ILA - a joy to be with, as always!

My time with ILA-Uganda

Spending time with CRED Partner I Live Again Uganda (ILA) is always a treat, and this visit has been no exception to that.

Based in Gulu ie a 6 hour drive from Kampala, I don’t get to see them as easily as I do some of the other partners and projects, but the drive is always more than worth it, and my time with this week has been an absolute delight in many ways.

The four strands of ILA’s work now are trauma counselling, faith-based support, community development and resettlement, and these feature in all the projects that they are engaged in.

ILA started out as a non-profit that provided trauma counselling to local communities ravaged by the war of terror inflicted on the region by Lord’s Resistance Army, during the 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s. The dominant tribe here is the Acholi, and it was that people group who suffered most, with many of them fleeing to Kampala, resulting in the setting up of Acholi Quarters – another community in which I am involved. Over time, ILA expanded its reach to include Acholi Quarters, where it not only provided trauma counselling, but also resettlement for families that felt ready to make the journey back to their homeland.

Now, the village work relating to LRA conflict is reducing, as time progresses and the ILA legacy of villages healed has resulted in the number of villages still needing support dwindling to almost none.

In place of this branch of their work, ILA have two additional key projects that are becoming their twin primary foci.

One is the support of South Sudanese refugees who are based in the borderland region of Lamwo. Some of these refugees live in UNHCR run camps, whilst others have moved on from there and are setting up homes in the host community. As a result support is needed not just for the refugees, but also for the host community who are having to adapt to having ‘outsiders’ moving into their area.

The other key project that has very recently started is the ‘Girls Project’. This works with girls age 13 -17 who have got caught up in sex work within Gulu. The causes for them being in this work are many – poverty, running from an abusive home, trafficking, ‘the glittery lights of life in the big town’, parents remarrying and not accepting children from the previous marriage….

Whatever the reason, the girls come to the project initially broken, hurting, angry, fearful and with many other negative and destructive emotions and self-images inside them. The programme that they join includes counselling, discipleship, mentoring, fun and games, non-judgmental love and support, acceptance, provision of clothes and sanitary products as needed, three meals each day and, as time progresses, access to skills training so that they can embark on new income generating activities.

I know I’ll be writing more about these projects as time progresses, but for now I just want to lift this wonderful, inspirational, Christ-filled, God-facing organisation, and thank them not only for being my Gulu-based home and friends, but also for doing all that they do so beautifully, non-judgmentally, wholeheartedly, and in such a prayer-filled, grace-filled, Christ-centred, loving way.

To quote I can’t remember who…..’I’ll be back’!!!!

the Girls Project

Janet, the ILA cook extraordinaire in her new kitchen

DJ Ruth controlling the music for a game of musical chairs

Lunchtime - some of the team

Lunchtime with a few more of the team

 

 

White welly day!

Making connections with a new Vocational Training Institute

I’m in Gulu this week, in the heart of Northern Uganda. And today I had the joy of making connections and building relations with Rev Samuel and the staff of a new vocational training institute being developed here.

There was already a VTI in existence, set up to provide rehabilitation and training for young people who had been abducted by the Lords Resistance Army back in the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s. Now that the war is over, those young people find themselves cast out of society, ashamed of their past, and having missed out on education.

The VTI was set up to provide them with income generating skills, a chance to earn money, and hope for the future. And that’s what it has been doing, on a small scale. But now the plan is to upscale, reach out to more young people and offer state of the art training, in purpose built facilities, through a number of different courses. Each course will be linked to an income-generating component, enabling the college to be fully integrated into the community, and for the students to have workplace opportunities as part of their training.

My host for the day was Rev Samuel, who is project managing the building of the new development, and, along with site manager Kenneth, they showed me around the site.

It was great to see how much progress has been made, and all the plans for the future, and I look forward to coming back in months to come and seeing it grow and develop.

The afternoon was spent with the wider staff team at the existing college, sharing with them the training materials that I have been developing over the past 18 months. It was humbling to see just how excited they were about the materials, and how quickly the staff could see the relevance of the concepts within the ethos of the college, and again I look forward to coming back and sharing more with them in person, as well as via zoom.

So, my thanks to Rev Samuel and to Kenneth for the tour (and the chance to wear bright white safety wellies!), and to James the college principal, and all of the staff for welcoming me to the college and allowing me to share my training with them.

Here’s to the next visit!

 

Acholi faces

Just back from a very lovely few hours at Acholi Quarters. Spent time getting photo updates for all sorts of projects, and donor relations aspects, and just enjoyed connecting with them all, sitting and chatting together, meeting some new friends, and catching up with a few more old friends who hadn't been around last week.

I'm not going to wax lyrical - it's too hot for that! But here are a few of my favourite photos which give a flavour of what today was all about.

Reflections from rural Mityana

The rains are here! Major rains, which means everything stops, so what better than to use the time to jot down some reflections about my past few days in rural Mityana. 

 view from the upper part of the college - set in a stunning location!

I’ve been staying at the college, a place I’ve been to many times with John, and had the privilege to play a part in setting up. It’s been lovely to see it grow and develop over the past few years, from the time when the idea was birthed, to the building of the classrooms, then addition of dormitories, café/restaurant, hair salon, and all run in a very eco-friendly way – solar power, biofuel, rainwater harvesting - so that the utility bills are almost non-existent. Three years ago the first students were admitted, and thankfully most of them managed to complete their education before coronavirus hit. Just a few ‘casualties’ with regard to completing course work and taking exams, and hopefully they will be able to catch up.

Over the past year the college had to close, like all other educational establishments, and so a year’s worth of students missed out on their chance to get started on vocational training. But now they are starting to sign up and it’s lovely to see the college beginning to hum again with the chatter and laughter of young people all embarking on the next stage of their education.

There are two projects that have really progressed since I was last here, and I’ll doubtless write more about them each at some stage. But both show how much this is a college with community benefit at its heart.

The water project involves pumping clean water from a borehole at the bottom of the hill, about 200m away. The borehole is owned by the college, and the water is pumped up into two holding tanks. These tanks are also filled by water collected through rainwater harvesting, so on a wet day (like today), no pumping is required, as the rainwater tanks are very full!

The water fulfils the college’s needs – in the washrooms, in the kitchen, in the salon. But as the college has the community at the heart of it, and as it has more water than it needs, pipes have been laid to 26 households, so that they too can have easy access to clean water.

The houses were chosen in part due to needs, and in part due to willingness to assist with the cost of laying the pipes. So, some recipients have made a financial contribution, others have ‘qualified’ due to their circumstances. And some of those recipients are using the water just for themselves, others are using it as an income-generator through ‘selling’ the water on to neighbours. They each have a water meter which ensures that they pay for the amount used, and so far no-one has defaulted on any payment. 

This project is life transforming for those who used to have to walk a distance to get their water. Sometimes it might be from a communal borehole, but other times it would be from a nearby brook or stream, where the danger of water-borne diseases was so much greater. 

Eddy, Jaja Mary and Emma

Mary is one such lady. She lives with and looks after her two grandchildren Eddy and Emma, and her day is taken up with getting all the chores done, working in the garden, trying to sort enough food to eat, and generally coping in a home that has no water, no electricity, and just a long-drop pit latrine for sanitation. The walk to get enough water took a few hours each day, and the physical burden was taking its toll on her body. A water pipe just by her house has transformed things so much. 

Jaja John

Similarly for Jaja John – an elderly gentleman who is delighted to have access to water without having to travel far, and able to enjoy the days a bit more rather than having to toil away.

 

So that is one community-focused project. The other that is nearly ready for action is the community fuel station.

This project came about as the result of an ongoing request for an auto-mechanic course at the college. From that came the thought that if there is going to be inspection pit and mechanics workshop, why not instal a couple of fuel pumps, especially given that its over 10km to the next nearest one. And if there are going to be a couple of fuel pumps, people will want to buy snacks. So if you are having a ‘shop’ for snacks, why not also include some space that provides goods that aren’t currently provided in the locality but that locals have highlighted as being needed.

One such need is a vendor who can supply the local traders wholesale with the various food stuffs that they sell at retail price. Not go into competition with them, but be a source of provisions so that they don’t all need to travel 10km to the nearest town to buy stock (at retail price), to sell on (at above retail price) and currently not make much profit on.

The other need highlighted is a hardware store. Again it is 10km to the nearest store, a journey that comes at a price for the many local residents who don’t have access to their own vehicle. Discussions are therefore starting to find a hardware merchant from the town, who would be interested in renting some space and setting up a satellite store.

The provision of fuel at the garage in itself will be a real blessing, and make life so much easier for the various boda-boda drivers who ride their motorbike taxis back and forth between the various little villages, But the addition of these additional services, all as a result of listening to the community – well that is going to make a lot of people very happy!

Definitely a college who asks the community what the local needs are, and listens and acts on the responses in a positive and life-enhancing way.

Right, the rains have stopped, now time to travel back to Kampala where the internet is strong enough to post this!! Happy days everyone 😉