Better Lives for Vulnerable People in East Africa

The Single Parents Association of Uganda is one of our long-standing partners. We work with them in poor communities by taking an ‘integrated approach’ to overcoming poverty in everyday life. This means tackling multiple aspects of poverty at the same time, instead of focusing on just one issue like income or food.

Poverty is complex and can include poor education, healthcare, water, unemployment and food insecurity - so solutions must be connected and work together. Only fixing one problem can still hold people back, for example a job won’t help someone that much if they’re too sick to work or lack basic skills. This is particularly true for single parent families, who are prone to stress when life’s problems pile up!

In Katungulu, Uganda, our integrated approach recently included providing wells for safe water, followed by treated mosquito nets and hygiene kits to provide a foundation of good health on which single parent families can earn an income. To that end we trained people in enterprises of their choice, including making clothes, candles and soap and rearing goats and poultry. The combination of welfare support followed by sustainable enterprises has proved successful in Katungulu and many other communities where SPAU and Advantage Africa have worked together.

Faith is a young mother who has been training in tailoring. She says ‘I made clothes for my children and me. I am proud to have become a tailor. I designed the clothes myself. Are we not smart? I appreciate you for giving me this chance. In fact, I know that I was nothing, but now I’m something. Glory be to God!’

As always, your support of Advantage Africa has been focused on reaching the most vulnerable people in the community. This includes people with epilepsy, which is misunderstood in rural Uganda. The initiative addressed myths around the condition and provided assessments and medication to control debilitating seizures. This was followed by livelihoods support through grants and loans to families affected so they could start enterprises with which to meet their basic needs.

We follow a similar integrated approach to empowering vulnerable people in Kenya. A recent example working with our partner Kibwezi Disabled Persons Organisation involved supporting people with disabilities to rear goats and improve their access to safe water. Participants in the group received training, two hardy goats, a water tank and guttering to collect rainwater from the roofs of their homes. As well as creating sustainable livelihoods, the greater visibility of people with disabilities is eroding negative perceptions of them - and thereby creating a more caring and inclusive community.

Thank you for making life-saving work like this possible through your support of our Better Lives for Vulnerable People project.