Uganda
Uganda is in a unique position to become a role model for the world, demonstrating the impact of people working together, sharing and being inclusive. We invited the Community Independence Initiative (CII) to help us launch multiple Peer Driven Change initiatives in Uganda in a effort to put families experiencing poverty back in the driver seat so that they could make their own changes towards a better life… on their terms.
Mgahinga Initiative
The evolution of a wooden gorilla. This is a popular craft for purchase near Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Backstory. The Peer-Driven Change initiative in the Mgahinga Community of Kisoro was initially born from questions that arose from our Uganda Demonstration Farm project. We had questions around experiences farmers had with growing crops and whether or not they were finding success. We knew the best approach was to start with a survey to learn more…. it soon became so much more than that.
We launched our first Peer Driven Change initiative in February 2021, starting with 100 families who agreed to share with us their income generating activities over the course of the year and also questions related to helping practices within their households and the community.
In its first year, the Mgahinga Initiative has shown us that without formal program interventions, families experiencing poverty know how to make decisions to improve their lives and that mutuality and community support is an important part of the process.
More project details will be available here soon. To learn more about the individual family stories and how you can support their projects, visit our partner site, the mutuality platform.
Rwamwanja Initiative
Structure in Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement during 2019 visit
Backstory. In 2019, UW/A team members visited two Refugee Settlements in Uganda, one of which was Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement. The trip was a fact finding mission to gain a clearer understanding of how Refugee Settlements in Uganda were functioning and identify gaps in services for the growing number of inhabitants. We were introduced to the Director of UNHCR for the Settlement at that time and soon learned of the challenges around providing support for a refugee population of this size. It became clear to us from that trip that we wanted to learn more and find a way to get involved.
We launched two Peer Driven Change Initiatives In Rwamwanja Refugee Settlement in the Summer of 2021. We partnered with two separate organizations, AVSI and Youth Arise Network (YAN). Each run separate initiatives. Our AVSI partner manages the project similar to our Mgahinga initiative, selecting a diverse group of families to participate. Our YAN partner is slightly different in that they selected youth only, focusing on ages 15-24. Both initiatives are tracking the same information related to business income, expenses, and peer to peer engagement both within households and the larger community.
More project details will be available soon!