ACT Dateline

Uganda 01/07

LWF empowers the most vulnerable in northern Uganda

By Karen Ressel

Opakwi, Uganda. July 10, 2007. Rose Imilima lives in the eastern Ugandan district of Katakwi. She never imagined that she would spend her life struggling to survive. In fact, she never thought she would spend her life alone, but when her husband died, she was left without a means to support herself.

Struggling to make ends meet, Rose's physical condition deteriorated over time, until she was having difficulty digging in the garden or getting water. The plot of land she planted continued shrinking until the food she harvested was no longer enough to sustain her. Rose, in a sense, had little hope to go on.

Rose's situation is not unique. Many women, and families, find themselves in similar situations. It is not uncommon for people to sell their meagre assets to meet the burden of increasing health costs, which often leave people impoverished and unable to cope. The economic burden continues to increase until they become completely marginalized in the community and are unable to care for themselves.

Promoting and supporting activities that empower community leaders to assist the most vulnerable members of their communities is a key focus of ACT member, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Uganda. As part of the program, Rose and four other widows in the community of Opakwi, were given four oxen and a plough.

Through an ACT appeal launched earlier this year, LWF is implementing food security programs for close to 13,000 families in war-torn northern Uganda. The programs also include safe water and hygiene, non-food item distribution and psychosocial support.

With the help of the oxen, Rose and the other women are now cultivating food for their households and then plan to sell the excess harvest to generate income. Rose is the spokesperson for the group and she explains, "We work together to care for the bulls, it is how we manage." The women are responsible for the care of the oxen one week at a time and at the end of the week the oxen are moved to the next household in the rotation.

When asked how the oxen are impacting their lives, Beatrice, Anna, Rosa and Margaret add their voices to Rose's when expressing their deep gratitude for the oxen, "Now we are able to open land for planting, before we could only grow very small plots."

As the women work together, the dream for income generation and re-investment continues to grow. They are planning to rent out the oxen to help neighbours with ploughing in the field. When the excess crops are sold they hope to purchase a cow and begin selling the offspring in order to create another source of income. Rose also plans to diversify her farming and plant assorted seeds as a cash crop.

Through the assistance of LWF in northern Uganda, Rose Imilima has discovered that she is not alone in the midst of her situation. She has found a new sense of community and dignity, and the broad smile on her face today reveals the bright future she is creating for herself tomorrow.

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Action by Churches Together (ACT) International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.

Karen Ressel is a volunteer with Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Uganda/Sudan and is from ACT member, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).