Nakivale Basketball Outreach (Microfinance Project)

 For my second Microfinance Project I travelled to Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

Around the time when my initial project with MACAFS wasn't working out I began to use Basketball as an outlet for my frustration. Little did I know it would lead me to this project. While playing basketball at local courts I met a group of people from Uganda and South Sudan who run a basketball foundation focused on helping refugees - Naath Basketball Foundation.

Naath Basketball Foundation use basketball as a tool for education, hope and peacebuilding in refugee communities around Uganda. Immediately I developed a good friendship with the people involved and over time I realised that collaborating with them would be a great use of my remaining Microfinance budget - to do something sustainable, impactful and enjoyable with refugee youth.

We travelled to Nakivale Refugee Settlement in May, to carry out a 4 day basketball outreach for the youth there. We brought with us lots of basketball equipment and refreshments.

The outreach was a huge success - over 150 people attended! The first 3 days consisted of morning basketball sessions, followed by afternoon holistic development sessions (speaking about the importance of education, sports as a means to stay out of trouble, success stories of refugees). In the evenings we played friendly basketball games and experienced what life was like for locals living in Nakivale. This insight was very interesting - the locals call the settlement Naki-City, since it has been around so long and is very self-sustaining, with plenty of businesses, places of worship and bars throughout the camp.

Aside from the basketball, we were able to connect the local coaches there to other NGOs which can help provide more equipment to the children in future (shoes, socks, jerseys). We also connected them with schools in Kampala, for children to receive scholarships to study for free if they show potential talent in basketball. We had ‘visibility sessions’ with them to discuss ideas of how they can promote the Nakivale Basketball Academy and receive more resources for youth development.

On the final day we held two tournaments, for boys and girls. Each team of refugees had their own Mondo/Naath coloured jerseys. The talent, competitiveness and enjoyment on show throughout the tournaments was amazing to see. We also held a dunk contest and 3-point contest, much to the excitement of the beneficiaries! The tournaments concluded as the sun was setting, yet players and coaches remained on court for the medals ceremony and to thank us for bringing joy to the Nakivale community over 4 days. This outreach was definitely the highlight of my deployment. It will remain in my memory, and the memories of the coaches and youth of Nakivale for a long time!

Amuno Rural Hub (Microfinance Project)

For my first Microfinance Project I travelled to a small village in Eastern Uganda - Kachumbala. Here is the home to Amuno Rural Hub.

Amuno Rural Hub is an NGO which teaches literacy to youth in the Kachumbala community. Children come from far distances to learn to read, use the library and learn English. Hundreds of youth regularly visit Amuno Rural Hub after school, and during school holidays it becomes even more busy. Youth are divided into 3 classes based on reading ability (red, yellow, green). Older students in the green group become ‘literacy champions’, and help the younger ones learn to read. Amuno Rural Hub  also has a food programme for the youth, a rabbit breeding programme for self-sustainability, and a savings programme for parents.

Kachumbala is located in a dry part of Uganda and many community members struggle with access to clean drinking water. During school holidays there is often a shortage of drinking water at Amuno Rural Hub, due to huge numbers of the children spending their whole day at the centre. The current water filtration system often breaks down and when it is working, it takes over 5 hours to filter 20 litres of water. This is not sufficient to meet the water needs of Amuno's beneficiaries.

After spending time at Amuno and seeing the great work they are doing in the community, I decided I would use some of my Microfinance budget to help them with their Water issue. I collaborated with the Ugandan Water Project, in order to implement two new, more efficient water filters at the centre. These new systems can filter 20 litres of water in just 30 mins, providing safe water to both the students and the wider Kachumbala community (on very hot days it is normal for people to stop by Amuno and take some water).

After delivering the filters to the centre with Sam (UPA), myself and the Amuno staff set the two new systems up in the courtyard and I trained them in proper usage and maintenance of the filters. I involved the staff in demonstrations of correct filter cleaning procedures and what to do if the filter gets blocked. This is to ensure the filters remain effective for a long time (Ugandan Water Project state 10 years if managed properly).

After a busy morning of implementation and training it was time for lunch! I joined the staff in preparing Posho (a Ugandan staple), Beans and Vegetables for the 200 children present at Amuno Rural Hub that morning. The younger children then returned home with full stomachs, leaving behind the staff and the literacy champions for our afternoon activities.

These activities consisted of various educational games with the literacy champions; teaching them about water-borne disease transmission (from faeces to mouth) and dividing them into teams to discuss methods of prevention and best practices for hygiene. I showed them the classic 'black pepper' hand-washing experiment, which demonstrates the importance of using soap (which we made 50 L of the week before at a liquid soap making class, and provided to Amuno Rural Hub). We also played games that touched on the topics of clean latrine standards and behaviours for infection avoidance. The idea behind doing these games with the literacy champions was so that they are more impactful with a smaller group and then they shall educate the younger children about what they learned.

Tony (founder of Amuno) informed me that they were able to do this the following week and that the younger children also enjoyed. He also mentioned that Amuno is already seeing great results with their new systems. Overall it was a successful Microfinance project, with long lasting impact to the community of Kachumbala!

Initial Impressions of Uganda

 

Time flies - I am already 2 months into my deployment in Uganda!

Hello everyone, my name is Mark. I am a 26-year-old Irish volunteer who will be staying in Uganda for 6 months. It is hard to believe that I am only getting around to this blog post now, considering so much has happened in my first two months. It goes to show how chaotic life in Kampala can be. It is only now at the start of a New Year that I have taken time to reflect on the last 2 months of 2023, and my start to life in Uganda. Here are some initial impressions:

My journey to Uganda was a long one, almost 24 hours. But as I exited Entebbe airport I was greeted by the friendly face of Sam, the director of my host organization, UPA. My tiredness soon subsided as we drove from Entebbe to Kampala. This is my first time in East Africa and there were already so many new sights to take in; from the beautiful scenery of Lake Victoria to the chaotic nature of Kampala. It is hard not to experience some culture shock when entering Kampala for the first time – boda-bodas driving wherever they please to avoid the large pot-holes and traffic jam, the goats on the side of the street, the shouts of ‘Muzungu’ by street vendors selling anything from fruit to mobile phones. Something as simple as crossing the road at a junction can take some time, as European traffic rules don’t apply here. That being said, I am surprised by how quickly these things have become normal for me and a part of me loves the ‘organized chaos’ and liveliness of Kampala. The people are incredibly welcoming and helpful. As I am equally interested in them as they are in me, it has made for some great conversations and friendships. 

Adjusting to life here has definitely been made easier through my accommodation at Villa Mamu. It is located in Mengo, close to the city centre while also being removed from the chaos. There are a mix of locals and expats living in the compound, all staying long-term. This immediately creates a family atmosphere. I enjoy going to the market, to play basketball, or to local bars with the Ugandans in Villa Mamu – it has made it far easier to assimilate to everyday life here. Of course it is also nice to live with other Europeans too, where we can talk about our experiences here compared to home and go on weekend trips outside of Kampala. I am beginning to see why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa, the country is beautiful from what I have seen so far (Sipi Falls, Lake Bunyonyi, Mount Sabyinyo summit). Christmas day here was a perfect celebration of the great mix of cultures in Villa Mamu, as we each cooked a dish from our country. Watching the fireworks from the balcony together as 2024 began further cemented the feeling of being at home here in Uganda. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 4 months bring.

The work itself has been the main challenge for me. Although UPA is my host organization under the ESC project, I am actually working for a smaller NGO called Masanafu Child and Family Support (MACAFS), as a social work / community development officer. My background is in science, and at home I was used to working long weeks with tight deadlines and fast-paced projects. I understood before coming here that I would need to be flexible and open-minded to tasks outside my project description, as organizations work differently over here than in Europe. I had experience working in a migration camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina before Uganda, so I already had exposure to this more flexible way of working and really enjoyed it. What I underestimated however, is the pace of work in Uganda. It is a lot slower compared to research and development work in Ireland and humanitarian work in Bosnia. The lack of funding within MACAFS has been a big problem for them post-Covid, as they have struggled to initiate any new projects and their existing projects have grinded to a halt. The majority of their staff have left the organization, meaning only three people remain. This was a shock for both me and Mondo, as UPA had not informed us of this situation. Basic costs such as transport for the local social worker to beneficiaries’ homes have not been possible for the last two years. This makes her work extremely difficult, because even if some of the beneficiaries visit the MACAFS office for counselling and issues are identified, there is no funding to get these people the help they need. I acted quickly and informed my Mondo mentor Kristi. Both she and Hajara were helpful and organized a meeting with UPA and MACAFS. From this meeting, funds were made available for home visits at least. Slow progress is being made, but it has been difficult at times to work effectively at MACAFS with the lack of funding and projects. I have been thinking of sustainable ways to use my microfinancing budget for MACAFS and we have begun needs assessments within the community to see what we should implement. I am also actively searching for work with other local NGOs, which Mondo has been supportive of, as they are always looking for good projects to get involved with in Uganda. I hope by the time of my next blogpost I will have a lot more to tell you on the work-front about progress made.

Despite these challenges, I am still really enjoying my time in Uganda. I have learned a lot through conversation with locals and have gained exposure to other community development projects within Uganda, which has given me key insight into how NGOs work over here and the difference between sustainable and unsustainable projects. I am learning a lot about myself and am slowly figuring out how I can help effectively over here. I am determined to leave behind something sustainable!