Clean and sanitized water when coupled with proper hygiene are the key building blocks to good health and proper nutrition. In Uganda, Harambee has drilled three boreholes (water wells) for clean drinking water for use by over 7,000 people surrounding an eight square mile radius to establish a WASH environment. Harambee has provided WASH training in the local Soroti, Uganda schools. We coordinated with local government and district officials to ensure the boreholes were placed in the most needed areas with a donation of land by local landowners. To assure continual communal use of the borehole, we established a borehole repair and inspection process with local district officials who instituted a small user fee to pay for the maintenance of the borehole. Water is a key ingredient for health and nutrition.
Back to TopCOW EXCHANGE PROJECT
Harambee working in partnership with Shiloh’s International Missions team oversaw the presentation of 40 cows and 2 bulls to needy families. Cattle are seen as a source of wealth and power in the culture of northern Uganda. The purpose of the Cow Project was to provide immediate hope to Ugandan families displaced by war and to give them an opportunity to engage in economic development and nutritional sustainability for their families. The team worked with local government and church officials to set up processes to monitor the care of cows and redistribution of new cows to families in need. Agricultural assistant packets were developed to aid Cow Exchange Project recipients as they returned to their homes.
LIRA OXEN PROJECT
In October 2009, Harambee International Development and the Lira Pastors and Elders Fellowship (LPEF), an organization of religious leaders from 31 churches in the Lira area successfully obtained a U.S. Embassy, Kampala Uganda Ambassadors Award to begin an initiative to transport oxen back to northern Uganda. The purpose of the Oxen Project is to create economic, nutritional and communal stability for the Ugandan families by providing an oxen and use of available land. These families were impacted by the 25 year war with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The Harambee team worked with local government and church officials to institute monitoring processes to observe care of oxen and redistribution of new oxen to families in need. Currently, Harambee and LPEF have provided 28 oxen that have plowed 28 acres of land. Harambee has partnered with a local community group, the Lira Pastors and Elders Fellowship (LPEF), an organization of religious leaders from 31 churches in the Lira area. On ten acres of land the farmers have produced the following crops: cassava, soy beans, green peas, and sweet beans. The remaining eighteen acres will grow the following crops: sunflower, cotton, millet, black beans, corn and sweet potatoes.
REVOLVING DOOR
Harambee, Shiloh Baptist Church (SBC) and Soroti Pastors and Elders Fellowship (SOPEF) created a Micro-Cooperative Purchase Revolving Fund for the establishment of small businesses that could serve as an economic engine to improve the lives of members of the Soroti community. Harambee and SOPEF partnered together to examine and vetted persons from SOPEF congregations with written business plans on who could receive cooperative purchase for the establishment of a small business enterprise. Harambee and SOPEF developed procedures and loan terms consistent with the Ugandan constitution, banking laws, customs and traditions.
These micro-cooperative purchase obligations would have low interest rates (5%) and jointly established repayment plans to ensure successful repayments of the loan in a timely manner. The repaid obligations would serve as a source of funding for the new cooperative purchase obligations and a basis for additional Harambee financial support. Harambee reserves the right to continuously monitor and audit records and disbursements from the revolving fund.
MALARIA EDUCATION AND PREVENTION
Harambee provides information on general health issues, concentrating on malaria prevention and distributed medicine to aid malaria treatment. Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that kills thousand of persons each year throughout Africa and the world. Specifically, Harambee distributed over 400 chemically treated mosquito nets to villagers and internally displaced persons in Northern Uganda. Additionally, Harambee provided training on the proper use, care and maintenance of mosquito nets.
HIV EDUCATION
Harambee partnered with a local hospital in Soroti, Uganda to provide medicine and supportive services to HIV/AIDS patients. Stuffed animals were provided to children for comfort and encouragement. It was very heart-wrenching to look in the faces of babies with HIV and other patients that were unable to receive adequate medical attention. We have to find a way to do more to help address medical shortages. On our last mission there were about 500 patients with only one resident doctor. We are in search of medical doctors and other health care professionals to work together with us to address Ugandan hospital shortages in medicine and medical supplies.
Educational Support
PATIENT CARE AND SUPPORT
In 2010, Harambee provided a new washing bay with running water to the Soroti Hospital for improved sanitation of hospital patients cared for by family members. In Africa, when a person goes to the hospital, a family member goes with them to serve as their caretaker. The family member washes the patient’s clothes and bed linen and provides day to day care for that member under the supervision of hospital staff. The old washing bay was very unsanitary with no draining area that caused serious contamination of flies carrying blood from one patient to another creating an unsafe environment. The new washing bay was much higher off the ground than the previous one so the caretaker would not have to continually bend over to wash items, thereby making them cleaner and working in a safer environment.
PRIMARY AND SECONDARY
Harambee Educational Assistance of $500 has been given annually to recipients that are actively working in the local community in the Soroti, Uganda area with high scholastic achievement in elementary school (grades 1-5). Additionally, the recipient must attend elementary school in grade levels 1 – 5, and receive a minimum grade of a B average or better, and active in the local community.
Harambee and SOPEF appointed members to serve as a Scholarship Review Committee to annually select new applicants to receive educational scholarships beginning in December of each year. Harambee provided five scholarships to five children for a year of private primary education.