Educate and Empower Girls and Women of Acholi

RIVER FUND HIV/AIDS FAMILY SUPPORT ASSOCIATION, KITGUM.

Project Name:  LIVELIHOOD SUPPORT FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV/AIDS (PLWAs).

Project Area: KITGUM DISTRICT, KITGUM TOWN COUNCIL, AMIDA, LATANYA SUB-COUNTIES.

Project Period:  SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER, 2013

RIVER FUND HIV/AIDS FAMILY SUPPORT WOMEN ASSOCIATION is a Community Based organization established in 2006. Its office is situated at Christ the King parish, 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.

This report is on activities carried out this 4^th quarter, 2013.

ACTIVITIES.

1. Training on Village Saving Loan Association and Record keeping.

A two day training of seven groups of the beneficiaries supported by the Association was conducted from 9^th-10^th December 2013.The participants were drawn from all the project areas. A total of 77 people attended with the ratio of women 71:06 men.

The methodology used varied from lectures; group work and plenary, pictorial and discussions for extensive learning which participatory approach was.

The training objectives were:

To empower the beneficiaries on saving and loaning activities through the practice and involvement in VSLA which is group managed.

To introduce and explain the basics of record keeping and skills for proper management of their income generating activities.

The participants were taken through the objective of VSLA which is to create financial services for the rural marginalized and vulnerable communities through groups, its benefits and limitations. The aspect of leadership and conflict management are among other important VSLA principles.

In record keeping, the beneficiaries were introduced to the basic record keeping practices and its importance in their daily lives and in managing their small scale businesses. They were taken through the daily sales record book, expenditure record, and weekly profit calculations among other simple books of record.

2. Identification and selection of more beneficiaries.

Three more groups of young positives (children living positively) have been identified for support. The children will be supported with scholastic materials, and other requirements to see them through in school this school calendar. A total of 30 children have been identified from Pandwong Parish in Kitgum town council, Oryang Ojuma in Amida sub-county and Lamola Parish in Amida sub-county with 10 children per parish.

The identified beneficiaries are bundled into groups of 10 members each making a total of four groups. Home visits were made to ascertain their level of need and to verify their treatment numbers. As such, all identified beneficiaries are enrolled in ART. Some are still on septrine while others are now on full complete ART. The children will be mentored and their parents enrolled in home base care services for close monitoring of the children’s progress in school and in their health conditions.

The households will further be supported with livestock (goats) for the household income security and for sustainability plan in case the project ends after one year.

All the formed groups have files opened for them at the River Fund Association office in which each group’s members list, report and activities are filed for record purposes.

3. Monitoring of the group activities.

The groups that received 5 goats have now shared the goats among themselves after the goats’ multiplied. They are continuing to monitor each other to ensure that the goats are not sold yet but reared to multiply for the benefit of the household.

Some of the groups have initiated their own farming activities like Walegu lacwec group in Lamola who planted beans had two sacks from the harvest and Dicwinyi women group from Parabongo Parish, Kitgum town council who have begun on sale of beans as their income generating activity.

Some groups would like to expand on the goat rearing activities as their own business by buying more goats for rearing e.g Kati Woko Con Ber group in Dure Pader district. The initiative will be funded by the group’s interest realized from their VSLA activity after end of saving cycle.

Lessons learnt:  Any activity with the involvement of the community and beneficiaries are bound to achieve beyond expected outcome as evidenced by the groups initiating their own IGAs after realizing that they may not access support from the Association for ever.

Way forward:  Organize more training in cross cutting issues like gender, gender based Violence, Human Rights and health rights of PLWA.

More support will be given in farm inputs like seeds, trainings on farming practices and post harvest management to ensure food security in their households.