Background of Oxfam in Uganda

Oxfam is a global movement for change that empowers people to create a secure future, just and free from poverty. We believe everyone has a right to safety, security, a livelihood, and a say in decisions that affect them. We seek a world in which everyone can speak up to power, demand and claim their human rights, and build a better future for themselves. We recognize that we cannot achieve this on our own but as a collective power. Therefore, we work in partnership with local and grass-roots organizations, civil society, individuals, volunteers, the private sector, and the Government. 

Our Vision is Uganda free of inequality and Injustice: A society where people, particularly women and young people, claim and exercise their rights and responsibilities and influence decisions that affect their lives. Our work is guided by the Country Strategic Framework (CSF) (2021-2030), which is organized around four themes: Governance and Accountability, Resilient Livelihoods, Humanitarian preparedness and response, and Gender Justice and Women’s Rights. All the themes work towards influencing policy and practice, youth and women empowerment, inclusive participation in decision-making at various levels, and capacity strengthening of national and local actors. 

About the Project

Through the Western Uganda humanitarian platform hosted by World Voices Uganda, Oxfam supports the implementation of emergency response to disasters in western  Uganda.

At the end of 2021, Oxfam in Uganda supported the formation of a consortium of seven Local NGOs namely World Voices Uganda, AWYAD, Joint Effort to Save the Environment (JESE), Livelihood program of Uganda (LIPRO Uganda) and Foundation for Urban and Rural Advancement FURA, Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID) and Labour and Consumer Advocacy (LACA) which later spearheaded the Birth of the Western Uganda Humanitarian Platform (WUHP), a platform of 51 local NGOs operating in western Uganda with the aim of responding to numerous humanitarian needs, emergencies and disasters in Western Uganda. These disasters inflict human suffering on thousands of people who get affected. Western Uganda is prone to disasters ranging from natural and human-induced, land conflicts and climate change, among others.

The ERF project under implementation builds on lessons learned from previous interventions made by the consortium from January to December 2022 in the 3 geographies and a learning component that ran until July 2023. Feedback from communities demonstrated how this funding model helped reduce the suffering caused by low-attention disasters. Decision-making was done by local responders with the participation of communities due to their proximity. World Voices Uganda provided backstopping support on a need basis, whereas Oxfam in Uganda provided advisory and general support. The high degree of community participation led to more tailored responses and transparency among most parties involved, including local governments. 

The ERF funds serve as a lifeline, facilitating the provision of fundamental services such as shelter, sustenance, clean and safe drinking water, and healthcare to refugees and marginalized groups of people. Communities around the Rwenzori Mountain ranges are always affected by floods and mudslides, which have displaced over 50,000 people in the region and more in the districts of Kasese, Ntoroko, Bundibugyo, and Isingiro, among others. 

Much of the population in this region are peasant farmers, and over 80% of this population depends on subsistence farming. The area experiences intermittent influx of refugees, disease out-breaks such as Ebola, hemorrhagic fevers, HIV/AIDS; and in the recent past COVID-19. Floods and landslides also continue to affect the local population, displacing people and leaving them with no basic requirements. Therefore, the project is able to support the affected persons and communities with both food and nonfood items being guided by the needs assessment made by the implementing partners, evaluated, and approved by the consortium.

Purpose or overall objectives of the documentation

To showcase the impact of  strengthening local humanitarian leadership through the  work and impact  of the Western Uganda Humanitarian platform 

Objectives of documentation 

  1. To conduct comprehensive coverage and interview with the Chairperson Western Uganda Humanitarian Platform, focusing on how the platform was formed, its membership, how it operates/ strategies, its impacts in southwestern Uganda, and its operation providing the local actors voice and autonomy. The value add of the platform vs when it was not in existence.
  2. To document the work that the platform has implemented and the impact. This should show the challenges the region faces, the existing efforts, the impact of the platform and have collaboration voices from the key stakeholders in the districts/region. Within this, the work of the various organisations in the response and advocacy can be showcased.
  3. To document the perspectives of the community – how the communities were impacted/ benefitted from the platform response. The documentation will strive to show the reality the value added, respectfully acknowledging attribution and the impact. It will also have diversity with a good balance of males, females and PWDs if any. 

Methodology/Approach:

The documentation will be done through written stories and short video. It will be collected from the project participants in OXFAM’s/partners’ operational areas.  The products will feature Oxfam’s partners, project participants and stakeholder involved in this project – including refugee led organisations and local humanitarian actors.

Locations 

Southwest (Kasese, Fort Portal, and Bundibugyo) Kampala.

Expected deliverables  

  1. Three comprehensive stories with a focus on the areas highlighted above. The stories must be comprehensive, bringing in various perspectives, evidence, and community voices.
  2. 30 High-quality, well-captioned photos. These will include action photos as well as portraits.
  3. A short video of not more than 5 minutes telling the story of localization through the Western Uganda humanitarian platform and its impact.
  4. All consent forms of people who were interviewed 
  5. All loose photos of the context/ scenery 

Proposed Activity Timeframe: 

Between 3rd November - 20th November 2024. This is the timeframe from content collection to the delivery of final products. 

Target Audience for the documentation

  • Donors, the public and INGOs

Prerequisites

Consent of people explicitly portrayed – consent forms must be signed off and filled. 

Photographs should include a range of shots and action-oriented photos from: 

  • Dynamic and observational shots of people conveying action, movement and energy 
  • Portrait shots - try to shoot a balance of portrait and landscape shots. 
  • Close-up detail of relevant objects and textures. 
  • Scene and context shots. Include a panoramic shot when the scene contains activities of interest 
  • Lively, striking, ‘slice-of-life’ images.
  • Well-gender-balanced images, voices portraying the people as empowered

Please note that Oxfam does not work with black-and-white shots

Consultancy Location 

The documentation process will be done in the district project areas of Kampala, Fort Portal, Kasese and Bundibugyo

Responsibilities of the consultant 

The consultant should work closely with the project team to accomplish the following tasks;

  1. Hold preparatory discussions with Project Teams and the communication Team at Oxfam about the activity.
  2. Prepare a shooting script and an editing script and share them with Oxfam for revision and approval.
  3. Provide a narration for the overall project documentary. 
  4. Accurately translate the project beneficiaries' voice into English 
  5. Finalize the documentation according to the feedback provided by the project team. 

Expectation from the consultant

  • The consultant will adhere to Oxfam policies and protocols of “Do no harm,” child protection and acquiring informed consent.
  • The consultant will sign the Oxfam external code of conduct. 
  • The consultant will present his / her subjects with dignity. 
  • The consultant will be expected to bring creativity.

Responsibilities Of Oxfam and Partners 

  1. Oxfam and partners will provide reference materials, analyze the quality of the product stories, and give input to drafts. 
  2. Support the consultant to coordinate field activities through the partners’ field staff and beneficiaries. 
  3. Provide leads for possible cases/people for documentation.
  4. Ensure that feedback is provided for the consultant when and where necessary. 
  5. Payment to the consultant as per agreement. 

Eligibility criteria 

The applicant should have at least three years of experience in journalism with skills in producing high-quality written stories. The applicant should share a track record of stories, photos and videos. Applications should include two references of similar work.

Fees payment 

The consultant will be paid in accordance with Oxfam's consulting policy, which stipulates 20% upon submission of the inception report and 80% upon successful completion and acceptance of the final products.

For interested applicants, please submit your technical and financial proposal clearly breaking down the budget and other supporting documents to Ugandalogistics@oxfam.org with the subject line “ERF documentation” no later than 5:00 PM (GMT +3) on October 30th, 2024.

Only successful candidates will be notified.