Dear friends,
Autumn has come to Norway and ‘the short rains’ to West Nile. Since spring/ ‘long rains’ and early April UPLIFT Graduation, with the kick-off of the Norad/FOKUS funded UPLIFT Women in West Nile project, things have been happening! It is high time for an update:
* 8 coordinators and 100 mentors are active in all four Districts (counties). They work in 24 sub-counties, training on average 4 village groups (classes of 40) in each sub-county.
* The annual project target of 4.000 women is within reach, short of recruiting a few hundred in one of the new Districts, Madi Okollo.
* Regular literacy training is moving on, and training of mentors and coordinators in the new women’s health project [SRHR = Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights] is being rolled out, to be integrated in village training.
* The literacy ‘learners’ book’ now includes six chapters of SRHR content (- also to familiarize learners with new terms, e.g. ‘menstruation’).
* Midwives from the regional UNMU (Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union) are enthusiastic partners and very competent lecturers.
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Information – and warning not to ‘step into adulthood’ too soon?
– but also individual counseling for those who might need it.
- HPV vaccination (preventing cervic cancer) is given to younger girls (10-14) through added funding from the Africa Action Network.
School yard entertainment. 507 were vaccinated on the first day!
- The required «7-months report» to FOKUS and budget proposal for 2024 was prepared and submitted. Salaries remain unchanged, while allowances to mentors and coordinators are slightly increased due to transport costs.
Well done! ‘Budget Brothers’+1 sister at budget meeting on Sept. 7 and 8 [from left: Michael, Hizzaya, Mark and Imelda.]
- The number of bicycles was increased to 25 – critical for those mentors living in remote districts with long distances to get to classes.
Made in India? Sure. Easy to assemble? Well,– Happy? Yes.
- Coordinators and board members receive smartphones for efficient communication.
- Four District offices have been established. The main office in Nebbi has 4 rooms, the other ones 1-2 rooms. Office furniture is being assembled and UPLIFT signposts will be put up.
If not exactly an assembly line; local assembly! (of office desks)
After half a year in ‘full operation’ UPLIFT West Nile has expanded its renown as a force and partner local authorities may draw on. Education and health, at grassroots level, are the two key instruments to fight poverty.
An annual allocation of USD 80.000 for five years (2023-28) is a considerable financial injection into an organizational partnership which, after the end of the collaboration with Norad and the Bahá’í Community of Norway (2007-2010), was sustained chiefly by private donations in the order of USD 10.000-12.000 per year. What happens five years from now?
As a part of the reporting requirement of FOKUS, UPLIFT West Nile has worked out a Baseline Survey and a Sustainability Concept Note; where does UPLIFT see itself when the project funding comes to a close?
These are questions UPLIFT and Friends of UPLIFT will consider and consult upon. For the FUP Board it has direct bearing on our contributions to UPLIFT needs and activities that are not included in the UWWN project cost (toward which FUP must contribute a modest 5 % share of USD 4.000 each year).
What we can safely say, at this juncture, is that Friends of UPLIFT will continue to stand by to promote the life and development of UPLIFT. And that we intend to maintain our support at the same level of contributions. The need for ‘literacy and women’s health’ training does not cease in 2028!
We shall draw a line, for now, but will return!!
Med vennlige og varme hilsener
fra styret i Venner av UPLIFT,
ved Gunnar Lange-Nielsen
(fortsatt sekretær)
UPLIFT West Nile main office.
A strip of silicone, a last window pane, and a padlock – and we’re ready to move in!