Feed, Educate, Empower Acholi Women and Girls

ACTIVITIES REPORT OF GIRLS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP 2021, PATIENTS WITH NODDING SYNDROME AND GENDER BASED VIOLENCE

REPORTING PERIOD 7TH OCT. 2021

The project aims to help dropouts of secondary schools girls through provision of school fees, sanitary towels and mentoring.

As in previous report the girls who are in the project were 20 (twenty). Five (05) of the girls sat for their Ordinary Level Examination in 2020 leaving us with fifteen (15) girls in number but we managed to get another five to replace those who sat “O” Level in 2020 making a total of 20 girls in 2021.

Re-opening of the Schools:

The president declared that the schools will re-open in January 2022. He has given this period for all teachers and students above 18 years to be vaccinated. Therefore, I hope next year things will be normal since there is positive response by the citizens on vaccination.

Gender Based Violence:

As far as GBV is concerned, the lockdown has given a lot of problems such that people are in total poverty as a result there are rampant fighting and divorce in many homes. The group members are rendering door to door counselling in order to address it.

People with Nodding Syndrome:

The patients suffering with nodding syndrome are in total poverty and we lost one of them who passed on in June 2021.

Feeding:

We could not do much about feeding to the nodding patients for all the money sent was finished as captured in the report sent to you.

Challenges:

1. With the pandemic, there is fear that not all the girls may return back to school for some of them might have been impregnated.

2. Pandemic has made home visit very difficult, however those girls who live within the municipal, the mentors could visit theme and give counselling services.

3. GBV being very rampant has created child neglect and divorce in many homes.

4. It has become very difficult to help those patients with nodding syndrome with food since due to funding.

5. Some citizens are still negative on getting vaccination.

 Recommendations:

1. The schools should open so as to address teenage pregnancy.

2. All citizens should positively accept vaccination in order to reduce death levels which are now becoming high.

3. Donor to give more funds to address issues of school fees, feeding for nodding patients and giving support to victims of gender based violence so that issues of poverty is addressed through giving small capital as start-up capital for small businesses.

 Conclusion:

We wish to extend our appreciation to River Fund Team in the USA and our donors on GlobalGiving who are helping the River Fund in Kitgum District to make it possible to help the needy girls’ education, nodding patients and victims of Gender Based Violence.

ACTIVITY REPORT ON GIRLS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP PROJECT

REPORTING PERIOD JUNE 11, 2021

The project aims to help prevent dropouts of secondary school girls through provision of school fees, sanitary towels and monitoring.

Number of girls under sponsorship

There are twenty girls under sponsorship; fifteen are in senior one while five who were in ordinary “O” level sat their examination in March, all their school fees were cleared. On a sad note, we are in the second wave of Covid-19 and the president has imposed a lockdown, all schools were closed on June 7, 2021 for forty-two days. Hopefully if the condition improves the schools will reopen on July 19, 2021.

Challenges:

Covid-19 has disturbed the learning process too much

1. It has interfered with the school calendar
2. It has created fear and uncertainty among all the community
3. All the fund you have sent has been exhausted

Recommendations:

1. Mentorship will be carried on to encourage our girls during this pandemic
2. Money for school fees for next term which shall begin in September 2021.

 ACTIVITY REPORT ON PATIENT WITH NODDING SYNDROME

The project aims to help people in need. Since the patients with nodding have been identified and are being help with food items, we have managed to distribute food items and others – three times. The first time was in November 2020, second time in February 2021 and third time was on June 8, 2021. The total household was twenty (20)

Challenges:

1. Two of the patients died, from Omuny-bul; and from Laraba.
2. During this Covid-19 the movement to visit the patients is very difficult

Recommendations:

1. Replacement for the two patients who died
2. More funds for purchasing food items for them

Conclusion:

We wish to extend our appreciation to the River Fund Team in U.S.A and our donors on the GlobalGiving who are helping the River Fund members in Kitgum District to make it possible to help the needy girls’ education and nodding patients.

ACTIVITY REPORT OF GIRLS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP PROJECT 

The project aims to help prevent dropouts of secondary school girls through provision of school fees, sanitary towels and monitoring.

Number of girls under sponsorship

There are twenty girls under sponsorship, fifteen are in senior one while five are in senior four. The five in senior four have been fully paid (fees, extra lessons, purchase of school bus) each student at 385,100Ugx totaling to 1,955,500Ugx for five students including 30,000Ugx for administrative costs. Only candidates have resumed school. Semi-candidates (primary six, senior three and senior five) will resume on 1^st March 2021 while other classes including senior one will resume on 19^th April 2021.

Challenges

We are still in fear of visiting our people (nodding syndrome patients) in the villages due to Covid 19, there is no gathering.

Recommendation

Mentors will be visiting the five O’ level candidates at St. Bhakita Girls School to follow up on their performance.

We kindly request for timely release of funds to avoid disturbance of the students in the next academic term.

Conclusion

We wish to extend our appreciation to the River Fund team in USA and our donors on the GlobalGiving who are helping the River Fund members in Kitgum district to make it possible to help the needy girls’ education and nodding syndrome patients.

RIVER FUND HIV/AIDS FAMILY SUPPORT WOMEN ASSOCIATION is a Community Based organization established in 2006. Its office is situated in Kitgum Town Council, Kitgum district, Uganda. It has a total membership of 30 women who have volunteered to help sensitize and restore hope to the traumatized community (orphans, child headed families, people affected with HIV/Aids) as well as improve the nutrition of malnourished children.

Key focus areas of intervention include; Training People Living With Aids (PLWAs) on long term Survival skills, Care of malnourished children through providing food stuff, Counseling of married couples on coping with the Aids pandemic situation in their families, Home visits of PLWA, Educating mothers on providing proper and balanced nutrition using locally available resources and Initiating livelihood and economic strengthening schemes for PLWA that do not demand too much energy.

ACTIVITY REPORT OF GIRLS EDUCATION SPONSORSHIP PROJECT:

Reporting period: 14^th October, 2020

Report compiled by: Aciro Hellen Rose (Chairperson)

Date: 14^th October, 2020

Introduction

The girls’ sponsorship is a sub component of Feed Educate and Empower Girls and Women of Acholi supported by GlobalGiving. It is implemented by River Fund HIV/AIDS family support women association, a CBO located in Kitgum district northern Uganda. The River Fund USA provides leadership and support.

The project aims to help prevent drop outs of secondary school through provision of school fees, sanitary towels and monitoring.

Numbers of girl under sponsorship

There are twenty girls (20), 15 girls are new ones and five girls are now in final year O level at St Bhakita girls school. They will report to school on 15^th October 2020.

Payment of school fees

Fees will be paid as per reporting back to school.

School visit

Mentors will visit the girls mostly to encourage them.

Home visit

None of the members visited the homes due to Covid 19, no movement, no transport available.

Challenges

• We could not avail you with their photos at the moment because the report date is due on the 15^th October 2020. This will be done when they are in school.
• Our fear is that many girls may not come back to school due to pregnancy.
• A valid email address for the team will be ready after meeting the executive members.
• We also lost one of our members, Francesca A. about two weeks ago.

Recommendation

Mentors will be visiting the girls. We request for increase in donation so as to enable us to take some food items to the nodding patients at Lamola and Okidi villages

Conclusion

We wish to extend our appreciation to the River Fund team in USA and our donors in the GlobalGiving who are helping the River Fund members in Kitgum district to make it possible to help the needy girls’ education and nodding patients.

The River Fund transferred emergency funds to our project in Kitgum Northern Uganda at the end of May. We realized that due to the Covid 19 total lockdown in the country since March 18, that our very rural project members were hungry and, as always, without running water or electricity. Because this is Kitgum, they had to receive permission from the Resident Commissioner of Kitgum District to take food to the villages of Lamola and Okidi. Also these villages contain many children with Nodding Syndrome.

The Riverfund Women’s Association of Kitgum delivered food on 8 June to approximately 400 people by family group. These people had no food.

The local schools are shut down for now and we hope that when they open the girls we were sending to school will return.

We will need to provide more funds in the near future.

These are the foods items that were distributed per family group. They spent more than $4,000.

Sorghum - 500kg

Sardine (small fish) - 1 bag

Beans - 200kg

Sim Sim - 100kg

Salt - 1 1/2 cartons

Soap - 3 boxes