AMREF is partnering with the Guardian and Observer newspapers and Barclays to implement a three-year development project in Uganda.
The project was the initiative of the Guardian’s editor, Alan Rusbridger, who wanted to get involved in a long-term development project, with the newspaper and website acting as a bridge between the readers and the community involved. Through articles, blogs and videos etc, readers and web users will be able to follow the course of the project.
AMREF submitted an application for a project in Katine sub-county in Soroti, one of the most deprived districts in Uganda. And we were delighted that this was chosen. Further down the line, Barclays joined the project as a corporate partner.
Soroti has always been a deprived district, but development has been severely held back by the effects of the 20-year civil war in the nearby northern region. Rebel insurgencies in 2003 displaced the whole sub-county, killing people and cattle and razing whole villages to the ground. Mass displacement from the north, as a result of the conflict, has also placed a major strain on the already weak health and education facilities.
The health centre in Katine village has no electricity or running water and frequently runs out of basic essential drugs. People do not have the knowledge or the means to protect themselves from easily preventable diseases, such as malaria. And the water supply, from wells and boreholes, is often the cause of water-related diseases, such as diarrhoea and bilharzia.
The conflict in northern Uganda destroyed much of the infrastructure in Katine, including schools, and also depleted farmers’ herds and crops. Recovery since, has been slow.
Project aims
As with all AMREF projects, the Katine project will work in partnership with community members and local government authorities so that the project closely responds to people’s needs and is sustainable.
The main objectives are to increase access to good quality health care, clean water and sanitation and education, as well as improve people’s ability to earn a decent living and give them a voice in local-decision making. Click here to see more details of the project aims. (link to conceptual framework)
Barclays has pledged £1.5m to the project, which includes an upfront donation of £500,000 to get the programme underway and a further £1m in match-funding for readers' donations over the next three years. Barclays will also use the skills of its employees to work with AMREF in Katine to provide better access to financial services and help community members to better manage their small businesses and their money.
Activities extend beyond AMREF’s normal remit of health, but the project adheres to one of AMREF’s overriding principles; achieving sustainable change through community empowerment. FARM-Africa, our sister organisation, will be implementing the agricultural activities. For more information visit www.farmafrica.org.uk
