(UGANDA) This month I’m reminded of a conversation between Moses and God in Exodus 4:2-3: “Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The Lord said to him, “Throw it on the ground.” Our work as World Renew and our partners’ work is mostly guiding communities as they identify “what is in their hands” —their resources—and then build their capacity and confidence to “throw it on the ground” and use it.
Our work as World Renew and our partners’ work is mostly guiding communities as they identify “what is in their hands” —their resources—and then build their capacity and confidence to “throw it on the ground” and use it.
Richard and Lucy Okello got married early in life, while they were both living in an internally displaced people’s camp in Gulu. They now have six young children. After the war, the family returned to what they call home: a once-vibrant village now reduced to isolation and abandonment. The Okellos are among 720 households in ten communities that World Renew and the Diocese of Northern Uganda are supporting in livelihoods rehabilitation.
With support from Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB), Lucy and Richard received training in agriculture, basic business skills, and Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) methodology. They, with other community members, worked to restore the roads between the villages. For their work, the families were paid with vouchers that they could then use to purchase seeds, tools, and other farming supplies.
In one project, Richard and Lucy joined their neighbors to clear a community road and received a Voucher which enabled them to buy 27 kilograms of groundnut seeds. They planted the seeds and harvested 160 kilograms of peanuts. “We are very happy that we were able to work with our hands and get this kind of harvest instead of the handouts we were receiving. We depended on hand-outs while we were living in the camps,” Lucy says.
The Okellos sold 88 kilograms of groundnuts which earned them $136. They have used this money to diversify their livelihood base by buying six piglets. “We plan to breed and sell at least six pigs per year and expect to earn about $200 every year from the project,” says Richard. This is a big leap from what our family has been earning—less than six dollars a day. The Okellos have also joined a VSLA where they save and borrow funds to take care of their household needs and their small family business.
Richard and Lucy Okello are just one example of the families that World Renew and our partners are mobilizing in Uganda. Together these communities are building their capacity and strength to use their resources, like the land, to bring positive change.
Thank you for the role you play in bringing change to these communities.
Praise:
- Thank you for praying for our family. Milly’s surgery was successful and she is recovering well.
- Thank God for a successful year, the lives of many have been touched and changed.
Prayer:
- Pray for next year that the lord will touch more families in 2013 as we continue to serve him.
- Pray for Uganda as we are experiencing “aid cuts” from major international donors due to corruption in the government. The cuts will affect poor people the most.
- Pray for families in various parts of Uganda as they struggle with Nodding Disease, Ebola, and the Marburg epidemic.
Merry Christmas.
Edward and Milly Okiror
Program Consultant
World Renew Uganda