encouraging and inviting her to join the group. After consulting close friends in her community, Irene eventually joined a group with people she knew. After collecting her savings from the first cycle, she was able to carry over a good amount of interest which she used to buy two goats that gave birth and multiplied. Due to Irene s determination and encouragement from the group members, she kept saving, borrowing the money and investing it in rice growing and brick making. She finally sold her rice purchased iron sheets and cement, and along with the bricks she was making, was able to gradually construct a commercial house that she will rent out to potential tenants or teachers from Nashisa Primary School, which is next door to the commercial building. Irene Lukoye & her husband in front of the commercial building that they constructed. Irene further remarks, Joining a savings group and learning to save has impacted my life positively, I am now able to buy domestic requirements such as salt, sugar, kerosene, and soap from my daily source of income [brick making]. Irene has been and is still an inspiration, not only to FH staff, but most importantly to her village mates and the savings groups in Nashisa. THANK YOU FH Uganda, FH Canada, and the families of Mbale want to thank you for your ongoing support of CFCT programs in these communities. Poverty is being reduced here, hope is growing, and the communities are working toward moving from stuck to thriving. Thank you for walking with us in this journey. 9