| In October 2007, AMREF launched a groundbreaking three-year development project in the Katine sub- district of northeastern Uganda, one of the country’s most impoverished regions. Created in partnership with the Guardian and Barclays, the project works with the people of Katine to improve their lives while at the same time educating the UK public about international development. Katine was badly affected by civil war in the first half of this decade. Many residents lost their homes, their belongings, even their lives when rebels from the Lord’s Resistance Army ransacked the area in 2003 and again in 2005. As the people of Katine returned to what was left of their villages, they faced destitution. Because the needs there are so great, the Katine Community Partnership Project (KCPP) focuses not only on health and water and sanitation but also on education, livelihoods, and governance. The Guardian, meanwhile, brings the story of Katine to as many as 400,000 readers every week through the project website (www.guardian.co.uk/katine) and the newspaper itself. Bringing Hope — and Talk Radio — to Katine
On Christmas morning, a voice rings out across Abata village in Katine.
“Today is a big day! I know you’ve prepared a lot of food for the festivities. But before you begin, I want to remind you — do not give the food to your children before you heat it.”
It’s the voice of Ruth Emolu, a member of one of the village health teams trained by AMREF. She has risen early this morning to deliver a message of goodwill and healthy eating to the residents of her community. She strides purposefully among the huts, megaphone in hand.
“Even if you are feeling tired or the fire has gone out, you must light it up and warm the food so they do not get sick!”
Ruth takes her role on the village health team very seriously, educating her community with equal part concern and enthusiasm. Every week she visits families to teach them how to keep their homes clean, ensure they use mosquito nets, and protect the water they collect from the new village borehole from contamination.
In nearby Soroti town, Margaret Aniko spreads similar messages across Katine on AMREF’s weekly radio show on Delta FM. Every Friday from six to seven in the evening, volunteers and staff from the Katine project deliver the latest project news and discuss the issues affecting the people of the sub-district.
Speaking in Kumam, a local language, Margaret encourages pregnant women to go to their local health centres for checkups and announces visits by the mobile immunisation teams. Listeners from all over the region call in to ask her questions about health and sanitation, which Margaret, a member of one of 272 AMREF-trained village health teams, answers confidently.
In areas where there are few doctors, village health teams play a vital role. Comprised of trained volunteers like Ruth and Margaret, they provide treatment and advice and make referrals for their patients.
“There are 100 homes in my village,”says Ruth.“People are clean and healthy, and our children are going to school. I have seen a great change since AMREF came to work with us.”
Margaret sees personal as well as communal benefits: “I feel I am more empowered and valued with equal footing with my husband,” she says. Nowadays, she’s a minor celebrity — people approach her for health advice even when she is not on the radio. | 
Ruth Emolu spreads health messages through her village. Photo: Stevie Mann/AMREF
Goal 1: Train 100 health workersGoal 2: Reduce malaria prevalenceGoal 3: Improve borehole coverageGoal 4: Immunize 100% of kids
Project Photos & Video |