Mary is a 37-year-old single mother of six children who fled the South Sudan conflict in 2019 to seek refuge in Uganda. Mary and her children currently reside in Zone 3 village 9 in the Imvepi refugee settlement, in Arua District, Uganda. She is the sole caretaker to all her six children after the husband abandoned the family. The abandonment occurred after he discovered that Mary was HIV positive while he was HIV negative leading to constant disagreements in their home and gender-based violence.

“My life became so hard because I didn’t know where to start. My hope was on this new husband, thinking he came into my life to support me in taking care of my five children whose father died and the sixth child that we had together.” Mary narrates.

Mary was on the verge of ending her life for multiple reasons including, abandonment by her husband, insufficient food rations provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), and loneliness due to her health status.

“I used not to attend any community gatherings or access markets or Health facilities for fear of people pointing fingers at me. I didn’t take medicine in time because we used to eat only once a day just for survival and yet there was a need for me to eat enough food in time to boost my immunity. My five children were always chased from school due to lack of (Parents Teachers Association) PTA contributions and scholastic materials. I was not engaged in any livelihood activities to improve my household income to support my basic needs, health, and education for my children. I just turned to God and said why me”.

During one of CARE’s routine community awareness sessions on Violence against Women & Girls (VAWG) prevention and response in village 9, Zone 3, Mary was one of the survivors who was informed about the existence of Violence against Women & Girls (VAWG) referral pathways and how the referrals respond to various protection needs. It was at that point that Mary gathered courage and reported the Violence against Women & Girls (VAWG) issues affecting her to CARE International at the protection help desk in Village 9. Mary received comprehensive case management support and was informed about a range of protection services offered under the APEAL Consortium Project funded by European Union Humanitarian Aid.
This enabled her to identify her protection needs and was supported with a referral to the APEAL Consortium Partners and other EU Humanitarian Aid funded Consortia to access more support.

Firstly, War Child Holland supported her with Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MPHSS) followed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) with health support. She agreed to start Anti-Retroviral (ARV) therapy which the health workers delivered to her home because she didn’t have transport to go to the health facility. The home delivery further reduced her stigma.

“I felt relieved and was able to think of available options to come out of my problems after the counseling sessions from CARE. My health also improved after referral to IRC who counseled me and later started delivering my drugs home.”

After receiving several counseling sessions, Mary willingly joined the Women Lead in Emergency (WliE) group where women point out key issues that not only affect them but hinder them from meaningful participation in leadership and decision-making.

She reports; “I was able to join the Women Lead in the Emergency group supported by CARE after explaining to me the importance of the WliE approach, and how it empowers women to effectively participate in household/ community decision-making by engaging in livelihoods-focused Interventions’’.

She uses this platform to raise the voices of women and acts as a role model taking the lead in counseling group members who experience Violence against Women & Girls (VAWG) issues in her community.
The team continued to follow up with home visits to support her recovery from trauma and boost her ability to cope accordingly. During the home visits, she requested to be supported with dignity kits, Education requirements, Health/nutrition support, and money or livelihood support to improve her household income.

CARE provided her with a dignity kit and referred her to the Uganda Cash Consortium (UCC) led by the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) to access multipurpose cash assistance to enable her to meet basic needs. Mary has so far received cash assistance worth UGX 1,928,000 cumulatively for the last eight months which has changed her life. “I was supported with a dignity kit by CARE. This contained soap, a bucket, and bed sheets. I was then referred to the Uganda Cash Consortium by DRC and indeed It was successful. I started receiving multipurpose cash assistance from August 2022 up to April 2023 on my mobile money phone. I feel empowered with the cash assistance I receive every month since I can buy school uniforms, scholastic materials, PTA, and nutritious food for me and my children. I used part of the money to start a ‘mukene’ (silverfish) business which is providing an alternative source of income for my family. I thank ECHO for all the support given”.

Through the business, her family can have at least two meals per day, pay PTA for all the children at school, and purchase scholastic materials including school uniforms. This support has also enabled her family to alter their diet and save some money for unforeseen future needs.

She bought three goats which have since reproduced and rented an acreage of land from the host community where she planted sorghum for both domestic consumption and for sale. Mary projected harvesting five bags of sorghum estimated at 180,000ugx per bag.

She opted for on-farm and off-farm businesses targeting customers within the village after she was referred to Afrika Uganda, an organization that trains farmers at the village level.

“I now request ECHO and other partners to extend the same support to other vulnerable groups especially women and girls given the reduction in food ration and the high rental fees charge for hiring land by the host community. I can’t wait to appreciate ECHO for all the support given to me and other refugees. My life and health have greatly changed because of all this support.” She concluded.

With generous support from the European Union Humanitarian Aid funding, approximately 317,604 refugee persons and host communities in Northern and South Western Uganda have benefited from the multi-sector life-saving protection services by the Access Protection Empowerment Accountability & Leadership (APEAL) consortium.

The Consortium membership consists of 10 Organizations spread out in various locations including Kyaka II in Kyegegwa District, Kyangwali in Kikuube District, Imvepi in Terego District, and Nakivale in Isingiro District. Additionally, transit sites such as Nyakabande, Matanda, Bubukwanga, and Sebagoro have also been included in the program. The Consortium members include CARE as the lead, Save the Children International (SCI), War Child Holland (WCH), Humanity and Inclusion (HI), International Rescue Committee (IRC), Transcultural Psychosocial Support Organization (TPO), Days for Girls (DFG), Community

A three-year project aimed at advancing the sexual and reproductive health and rights of adolescents and youth in the districts of Kamuli and Mayuge in Busoga sub region has been launched today by the Kyabazinga of Busoga HRH William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV.

The project named, EYE Universal SRHR project, with a theme “My Body, My Life, My World” was launched at Kamuli Youth Centre ground in Kamuli district.

The project will be implemented in the two districts of Kamuli and Mayuge where it envisions ensuring every adolescent and youth have access to sexual and reproductive health and rights information and services and exercise reproductive rights, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.

The project worth $4,491,012, is funded through the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Uganda and will be implemented by UNFPA together with Marie Stopes Uganda, CARE International and Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre.

The primary target beneficiaries are in and out of school young people aged between 10-24 years, comprising about 70% female and 30% male. The secondary target beneficiaries include the people and structures that directly or indirectly influence the lives of the targeted young people, including Parents; caregivers; community health volunteers; political; religious; cultural and community leaders; health care providers; teachers; district sectoral leads; and policy makers.

In his speech, the Kyabazinga of Busoga appreciated the Norwegian government which agreed to carry on this project for the next three years and for joining Busoga Kingdom in the fight against teenage pregnancies because it is the biggest challenge Busoga is facing.

The monarch said that as a Kingdom, they will continue prioritizing projects and activities related to youth such that they can be in position to have good and youthful leaders in the future. Kyabazinga officially launched the EYE Universal SRHR project.

UNFPA’s Deputy Representative, Daniel Alemu, said that in Uganda, today’s adolescents and youth are over 78% of the population and are key to shaping social and economic development, challenging social norms and values, and building the foundation of the world’s future.

The Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of Norway in Uganda, Ole Reidar Bergum said he was happy to support the government of Uganda through their partners to achieve its goals of reducing child marriages, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancies through increasing access to SRHR services in Kamuli and Mayuge district.

Present at the ceremony was Busoga Kingdom’s Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muvawala, the Issabalangira (Chief Prince) of Busoga Kingdom Samuel Menhya Zirabamuzaale, Prince Nkono Mutyaba of Bukono chiefdom, Prince Henry Woira of Bugabula BB, Commissioner Mondo Kyateka and officials from the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development and various Civil Society Organisations.  –End

Background

Today, the Uganda national NGO forum organized a breakfast meeting in Kampala in partnership with CARE Uganda to discuss the theme: re-imagining Quality Assurance Mechanism (QuAM). The meeting aimed to address the emerging opportunities and challenges of QuAM in development and humanitarian efforts, particularly the shift from international organizations (INGOs) dominating the system to local actors taking the lead.

Background

Under the Development Initiative for Northern Uganda (DINU), a Government of Uganda programme supported by the EU and supervised by OPM, Care Denmark received a grant in 2020 to implement a project, “Inclusive Market-based Development for Smallholder Farmers in Northern Uganda.”

The project is implemented by a consortium consisting of five NGOs (Care Denmark as the lead, Catholic Relief Services, Gulu Agricultural Development Company, Dynamic Agro-Pastoralist Development Organization and SORUDA). The 38-month project (2020-2023) focuses on increasing food security, improving maternal and child nutrition and enhance household income in the eleven districts of Abim, Amudat, Kaabong, Karenga, Katakwi, Kitgum, Kotido, Moroto, Nabilatuk, Nakapiripirit and Napak.

CARE International in Uganda has received instruments of power as the coordinating agency of the Charter for Change (C4C) Working Group in Uganda. Michael Tugyetwena, CARE’s Operations Director received the instruments from Henry Muyanja, the Executive Director Street Child, (the outgoing coordinating agency) in a modest coordination role handover event held at CARE Head Office in Kampala on January 11th, 2022.

Solar kitchens ‘a sweet surprise’ and sustained energy solution for the refugee women

Twenty-seven year-old Foibe Valetti left the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2017 due to the ravaging war. Devastated by the death of her elder brother and his wife, she was suddenly burdened with the big responsibility to take care of five children inclusive of her brother’s son. They packed and resettled in Kavule  village, Kyangwali Refugee settlement where Foibe became fully dependent on food distributed by aid agencies and firewood from the forest reserves.

Unable to afford charcoal, Foibe like other women, would walk 5-10 kilometers to fetch firewood from Bugoma forest once a week as allocated by authorities. According to her, the amount collected is never enough to complete an entire week forcing her to buy charcoal which is expensive.

Background

A partnership between the PepsiCo Foundation – the philanthropic arm of one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, and CARE – a global humanitarian organisation, has improved the food and nutrition security of thousands of poor, rural households in Kyenjojo and Kyegegwa districts in Uganda.

In 2018 the PepsiCo Foundation, made a 7-year, $18.2 million investment in She Feeds the World (SFtW), CARE’s flagship programme aimed at tackling gender inequality in agriculture. The multi-million-dollar grant aims to provide resources and training to five million women farmers and their families around the globe to help them increase crop yields and income. SFtW is currently underway in Egypt and Peru, and future programmes are in development.

Active in Uganda since 2018 to 2022, SFtW has reached over 540 000 people in Kyegegwa and Kyenjojo, exceeding its target of 490 000 because of the Foundation’s $2 million investment in the country. While the Foundation has concluded the programme’s funding, SFtW in Uganda leveraged its impact, including securing over $1 million from other funders to ensure the longevity and sustainability of the programme.

Commenting on the programme’s success, Devendri Adari, PepsiCo Foundation Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa, says, “As the PepsiCo Foundation we believe in feeding potential and leveraging the strengths of our partner organisations on the ground to drive sustainable change. Our approach is to empower and equip communities that we support to be self-sustaining well into the future. It is heartening to see how this programme has transformed the lives of these community members. We are also proud that local governments and other entities are keen to replicate it to drive social and economic change in other communities.”

Echoing this sentiment is Apollo Gabazira, the Country Director CARE International in Uganda, who says, “The approach and outcomes of this programme were multi-faceted and have laid a solid foundation for continued growth and transformation. Through various interventions, the programme was able to improve crop yields, increase sale of agricultural produce, improve food security, and transform community gender norms for sustainable, long-term change.”

Recognising that food security and nutrition cannot be addressed in isolation, SFtW adopts a holistic approach to tackling the challenge, including empowering men to serve as change agents to challenge harmful gender norms in their communities, and equip women with leadership skills.

Rose Auma aged 58, is a resident of Pece Division- Gulu City and a single mother following the death of her husband and son during the insurgency by the Lord’s Resistance Army in 1997. As an eyewitness to the cruel double tragedy, Rose was depressed, and her situation only worsened with the burden of responsibility of her seven children and 13 other orphans left behind by her siblings. This left Rose hopeless and dejected until she came in contact with CARE International in Uganda.

“During the LRA activities, my husband and first-born son were captured from the house and beaten to death before my eyes. I was left with a two-month-old pregnancy and 16 children to take care of since my three older children were already married. While I was still moaning, I couldn’t afford basic needs which forced me to work as a housemaid within Gulu where I live today. I would walk about seven kilometres to town in the evening with the kids to find security and shelter away from the rebels and then return in the morning after which I would go out to my housemaid job,” she sadly narrates.
“Sometimes the money to pay fees for all those children was not enough and most times, I would plead with the teachers to let them stay in school until I managed to finish all payments,” she adds.

In 2020 Rose was identified by CARE under the Women and Youth Resilience Project (WAYREP) as a community-based Facilitator (CBF) and later as a Community Gender Activist.
She received several trainings on gender-based violence as a CBF and an Activist which helped transform her to live positively amidst painful memories and trauma of her past challenges as well as support many others with similar stories within her community.

In January 2021, Rose joined the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) where she was elected as the group’s chairperson after members identified leadership qualities in her. WAYREP participants are encouraged to join VSLA groups for Economic Empowerment which is crucial for psychosocial wellbeing.

Through the VSLA, she started small scale farming as an alternative livelihood for her family and a support mechanism to reduce her vulnerability to more gender-based violence.

“I had often been ridiculed by my fellow women for being a single mother who failed to get a new husband. However, I did not know how to deal with it until I joined Bed ki Gen VSLA. I underwent training on saving and gender-based violence which has helped me to heal and become a better person,” she smiles.

Through the loans she borrowed from the VSLA, Rose was able to start building a three-bedroomed house that is in the wee stages of plastering. She rented land in the village to enable her carry out agricultural activities
“Through continuous agriculture and market sales, I can pay back loans and continue building. I thank God for health, for CARE that supported me psychosocially, and my group members for making me the chairperson. Now I have earned the respect of so many people and I feel good,” she concludes.

CARE also provides Psychosocial support (PSS) to GBV survivors, support with referrals, and closely coordinates with service providers to get prompt and quality support.

According to WAYREP’s GBV Coordinator, Gloria Ondoa, participants are financially facilitated to access services using the Survivor Fund but are also accompanied to different service points for appropriate services required to aid their recovery process. “We create supportive relationships with survivors, do follow-ups to monitor their recovery progress, continuously provide PSS to increase their resilience which helps to lessen the psychosocial effects thus contributing to their general wellbeing” Reports Gloria

WAYREP is a five-year project funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) implemented by CARE in Uganda and CARE Austria in partnership with two national NGOs. The project targets 44,600 direct beneficiaries, with 75% being women and girls (focus age: 15-30 years) and 250,300 indirect beneficiaries. Participants are selected in collaboration with local partners, refugees, government, persons with special needs and city authorities.

33-year-old Kansiime Bonny is from South West Uganda where she has been in a Village Savings & Loan Association (VSLA) for the past ten years. She lives with her husband and three children.

“People have realized the importance of saving all the money they can after going through this hardship.” —Kansiime Bonny

When women lead in emergencies, they no longer have to trek 10km and risk sexual violence in order to eat

Halatu Benjamin, 31, fled violence in South Sudan with her five children and two nieces. She has been living in the Omugo refugee settlement in northern Uganda since March 2018. Despite her trauma, Halatu has found solidarity and a sense of purpose as part of her women’s group within the camp. The group saves together and supports members to set up small businesses, but perhaps most importantly, the group has discovered their collective power to improve the lives of people in their community. As for Halatu, she has discovered her inner leader, creating safe spaces for women in the camp, organising a boycott to force humanitarian agencies to address issues raised by the group, and taking on roles in the Refugee Welfare Council, where she can support other women to raise their voices.