UGANDA – Isaiah 2 verse 4 resonate deeply as we work in Karamoja, Uganda, a region of extreme poverty and recurrent violent conflict. “He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore”.

After years of violent livestock raids among the pastoralist tribes of this region, the Karamojongs are no longer using spears or rifles against each other, but truly “beating their swords and spears into pruning hooks.”

The Karamojong are the poorest in Uganda and have depended on a nomadic pastoralist lifestyle in this semi-arid region by rearing cattle and sheep. Worsening climatic conditions and increasingly violent livestock raids by neighbouring tribes and even among themselves have motivated the Karamojong to move to greenbelt areas and change their lifestyle to crop farming and a more settled life.

Such a change doesn’t come easily. The Karamojong lack the seeds, tools, and farming skills necessary to make this transition a success. Therefore World Renew and its partners have piloted a food security and health project in these communities which focuses on building needed skills among newly agricultural settlements, as well as improving community hygiene and sanitation. With increasing income from crop sales, some households have begun communal savings and loan associations also supported by the project.

Lives are changing here as a result of the joint intervention of World Renew, TEAR Australia, and World Renew’s Karamoja partner, the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Karamoja. Rose Lokwi and her household are one of the 312 households experiencing transformation through this pilot project. “I’m excited that my household can now produce food to eat,” says Rose with genuine excitement. “We started learning how to grow crops. We have grown mungbeans, sorghum, and cassava.”

Prayer and Praise:

  • We ask God to continue transforming these communities. World Renew is just starting to work in Karamoja and it is a very challenging area. Hundreds of households have no school nearby;  the nearest is 25 kilometres away.
  • Please pray for my sons David and Benjamin who are doing national exams, David for entry to university and Benjamin for entrance to high school.
  • Pray for safety and health in my frequent travel to communities in the Teso and Karamoja regions.

 

Blessings,

Edward Okiror

Program Consultant
World Renew Uganda