Uganda

The regional partners of Eirene Switzerland and Omoana met for 6 days in the town of Huye, around a hundred kilometres south of the Rwandan capital Kigali. Some of the 25 participants came from Uganda (Handle, ACOT and Vivo, Omoana), others were almost at home (the Rwandan associations Réseau des femmes, Umuseke and Association Modeste et Innocent), while the representatives of Pole Insitute came from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Omoana coordinator Magali Perrin and committee member Sophie Grangier were also present.

On the day of departure, the participants spontaneously exchanged their contact details. Following a final exchange “Marketplace” exercise, the participants shared the methods that interested them in the other. A few months after the end of this workshop, there are already collaborations between organisations that wish to send one of their leaders on an immersion visit to the other structure, but also pooling of strengths in order to build more ambitious projects. By bringing together our partners in the Great Lakes region, with the financial support of the Fédération Genevoise de Coopération, we are strengthening the work carried out by these organisations and facilitating the dissemination of effective local practices.

Bastien Morard
Great Lakes Programme Manager
Eirene Suisse

Some children from particularly deprived families would not be able to continue their education without outside help. Because their families are unable to pay for their education, they are forced to drop out of school for lack of resources, and like so many others, have to make do with a hand-to-mouth existence. However, school sponsorship projects are there to support and accompany families in need, not to replace them.

Omoana works in partnership with 2 separate associations which implement the school sponsorship projects. The first partnership began in 2003, in the south of the country, with St Moses CCC (St Moses Children’s Care Center and Community Development), founded in 1973 as a center for abandoned, destitute and displaced children. It currently sponsors a total of 163 children, 66 of them through Omoana. Where necessary, the center provides accommodation for some of the children. Activities include counseling, guidance and psychological support, as well as medical follow-up. Emphasis is placed on the development of social skills and Christian education for all children, whether resident or not. Finally, the association ensures the payment of school fees and the follow-up of pupils. Community and sustainable family development is promoted through training, follow-up and support via a microfinance project.

A second sponsorship project was set up in the north, in the post-conflict region of Gulu, in 2009. It is currently managed by HANDLE Uganda (Hope Alert Network for Development and Local Empowerment), an NGO founded in 2009 to fill gaps in service provision to communities undergoing rehabilitation and reconstruction. The project supports 29 students at various levels of education, from primary to vocational schools and university. Activities are broadly similar to those at St Moses, with the exception of the residents’ center. Team members are based in the city of Gulu and travel to follow up students. They visit families to discuss day-to-day issues, and understand the context in which the wards live. They also visit teaching centers to pay school fees and review progress with teachers.

There are many issues at stake, particularly school drop-out and failure. Some parents don’t play their part in the equation, for financial reasons or because they’ve resigned. As a result, the boundary between the involvement of project teams and the role of families is difficult to define. Families pay part of the school fees, but can we ignore a child who can’t study for lack of basic school equipment? At the same time, expectations, whether justified or not, are sometimes very high, and some parents rely completely on the associations to manage the difficulties.

The project teams must create a climate of trust that encourages dialogue with the pupils and their families; they must listen to everyone’s difficulties and find solutions on a case-by-case basis: who needs to change to a vocational school because of academic difficulties, who needs to leave the program because of breaches of trust, who needs to go to boarding school to escape the overload of housework that prevents study or to have access to a better quality school, etc.?

It’s worth noting that in Uganda, children take on a lot of responsibility at a very early age, especially girls. They are in charge of domestic chores – fetching water from the well, cooking, cleaning – and at the same time looking after younger children or sick relatives. These obligations are not going to diminish because they have to study. And then there are the girl mothers with no husbands and no resources, the onset of adolescence, the sometimes enormous distances involved in getting to school, to name just a few of the many problems.

To top it all off, the quality of the public school system in Uganda is a real problem, especially in remote areas, and the cost of schooling continues to rise as a result of inflation and the government’s limited involvement in its development.

My intention is not to paint a gloomy picture of the situation, but rather to highlight the infinite number of peculiarities facing the staff engaged in this work.

In conclusion, given the growing number of children in need, the means deployed to help these families are not enough. By enabling a child to attend a normal school and pursue a secondary education, you are offering him the chance to build a real future for himself, and to participate in the development of his country in the future. And he thanks you most sincerely.

Magali Perrin
Coordinator

In April 2016, humanitarian professionals engaged in a Certificate in Project Methodology with the Centre d’étude et de recherche en action humanitaire (CERAH) visited Omoana House. They were gathered for 10 days in Uganda for the “residential” part of the training (a distance learning course that lasts 7 months and also includes distance sessions and 4 months of coaching). A practical case study was organized with Omoana House, during which the students talked to HIV-positive teenagers about their daily challenges and how Omoana House meets them. Beyond the technical aspects, the group was struck by the courage of these young people, and by the human relationship with the staff. For their part, the teenagers appreciated this moment of exchange, which highlighted the need to include them more systematically in project planning. Dr. Edith Favoreu, trainer and deputy director of CERAH, gives us her impressions.

Omoana… more than a name, it’s poetry. It’s a path to a bubble of happiness, bursting with positive energy for children and visitors alike. While the former find a loving, caring refuge, a den of unparalleled human warmth, the latter draw a life force that leaves a lasting impression.

Omoana… more than a project, it’s an innovative concept, where the being is placed in its central, primary, primordial dimension, where each of its components is recognized as an inexhaustible source of inner transformation. Omoana is unique and its power immeasurable.

Omoana … more than a support, it’s a true inspiration. Children, young adults and caregivers are role models, giving full meaning to the concept of resilience. Never denying the intrinsic complexities of the country’s social, health, political and economic situation, each of them nevertheless grasps them, a real life lesson for every visitor.

We were moved to witness such greatness. Lucky to be able to spend a day at Omoana House, fortunate to share a little of the daily life of this unique home. We, humanitarian and development professionals. We, accustomed to difficult contexts in which suffering has so many faces. We, who believe that our work can contribute to limiting this suffering and restoring hope. We have all been overwhelmed and enthused by these precious moments with the children, the teenagers and the entire team who have invested so much. We left Jinja different, better, stronger, taller, and so full of admiration.

We, coming from all over (Brazil, Senegal, Switzerland, France, Sudan, Ethiopia, Cameroon…), working for the University of Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the World Food and Agriculture Organization, NRC, etc., all involved in a high-level university training program, thank you. We thought we’d lend our support to Omoana House, investigating with the young people how they perceive the center and their perspectives. We had thought it would be an exercise in needs analysis, in which techniques and tools would be applied, all colored by interpersonal skills. Our impression is that we’ve learned far more than we’ve contributed, received far more than we’ve given, and grown far more than we’ve contributed.

Omoana House, your work is unfortunately indispensable. The way you develop it is admirable. Thank you for giving substance to the words solidarity, compassion and love. Thank you for welcoming us for this day of study transformed into a life lesson.

Dr. Edith Favoreu
Assistant Director
CERAH
Université de Genève/Institut de Hautes Etudes Internationales et du Développement

More refugees fled to Uganda than to Europe in 2016. According to Norwegian Refugee Council, 489,000 South Sudanese took refuge in Uganda, while 362,000 crossed the Mediterranean. This reminds us of something. During humanitarian crises that shake the planet, the first to come to the aid of those affected are those close to them. During wars or epidemics, it’s neighbors and families who come to the aid of people who may be dying.

What does this mean? That the bulk of the work is carried out by local people, not by dedicated Europeans who, in addition to the many refugees welcomed into their own countries, fund humanitarian organizations. No, in Uganda as in the Middle East, people are not just victims or executioners. They are also home to the main heroes who, with empathy and courage, come to the aid of those in need.

In their work, Omoana and its partners have seen the key role played by communities in tackling crises. It is often grandmothers who care for orphaned and HIV-positive children. It is the communities that have supported traumatized child soldiers returning to their villages, and it is the Ugandans who are the main players in the reception of South Sudanese. Indeed, the Bidibidi camp alone receives more than 270,000 refugees, the equivalent of twice the population of the city of Lausanne.

Beneficiaries must be consulted, as they are in the best position to respond to the main problems, express their needs and, above all, suggest activities to deal with them. This is why the association must implement a participative approach for each project. We thank you, dear donors, for believing and wish you all the best for 2017.

Adrien Genoud
President

We’re all familiar with those unusual statistics and other international rankings that often make us smile: the Swiss are the champions of chocolate consumption, the Czechs stand out for their beer consumption, there are more saunas in operation in Finland than cars on the road, France can boast of being the country with over 300 cheeses, and so on. Uganda is not to be outdone in this Olympiad of national peculiarities. In fact, there are more cell phones than light bulbs in this African country!
Taken from an article by journalist Dara Kerr published in 2009 (For Uganda’s poor, a cellular connexion, CNet), this a priori anecdotal comparison between cell phones and light bulbs is in fact not without interest. In fact, this statistic may well prove instructive in terms of the country’s state of economic development and future opportunities. Moreover, it shows that the steps leading to poverty reduction can be innovative and multi-faceted.

In our latitudes, access to electricity is not considered a luxury reserved for the privileged few, but a basic service, on a par with access to running and drinking water, medical care and quality education. Seen from a wealthy country, it’s certainly the low use of light bulbs that tends to come as the first surprise, reflecting the lack of access to electrical energy. According to World Bank figures, less than 20% of the Ugandan population is connected to the electricity grid. As a result, the vast majority of households cook over wood fires and their children do their homework by oil lamp light, both polluting and harmful to health. Certainly more telling than a simple comparison of national GDPs, this aspect of economic development provides a concrete measure of the gap between our standard of living and that of the average Ugandan family. Apart from this terrible observation, can we see in our initial comparison between cell phones and light bulbs some encouraging prospects? Fortunately, the answer is yes!

While the spread of electrical power is slow, the spread of mobile telephony is lightning-fast, opening up opportunities not only in Uganda, but in many developing countries. Recharged by solar power or car batteries, cell phones offer a plethora of SMS services. In a context where access to information is limited, the telephone is first and foremost an ideal means of dissemination. Information on weather forecasts, the spread of epidemics, the location of the nearest health centers, or recommended farming methods, are all available to people living in the most remote regions. In addition to providing information, the telephone is also proving to be a gateway to the financial services that are so lacking in these countries. Thanks to systems such as M-Pesa – literally “mobile money” – the cell phone becomes a bank account enabling people to pay, save or borrow, all at reduced transaction costs. With phones becoming smart and offering access to the Internet and all kinds of applications, there’s no doubt that their potential is still immense, and augurs major advances for the economy, health and education alike.

Finally, surprising as it may seem, it would appear that cell phones are in a position to help bring light and electricity to African homes. Indeed, a recent article in the Guardian (The Africans buying sunshine with their phones, 2016) reported the commercial success of a solar energy kit, comprising a solar panel, a rechargeable battery, two bulbs and an LED flashlight, as well as an adapter for recharging phones. Initially unaffordable for many families, this kit is sold on credit, with regular repayments (50 centimes per day)…directly deducted from the purchasers’ cell phones! It may well be that the widespread use of cell phones, coupled with innovative solutions, can facilitate access to basic goods and services such as electricity.

Simon Berset
Treasurer