In many parts of the world, livestock are a highly prized commodity. Livestock can be such a sustainable investment, as they often offer an ongoing source of income. Who wouldn’t want that? Today, we looked to see how we might support this highly desired form of income and found ourselves working with three cooperative groups in Oruchinga, who all had refugee-run piggeries! These groups have a track record of success, and we decided to support them by buying additional pigs that would help their groups grow and have a wider impact in the community. Each of the three groups received five pigs — three female and two male — and promised to give us updates on how they were doing. Zawadi, a group leader, was especially excited about the pigs, “the purpose of the pigs is to multiply. Whenever our group has a problem, they can sell one of the pig’s offspring to help the member. Our group has 25 members now and these pigs will help supplement what we have. After the pigs give … [Read more...] about A Pig Investment

Gender-based violence affects millions of women and girls every year. It's a pervasive problem people face daily, and it affects communities across the whole world. With a problem so deep and so global, we work towards solutions that begin by involving the entire community. When more people are aware and on board, instances of gender-based violence begin to drop. By building community awareness of violence, strengthening women’s leadership and capacity to help others, and involving the entire community in creating solutions, we see the greatest results in making the world safer for women and girls. But before community awareness, leadership programming, or anything else, it’s important to first help the individuals impacted by gender-based violence. Before anything else, we work to meet our clients physical and mental health needs. We help women, girls and other victims of violence access the critical healthcare they need. Today, we decided to help a family that had been … [Read more...] about Give a Little Bit

For many communities across the world, maintaining access to safe drinking water is a daily challenge. Today, we’re doing the doable to increase water access in Oruchinga while helping out a small business. The business, a small group of men who sell water around the settlement, use bicycles to transport jerry cans full of water from water points to their customers. These customers are typically women who are too busy taking care of other household duties and their families to get water as frequently as they need it. Yesterday, we got a few bikes for the group. But today, we decided to add 20 jerry cans to supplement the small supply they already had and help boost business! According to Francis, the leader of the water vending group, “the Oruchinga refugee settlement faces the challenge of access to safe drinking water, as most of the water sources in the settlement has a particularly high level of iron in it. Therefore, one has to buy water for drinking. We formed this … [Read more...] about Water You Doing?

In Uganda, bikes are everywhere! They’re used to carry anything and everything, from bunches of bananas slung across the back, to jerry cans full of water balanced on each side, to mattresses curled up and stacked together in a bundle. There are so many benefits of using these bicycles — to start, it's great exercise! But beyond getting fit, bikes are powerful and efficient. They help business owners transport goods from one point to another, plus they make it easier for people to reach what might otherwise be remote destinations. They’re easy to maintain, affordable, and good for the environment, too! For these reasons and more, it’s no surprise that bicycles are in high demand for the residents of the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement. One group that was seeking more bicycles in Oruchinga was a water vending group. This group has been running for three years, and most of their customers are women who are busy at home looking after children and the house. Many of these women … [Read more...] about Bonkers for Bikes

All over the world, people have skills and abilities they’re excited to share with younger generations. But it can be difficult to pass down trades without the right tools or equipment. In the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, the Busheka women’s group faced this very problem that we wanted to help tackle. The Busheka women’s group is a collective of 35 women who believe in training girls and single mothers with skills that will help them become more self-sufficient. One skill that many women want to teach is sewing and tailoring. But despite it being such a large group, the women only had three machines to work with and train on. To fix this, we got them another five machines and a number of sewing machine accessories: thread, needles, scissors, measuring tape and more. Fiedah, the group leader, could easily see the impact of the additional machines and supplies, saying “I train the other women in how to sew and mend. Typically, a group will come at 9 in the morning and stay … [Read more...] about Oruchinga’s Got Style

The Oruchinga Refugee Settlement in Southwest Uganda has plenty of green space surrounding the community. Despite this, trees are few and far between. We decided to remedy this by planting a half dozen trees around some of the offices we support in the refugee settlement! We planted in collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister in Oruchinga. Not only will the trees provide shade for customers seeking services at these offices, but they will eventually also provide fruit, prevent erosion, and so much more. Iyan, a livelihoods officer and trained agronomist, was an eager tree planter! He also helped us make sure that the trees were planted deep enough so that the roots will take hold for a more successful future. We can’t wait to see these trees grow big and strong over the next few years! The representative from the Office of the Prime Minister was excited to help us dig holes and plant trees. They’ve already added tons of lush vegetation all around, but these … [Read more...] about Leafing Behind a Legacy

Getting finances in order might not always be a business owner’s favorite tasks, but it’s an important one that we wanted to help tackle. So today, we started by re-visiting the group we saw yesterday, Safe Boda! Safe Boda’s drivers are trained in safer road skills and gender-based violence prevention. Despite running a successful business that is faring well, keeping track of the books can be challenging. We learned that they didn’t have the tools necessary for more successful accounting, especially when it came to making plans for the future, which they definitely want to do. So, in addition to giving them helmets, we decided to give them some safety boxes to keep track of their expenses and other finances. Augustin, one of the men we helped, noted that “the safety box reminds us that we need to set up a meeting with the livelihood officer to learn more about working as a group and how we can improve our savings culture and record keeping. We appreciate the initiative … [Read more...] about Money Making Machine

Whether by plane, train, automobile or motorcycle taxi, we all have to get around. Transportation is a huge part of daily life, and it’s important to keep safe while you get where you're going. But transportation can be dangerous. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 1.35 million people die each year as a result of road traffic crashes. A large portion of these accidents happen in the global South. We wanted to do something to help prevent this kind of danger. So today, we linked up with a group working to make travel safer in Uganda. Safe Boda, a small organization that began in Uganda with ARC's support, is a tight-knit group of motorcycle taxi — or boda—drivers who are working to make travel safer for both drivers and passengers. Not only do drivers receive training on how to be safer drivers on the roads, but they are also trained in gender-based violence prevention and how to report instances of violence to authorities in the settlement. While … [Read more...] about Safety First!

Though food insecurity is sometimes due to famine or crop failure, many people simply don’t have the funds for food. So, securing a stable income is one great way to combat food insecurity for both individuals and families! Today, we wanted to see what could be done to enhance food security for youth living in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. So, we looked for a social enterprise that helps employ and train younger members of the community to add stability to their lives. Universal Garage, a shop located on the main road that runs through Nakivale, is one of these places. John, the owner of the garage, trains youth to help make them more independent and currently has five apprentices. It’s a welding and repair shop that works on bikes, cars, metal doors, and more! To support the business, we dropped off a gas cylinder that will help John and his apprentices work on more projects, which increases their impact! We were especially excited to find that John is … [Read more...] about Women Welding

Yesterday, we started building a fence around the Juru Greenhouse in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. But it’s a big job, and our work wasn’t over yet! Yesterday, we started to pour the foundation of a fence that would help keep out animals eating their very precious crops. Today, we’re adding the poles and wire to make the fence complete. The greenhouse is only a few months old — it opened in July 2018, which makes it the newest of four greenhouses we help manage in the area. But though a young operation, it’s a mighty one. The garden’s incredible success has had a great impact in the community. Not only does it act as a demonstration center to show people how to manage backyard gardens, but it has produced so much food that members of the community were able to open a market in a remote area of the Nakivale Refugee Settlement. Andrew, one of the ARC staff members who helped with the inauguration of the greenhouse, emphasized to us how much the fence would help keep … [Read more...] about Fencing in the Garden