A positive story that we found today talks about some strides that Uganda's war survivors are making to improve their lives. During the war many children were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army to fight or be wives to the soldiers. Now that the former abductees are adults and the war is largely over, they struggle to provide for themselves or loved ones.From this New Vision story that we found at All Africa, we learn of some initiatives led by the UN Food and Agriculture Orginization to help the war's survivors grow food and save money. Writer Joshua Kato introduces us to one female abductee named Eunice Odok."I want to be the first woman in the village to construct an iron roofed house," she says. Her fellow women ululate. She will also buy new clothes so that she is...
Early childhood abductions and mass rapes have been two of the weapons of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. The Army will kidnap young girls to be made wives to the soldiers, or young boys will stolen away to fight in the army. The girls suffer beatings and rapes by "husbands" who don't love them. The women are forced to bare the children that were conceived by the rapes. If any of these women are able to leave the Lord's Resistance Army they are not quite accepted by the community. The "rebel children" suffer more taunting and beatings, and are unwanted by anyone but their mothers, even by new husbands. In Uganda children who are born out of wedlock face a bad social stigma, it is much worse for the children born out of the rebel army. From CTV, writer Darcy Wintonyk visited Uganda...
Due to funding shortages many people in Uganda who need anti-retro-viral drugs for HIV-AIDS treatment are unable to get them. An informal ban on new patients receiving the drugs has been instituted in Uganda. The two biggest donors of Uganda's ARV treatment program blame the global recession for the funding gaps. The Global Fund on AIDS, Malaria and TB has cut back on funding the program, while the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has kept funding levels the same. The leveling of funds to PEPFAR come despite campaign promises from now President Obama to put more money into the program. From All Africa, writer Henry Zakumumpa tells us why the people are not getting live saving drugs. Several organisations caring for people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda have sounded alarm...
From CNN, here is part two of their story on the threat of AIDS funding being cut for Uganda, and how it could undo the progress they have made. Thanks to HCLUganda for telling us about this....
From CNN, a lengthy video on Uganda's fight against AIDS....
The area with the highest concentration of malaria is the Lake Kwania region of Uganda. Lake Kwania is not really a lake, it's more like a giant swamp that is a great breeding ground for malaria carrying mosquitoes.In a truly great story, Time reporter Alex Perry visited the area. We would encourage clicking the link to the entire story as it goes on to look at solutions, including the organization Malaria No More.To reach the most malarial town on earth, head north from Kampala, cross the Victoria Nile and, just before you come to the refugee camps that mark the southern edge of Uganda's 20-year civil war, turn east to Lake Kwania. Africa's other Great Lakes are known for freshwater beaches and cool evenings, but Kwania is more of a giant swamp: shallow, full of crocodiles and choked...
Wow, this story is heartbreaking. New Vision reporter Nigel Nassar visited a mother of nine children who is HIV-positive. Six of her nine children are also HIV-positive. We found the article at All Africa. Nakitende and some of her children outside the shack which could collapse any timeAgnes Nakitende is HIV-positive. Six of her nine children also have the virus. At just 33, she is weather-beaten, you would think she was a 50-year-old.The man I asked for directions to her place referred to her as "the woman who was cursed!" Nakitende lives in Kirwanyi village, Seeta Nazigo, Mukono district.She confirms that many refer to her that way, then breaks down sobbing: "Why me, Lord?"For close to a decade, she and her late husband Alfred Malinga, a police constable, had been using local herbs to...
Cattle herders who crossed national borders to find green pasture have come into trouble with the Ugandan government. Instead of grass and water they found Ugandan forces seizing the cattle and accusing the headers of committing crimes. Now the families who depend on the cattle for their livelihoods now have to take international aid for food. The prospects of getting the cattle back is next to nothing.From this Daily Nation article that we found at All Africa writer Dennis Odunga details this tragic story.There are reports that up to 3,000 Kenyan herders are currently in Uganda with their animals. The pastoralists say the Uganda government is out to harass them, yet they are innocent."We can't all be criminals just because animals have been stolen and we happen to be on foreign soil,"...
Bead For Life received a write-up today in Nicholas Kristoff's column for the New York Times. In the column, Kristoff answers the question that so many ask him, What can I do to make a difference? His answer is to throw a party, meaning the bead jewelry parties that women in the states throw to sell the crafts from Bead For Life.Kristoff talked to Bead For Life co-founder Devin Hibbard on how the charitable business got started. “It’s not a handout; we’re totally opposed to that,” said Devin, who is now based in Uganda for the project. “This is a symbol for us of women really working hard.”BeadforLife recruits women who are earning $1 a day or less, and who seem particularly hard-working and entrepreneurial. Once enrolled, they get training in how to cut strips of scrap paper,...
An East African Sanitation Conference is currently taking place in Kampala, Uganda. Experts attending the conference say that achieving all of the Millennium Development Goals hinge on improving sanitation in the region. Some examples include having enough water so people can cook and feed themselves can help meet the hunger MDG. Also, those with sanitary toilet facilities are less likely be sick from diseases such as cholera to help meet the health MDG.According to Water Aid, One billion people lack access to water and over 2.4 billion people do not have proper sanitation. From All Africa writer Irene V. Nambi has this round-up of opinions from the conference. According to the Regional Director of UNICEF ESARO, Elhadj As Sy, major goals such as reducing child mortality rates mainly rely...
A pair of UK beekeepers were profiled for teaching beekeeping skills to children in Uganda. Dave Bonner and Cath Tompsett traveled to Uganda with the charity Global Care. The charity raised the money for beekeeping equipment and the couple is teaching the people how to do it to earn extra income. From the article in the Coventry Telegraph, we read more about how this type of skill can help the poor in Uganda. Ten new hives have been provided which will mean extra income for poor families, better nutrients for malnourished children, and eventually, a vocational training opportunity for young people supported by Global Care.Dave, 57, a bee inspector for Leicestershire and Rutland, said: “The idea is to give the children another skill and another source of income.If people can get a hive...
Uganda is experiencing a shortage of funds for HIV/AIDS relief. $4.8 million dollars was due to be given to the country five months ago but it has yet to be received. Medical professionals are being told to stop enrolling new patients into the program, and some already enrolled patients are unable to receive treatment. Some red tape and mistakes are delaying release of the funds, and the Global Fund says the money will now arrive early next year. From All Africa, writer Esther Nakkazi explains what happened. "As I speak now, I have a letter asking me to stop enrolling children. Even if all factors remain constant we still need the government to help or we shall not achieve universal access," said Prof Addy Kekitiinwa, the executive director of Baylor Uganda Children's Foundation.The...
For mothers-to-be in remote villages of Uganda bringing a baby to the world can be very difficult. Walks can be long to any hospital, so the thought of receiving any prenatal care is out of the question, let alone going to the hospital for the delivery itself. Besides, who could afford any of the care or supplies the hospital would charge you? An article in All Africa today examines a new voucher program that gives full pregnancy care at a reduced cost. The funds for the voucher program are put up by the World Bank and the German Development Bank. However, the drawback to the card program is not everyone can afford it, even with the reduced cost. New Vision writer Irene Nabusoba examines the voucher program. EVERY pregnant woman has one foot in the grave," goes an African adage. This may...
Here is a great charity idea, bringing used soap to people in Africa. For those who live on less than a dollar a day, a bar of soap is a luxury and the money could be better spent on food. But it is the inability to stay clean and sterile that is one of the factors that keep many in poverty. Many diseases that could be prevented from using soap make many ill and further unable to provide for themselves. A former Ugandan who makes his home in Atlanta has found a way to help his homeland. Derreck Kayongo recycles used soap bars from American hotels and sterilizes them for use by the poor in Uganda.From this Associated Press article that we found at KOAT, writer Dionne Walker explains the soap recycling process.Cleaning up with used soap sounds, well, dirty.But Kayongo said soaps will be...
With millions hungry in East Africa, OXFAM is now calling on emergency donations of aid to the drought stricken region. OXFAM says that the drought is really in it's fifth year. Rains are due to come next month, if that does happen the next harvest for the region is in early 2010. Until then, the millions of people in East Africa will have to depend on donations of food to survive.From the New York Times, this Reuters piece relays OXFAM's statement on the emergency. Launching a $9.5 million (6 million pounds) appeal, it said the situation was being worsened by high food prices and conflict. The most badly hit nations are Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda.Malnutrition is now above emergency levels in some areas and hundreds of thousands of valuable cattle are dying."This is the worst...
A land dispute is fueling violence in the capital of Uganda. Two people died during the second day of rioting. An ancient kingdom that exists within Uganda claims that land belongs to their kingdom. Ruled by a ceremonial king, this kingdom is engaging in a power struggle with Uganda's government. Many fear more will come as this king plans to make a visit to the disputed territory on Saturday.From Reuters, reporter Jack Kimball witnessed some of the violence. Gunshots rang out in the Ugandan capital Kampala on Friday and at least two people were killed as security forces clashed with rioters for a second day.The violence erupted over land and power disputes between President Yoweri Museveni's government and leaders from Buganda, one of the east African country's four ancient kingdoms.The...
From a UK paper we find this story of a fair trade campaigner visiting one of the coffee cooperates he advocates for. Jim Thomas visited the Peace Kawomera Co-operative in Uganda, a co-op that includes 25,000 farmers. The farmers have been able to put their children through school and save a little money thanks to the co-operative. From the Bexhill Observer, we find this interview with Thomas. "Sussex Downs College has been making links and working with communities and projects in South Eastern Uganda for over four years now."The college has organised study tours for students that allow them the opportunity to witness development work, as well as giving them a glimpse of what life is like for so many people in Africa and all over the world – a life trapped in poverty."Still, through all...
A great analysis from Uganda's The Monitor tries to look into the root causes of hunger in the nation. In her piece, author Evelyn Lirri looks into several factors such as the armed conflict, people too poor to purchase food, failures of government, and climate change.For our snippet, we focus on the inability to purchase food and population growth, but we encourage you to give the full article a read. We found the analysis at All Africa. While the number of people living in abject poverty - described as living on less than a dollar, or Shs2,100 a day - has fallen from 56 per cent in 1992 to about 30 per cent today, the subsistence nature of the country's agricultural sector means many do not have cash incomes to buy food when needed.Many of those with a cash income have simply been...
An article in today's Naperville Sun introduces us to a young volunteer who goes to on a mission trip every year, and plans to do more. In the past, Allie Griffin has gone to help victims of Hurricane Katrina and worked at a Native American Reservation. After watching a documentary about the war in Uganda, she began to look for a trip to Africa. From this story from reporter Angela Bender, we are introduced to Griffin and her mission trip for this summer.The trip took Griffin to Kampala, Uganda, with about 20 other volunteers from the United States and Canada ranging in age from 18 to 70. For two weeks, the missionaries provided medical clinics and worked in orphanages. Afterward, Griffin didn't think twice about signing up to go on another trip this summer.This year the trip took place...
The Ugandan government held a crisis meeting to respond to 35 deaths due to starvation in northern Uganda. A food shortage in northern Uganda has been attributed to many factors, from armed conflict to floods and more.From All Africa Halima Abdallah reports on the emerging famine. Food stocks in the north and the east have for long been threatened by insecurity -- which made millions of people to be confined to camps for the internally displaced for about two decades as a result of Lord's Resistance Army rebels and Karamajong raiders.But, of late, merchants from Southern Sudan have been buying virtually everything, from livestock to crops in the field, offering irresistible prices.MPs, however, cite natural factors such as intermittent floods which cause lower production of food.In the...
The government of Uganda operates a microcredit program called the Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations or SCCO's. The government lends money to each local SCCO at 9%, while the local lends out money to the people of Uganda at either 9 or 13 percent interest.However, another service is operated by Care International which uses a savings and loan style to serve Ugandans. The service from Care has become more popular in some villages do to charges of corruption within the SCCO's. Also, some politicians are using the program as a political tool. In the latest entry from The Guardian's Katine project, Joseph Malinga tells us about the problem with the SCCO's and why people are using Care International's service instead.In Uganda, the success of the SACCO programme has been mixed....
Canadian Olympic rower Jane Rumball is involved in the charity Right To Play. Part of her duties as ambassador takes her to under developed countries to visit with the kids that the charity helps. "Right To Play" uses sports as a tool for development in the children.Jane Runball related her recent visit to Uganda to columnist Bruce Hallihan of The Daily Gleaner. "The scene was one I will never forget: crowds of joyful, boisterous African children laughing and clapping, giggling at the awkward muzungu Olympic athlete who couldn't match their rhythm to save her life!"It all happened under the unbelievably blue Ugandan sky, with rich red earth and lush greenery surrounding. It was surreal. For a moment, we probably all forgot where we were: Nakivale refugee camp, home to almost 50,000...
Last Year, the UN's World Food Programme announced that because of lack of funding, they had to make some cutbacks on food aid in Uganda. One of the cuts the WFP made was providing food aid to HIV-positive people.From IRIN, we see the effects of the cuts in food aid, especially among those who have been displaced by the countries civil war that is currently in cease fire. "We shall only be providing food support to those HIV-positive IDPs who are extremely sick or those whose health condition has relapsed, based on advice from health workers," Bai Mankay Sankoh, head of WFP's Gulu office, told IRIN/PlusNews.Aceng's family eats one meal a day, usually boiled sorghum with salt, or cassava and beans. "You feel like eating but the food we have can't make you feel satisfied; we have to...
One of the biggest obstacles to overcome in fighting malaria is lack of education. Many people who are affected by the disease don't know how it is spread and how to treat it.From All Africa we find this story about malaria education. Students from Makerere University in Uganda encountered a lot of misconceptions when they worked to a small village. In June and July 2007, medical students spent six weeks in Mifumi village in Tororo, eastern Uganda, listening to what villagers knew about malaria after which they designed an educational programme to fill gaps in the people's knowledge.The students, who presented their findings in a video conference with the U.S National Library of Medicine (NLM) and Fogarty International Centre, learned that the villagers' ideas about malaria are neither...
Many farmers in Africa use their instincts and experience on which crops to plant and where. If they also had technology on their side, yields could increase dramatically, and would make the farmers less prone to having their crops wiped out by disease or weather. From this story in the IPS, reporter Joyce Mulama explains how mobile phone technology is being introduced to help small farmers in Uganda. The phones are being used to determine which locations on farming land are susceptible to disease. An initiative in two districts of Uganda, has community knowledge workers (CKWs) sending text messages to farmers in a given locality. The information may include how to arrest the diseases, and where to buy uncontaminated seeds, as well tips on how to improve soil quality to increase...
A new credit program will begin to extend credit to farmers in Africa who are without collateral. The hope is that small farmers will be able to borrow money for improved seeds and fertilizer. The improved tools should be able to provide the farmers enough food to live on for a full year, and maybe a little extra to sell. The lending program will operate in Uganda, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania.The Standard Bank of South Africa put up the money for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa who will conduct the program. $100 million dollars will be put into the fund over the next three years. Kofi Annan is a chair person for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. He spoke at the unveiling ceremony which was attended by reporter Hellen Mukiibi of New Vision."Inflation, food...
A great description of how life can be improved through fair trade cooperatives is found in the Guardian today. The UK has an event that begins today called Fairtrade Fortnight. The event hopes to build awareness of fair trade goods that are available. As a part of the event, the Guardian had Harriet Lamb write a commentary. Lamb is executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation in the UK. Her piece begins by describing an Ugandan coffee co-op that has dramatically improved it's village. Last week I saw this in action in Rwanda. Just 15 years ago, the country was utterly devastated. They are now rebuilding their economy, with organised smallholders at its heart. Just 15 years ago, Maraba village was one of the country's poorest, their low-quality coffee was sold straight off the bushes...
A nurse from the UK is about to return to Uganda to help give health care training. Pam LLewellyn works with Voluntary Service Overseas, an UK charity that sends people to the under-developed world to help out. Mrs. LLewellyn spent 10 months of last year in Uganda, and is returning for six months more. In a story for the UK newspaper the Malvern Gazette, Mrs. LLewellyn explains the differences in nursing and her work in Uganda. More on Voluntary Service Overseas can be found at this website. “It is very different over there,” said Mrs Llewellyn. “I went out as a community nurse to try and improve the health in the villages, specifically tackling malaria and HIV.“It is a very poor area, and it was quite an adjustment when I got out there. The contrast with back home could not be...
Uganda has put together a report that determines where the highest concentration of poor people live. The report comes from census data that the government compiled in 2006. The Ugandan newspaper New Vision reveals the reports findings. The full story has many many more facts and figures. BUSOGA region, Mbale and Pallisa districts have the highest concentration of poor people, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said in a report yesterday.It said more than 100 poor people live per square kilometre in the areas.In the districts of Iganga, Mayuge, Bugiri, Busia, Mbale and Pallisa, the poverty density per sub-county is more than 100 people, compared to Kibaale, Ssembabule, Mbarara and Kiboga which have less than 20.The gap between the rich and the poor is highest in central and lowest in...
An article in All Africa today, provides more proof on why improving farming in the underdeveloped world is perhaps the most important aid we can do. A survey shows very high percentages of farmers in Uganda do not use the same tools to help their crops as in the developed world. And are in fact, far behind the world's average.Improved seeds, fertilizer and other "inputs" could greatly improve yields for farmers. Many of whom are too poor to even afford these things and can only grow enough crops to feed their families, hopefully for the whole year. A stat relieved in the survey said that a Ugandan farmer needs four acres to match the same output as one acre in the developed world. This is pretty much what Jeffrey Sachs was talking about in his most recent commentary. In it, he talked...