Improving the safety and self-reliance of conflict affected displaced populations and host communities in DRC and Uganda (DGD project)

About the Project

The DGD project is a 30 months multi-country project implemented in DRC and Uganda with support from the Belgium government.

Project Objective

The project seeks to improve the abilities of conflict affected population in North Kivu, Ituri (Eastern DRC) and Uganda (Kyaka II, Western Uganda) to access essential services (WASH, Livelihood Protection and Advocacy.)

Key Achievements

  • In Uganda, the project has improved access to safe water at a maximum 500m distance reaching over 13,000 People of concern.
  • It has also increased access to dignified, safe, clean, and functional excreta disposal facilities for 6,765 people.
  • Through sensitization, water and soap provision, individuals have improved their hygiene including handwashing practices.
  • Refugees and their host communities now have improved access to stable incomes generating opportunities. 1,540 Refugee Households (7700 individuals) were trained on basic agronomic practices and supported with assorted vegetables seeds and farm tools. 30 businesses were supported and established by 21 Refugees and 9 Host community members. The businesses include tailoring, buying, and selling of agricultural produce like maize, shoe selling, cloth selling and hair dressing.
  • The project has increased awareness on the protection risks as well as provided information on referral pathways through IEC’s like billboards. This has contributed to proper reporting and handling of GBV cases.
  • Through the project, Refugee Committees and coordination structures have been established/or revitalized and are able to conduct humanitarian advocacy at local level.

Partners

In Uganda, Oxfam leads the project implementation in a consortium with two (2) local/national partners

  • Joint Efforts to Save Environment – JESE who implements the Livelihoods components and
  • African Women and Youth Action for Development – AWYAD implementing the protection and advocacy components

Saving lives now and in future

Project Title: Saving lives now and in future

Saving lives now and in future project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Oxfam IBIS and has been running from 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2021. This country program is part of a global Inclusive Peacebuilding program implemented in a total of 8 countries from 2018 to 2021: Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ghana, Niger, Mali, South Sudan, Uganda, and Yemen. In Uganda it is being implemented by Oxfam in collaboration with 12 local partner organizations.

Objectives

The overall objective of the global program is to promote sustainable peacebuilding and prevention of violent conflict with a focus on strengthening the participation of women and youth in conflict transformation and peace processes.

Specific objectives

In Uganda, the program is being implemented in the West Nile region and works towards the following objectives:

  • Increase the awareness and understanding of existing and potential tensions and conflict between host and refugee communities and between refugee populations, as well as of cross-border security dynamics.
  • Provide recommendations for and support the design and implementation of conflict-sensitive interventions and programming in the refugee response.
  • Promote exchange and dialogue between political, development, and humanitarian actors, refugees, and host communities about preventing, mitigating, and addressing conflict related to the refugee response.
  • Encourage and promote support for and development of peace-building, reconciliation, and mediation initiatives to address conflict dynamics.

Partners

  1. Youth Social Advocacy Team (YSAT)
  2. Community Empowerment for Creative Innovation (CECI)
  3. Action for People in Need Organization (APINO)
  4. I Can South Sudan
  5. South Sudanese Refugees Association (SSURA)
  6. Save Humanity Africa (SHA)
  7. Youth Empowerment to Act (YETA)
  8. Support Trust For Africa Development (STAD)
  9. Community Empowerment for Peace and Development (CEPAD)
  10. Lugbara Kari
  11. Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity (UCLF)
  12. Dynamic Action for Peace and Rehabilitation (DA4PR)

Scaling Up Household Methodologies from Thousands to Millions – Empower@Scale Project

About Empower@Scale Project

Oxfam Novib and Hivos with local partner CEFORD is delivering a mechanism for scaling up GALS by facilitating the professionalization of Empowerment Learning Centers (ELCs), and their constructive engagement with IFAD-supported projects and other actors for strengthening their capacities to apply HHM/GALS by linking the so far isolated HHM initiatives.

Scaling up household methodologies from thousands to millions (Empower @ Scale) is a four-year Multi-country project funded by IFAD and implemented consortium of Oxfam and Hivos in Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria. In the Consortium, Oxfam Novib and Hivos provide supervisory and fiduciary functions related to financial management and administrative services for the project.

E@S’s ultimate objective is to scale up Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) through establishing a network of self-sustaining Empowerment Learning Centers (ELCs). The objective of the ELCs and regional hubs is to provide the technical expertise and training required to support IFAD’s executing partner and other donor-funded value chains programmes and up-scaling GALS. IFAD is the donor of this project

Objectives of the project

To establish a self-sustaining network of national ELCs and regional hubs that provide the technical expertise and training required to support IFAD’s executing partners and other donor-funded value chain programs in developing and up-scaling GALS/HHM.

Key expected results / Outcomes

  • A network of ELCs is established and capable to provide capacity development services to public and private stakeholders on HHM
  • Governments and executing partners have affordable and prompt access to local and regional technical expertise needed for the implementation of GALS/HHM in value chain programs.
  • Individual HHM experts, practitioners, supporters and clients of HHM capacity development services are linked into the ELCs, regional hubs and a global platform for monitoring, experience and information sharing and knowledge management
  • New approaches are available to apply HHM in thematic areas and particular target groups such as youth and indigenous people

About GALS

GALS is a structured community-led empowerment methodology which aims at creating self-led economic, social and political transformation starting at community level. It works with women and men to develop their visions for change, appreciate their strengths, achievements and work collectively to address gender inequalities within the family and community. Using the power of symbols and principles of inclusion, GALS uses a set of tools that enable individuals and households to plan their lives, identify and negotiate their needs and interests for gender-equitable livelihoods thus enabling them to change the gender and power relations that would otherwise constrain them from achieving their visions.

Achievements thus far

Oxfam has not only been the frontrunner of the development, testing, piloting and promotion of GALS, over the years but has also played a crucial role in creating the demand for GALS in not only IFAD supported programmes but also other programmes.

Implementation of the Empower@Scale project has undergone 4 broad phases

Project Inception phase: Phase one (May 2018 to May 2019): This phase focused on setting up project management structures: project teams, strategic steering committee; engaging IFAD loan-financed programmes and reviewing current needs and priorities; contracting partners, assessments; baseline study; recruitment; establishing a core group of HHM experts, and drafting business models for the ELC and hubs.

Strengthening and consolidation phase for: Phase two (May 2019 to May 2020): This was a Strengthening and consolidation phase that focused on review and mobilisation of ELC for professionalization trajectories; establishment of two regional hubs and mechanisms for linking ELC with IFAD-supported programmes, quality assurance, monitoring, learning and knowledge management; exploring a revolving Capacity Development Fund; set up a global secretariat to develop codes of conduct and ethics and strengthen a multi-level and multi-stakeholder network; design of innovation trajectories for piloting.

Sustainability phase: Phase three (May 2020 to May 2021): This phase aimed at piloting and implementing capacity development / quality assurance mechanisms with clients of GALS/HHM support; test pilots for specific approaches with GALS/HHM are carried out. Pilot and implement capacity development / quality assurance mechanisms with clients of GALS/HHM support; test and consolidate business models for sustainability of ELC, hubs and the network; identify other ELC for programme development; pilots for specific approaches with GALS/HHM are carried out, reviewed and documented; approaches are disseminated and funds are leveraged for rolling these out. A larger alliance and consortia were developed for programme development scaling up.

Scaling up and replication phase”, Phase four (May 2021 to May 2022): During this phase, business models for sustainability of the ELC, regional hubs and the network are tested and reviewed; Capacity development trajectories with IFAD-supported projects refined for replication; wider profiling of the network and consortia, mobilizing resources for scaling up and knowledge management.

Successes

  1. Improved conflict resolution at family and community level resulting from integrating GALS in peace building initiatives.
  2. Reduction in domestic violence as a result of improved relations at Household level.
  3. Indicate an increase in productivity for agricultural value chains resulting from joint planning and decision making starting from the household level
  4. Observable changes in attitudes and behaviour at different levels through individual and collective activities. They include sensitive areas of gender inequality like property rights, gender-based violence and participation in economic decision-making.
  5. Improvement is savings culture among the youth owing to their engagement in Village savings and Loan Associations (VSLA), engagement in different livelihood interventions and GALS methodology

Approaches used for GALS scale up

The four approaches for scaling up the GALS/HHM methodologies are:

  1. Voluntary “pyramid marketing”: participants identify other participants in their own families and support networks with whom they have a self-interest in sharing the gender message and GALS methodology. GALS/HHM cannot be scaled up through top-down dissemination using conventional training of trainers or “step down” training models based on supply and demand since the methodology is community-led (bottom-up) and passed on by peers who have taken control and changed their lives. Therefore, change makers from the community – rather than paid extension workers – become the trainers.
  2. A network of qualified national ELCs and regional hubs with certified trainers and strong national training partners will be established to build capacities of implementing partners of IFAD- (and other donor-) funded value chain programs.
  3. It is vital that the ELC take responsibility together as a functioning network. A sound business model for the Network will be developed and implemented along with a functioning secretariat. During the life of the project, the regional hub will effectively function as the ELC network secretariat. After the completion of the project, the secretariat function can be taken up by one of the member ELCs, based on their interest and capacity to undertake this function.
  4. A Capacity Development Fund with a fee-for-services mechanism will be designed that can contribute to sustaining the ELC/hubs network as one of the options to be explored under the ELCs business models.

Partners

Hivos

Community Empowerment for Rural Development

Strengthening Resilience through Enhanced Local Disaster Risk Management Capacities (EUTF Project)

Project Title: Strengthening Resilience through Enhanced Local Disaster Risk Management Capacities

Overall Project Objective

To reduce the potential negative environmental and socio-economic impact on local systems of the current and future displacements in southwest Uganda

Specific Objective

To strengthen local preparedness and resilience of refugees and host communities through improved natural resources management, disaster risk mitigation, and early warning systems in the two refugee hosting districts of Kyegegwa and Isingiro.

Approach

This project seeks to achieve its objectives by reducing forest exploitation, and encouraging restoration, and natural resource management activities. The project will also seek to improve environmental governance through advocacy, environmental education, and influencing. Building on current ongoing waste-to-value innovations projects this project seeks to further provide sustainable and environmentally friendly energy sources from human faeces to make fuel briquettes and biogas generation.

Capacity building of local actors and district staff are used to improve planning, awareness, and adjusted plans incorporating disaster risk mechanisms resulting in a sustainable program. Oxfam works with ongoing Care-funded DRR intervention in Kyangwali, whilst strengthening its disaster preparedness for a potential response to a new refugee influx or epidemic. The project also considers the ongoing WASH intervention funded by DG ECHO in Kyegegwa and Isingiro disricts.

Partners

  1. Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)
  2. Joint Efforts to Save the Environment (JESE)
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Building Resilience in Crisis through Education (BRiCE) Project

BRiCE is a four-year project funded by the European Union. This project is aimed at improving and strengthening the non-formal and formal education systems in Northern Uganda and in South Sudan, targeting teachers and educators.This project is also delivering on one of the key shifts in the Oxfam in Uganda Country strategy 2021- 2030 which is Transformative Education by ensuring that the capacity of learners and teachers is enhanced so that they become champions of active citizenship.

Project Purpose

The purpose of the project is to build quality, sustainable and resilient educational opportunities for refugee and displaced children as well as children in the host communities in South Sudan and Uganda. The primary aim is to improve access to quality primary education for learners between the ages of 6 – 25 years in both non-formal and formal education systems to build resilience in their life skills in terms of playing an active citizenship role, prevent conflict/s, and learn technical skills to lead a productive life. This has been achieved through the Accelerated Learning Program model for learners and by improving the skills of teachers to support the target learners by addressing the capacity needs for teacher professional development of primary level schoolteachers.

Partners

National Partners

  • Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU)
  • Forum for African Women Educationalist Uganda (FAWEU) 
  • Luigi Giussani Institute of Higher Education (LGIHE))
  • AVSI Foundation in Uganda

Global partners

  • Education International (EI)
  • Columbia Global Center(CGC)
  • Oxfam Novib  

Associated Partner: INEE 

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BRiCE Education for All

Stand-Up for Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHR) project

Introduction

Oxfam Canada has received financial support from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to support Sexual Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR) Services in Uganda under a project called Stand Up. The project addresses key gender inequality and human rights issues, particularly: harmful social norms, traditional practices and taboos regarding gender and sexuality; lack of adequate information on or access to comprehensive SRHR services; lack of meaningful decision-making power by young women and girls regarding their health and sexuality. This project will run for a duration of six and a half years and its implementation is in Uganda, Mozambique and Canada.

In this project, Oxfam and partners engage girls, women, boys, men, and community leaders to raise awareness about comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights. “Stand Up” also strengthens health systems to be able to deliver comprehensive, rights-based sexual and reproductive health services that are gender-responsive, youth-friendly, inclusive and accountable. Finally, the project works with local partners and the Ugandan government to develop sexual and reproductive health policies and services that are evidence-based and in line with national human rights commitments.

Project goal

To increase enjoyment of SRHR by most marginalized and vulnerable right-holders, particularly adolescent girls and young women

Project partners at global level

  1. Oxfam Canada
  2. International Planned Parenthood Federation
  3. Guttmacher Institute

Project partners at national level

  1. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD)
  2. Femme Forte Uganda
  3. Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU)
  4. Makerere University School of Public Health

Geographical coverage

Uganda, the project focuses on Mayuge and Namayingo districts of the Eastern region, and Nebbi, Madi Okollo, Arua, and Terego districts and Arua City in West Nile region.

 

Sowing Diversity= Harvesting Security (SDHS) II

Introduction

Seeds are fundamental for food and income security. 1 of 3 people suffer hidden hunger and seasonal hunger leading to the loss of assets, health problems and chronic poverty. If we fail on the Right to Food, we fail on the most basic of human rights. SD=HS is a farmer centered food system program and a joint effort of world leading organizations

Uganda's Context

Certified seeds of registered varieties are limited to few crops like maize. Additionally, they are expensive for smallholder farmers and sometimes not accessible because of distant markets. Many of these seeds are also not adaptable to diverse agro-ecologies. Consequently, an estimated 90% of smallholder farmers use their own farm saved seeds, and 80% of these seeds are locally sourced (i.e. farm saved seeds, farmer -to- farmer exchanges or purchase from local markets.), posing problems with varietal purity, seed health, and yield stability. The quality of these seeds can be improved in many ways.

Overall objective of SD=HS phase 2 program

Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers enjoy their Farmer’s Rights and have the capacity to access, develop and use plant genetic resources to improve their food and nutrition security under the conditions of climate change.

4 Interrelated changes we want to see

1. Community: Resilient indigenous & farming communities are better able to access and sustainably use plant genetic resources for food and nutrition security, climate change adaptation and disaster management (Pillar1: Managing Crop Diversity)

2. Market: Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers enhance their livelihoods, income and seed security by improving market access to high-quality seeds if diverse crops and varieties adapted to farmers’ seeds systems. (Pillar 2: Bridging the gap between farmers’ seed systems and the market)

3. A changing climate: The rural poor, especially women and youth, strengthen their coping strategies during the hunger period through improved utilization of neglected of underutilized species. (Pillar 3: Using Neglected and Underutilized Species to reduce hunger)

4. Policy: Smallholder farmers and indigenous peoples and youth engage in an enabling policy and institutional environment for the implementation of farmers’ right and the further development of local farmers’ seed systems. (Pillar 4: An enabling policy environment)

 

Funded By:

  • SIDA

Budget:

  • €1,032,809

Participants:

  • 72,000 direct beneficiaries who will be members of 480 Farmer Field Schools (FFS) 

Partners:

Project Location: 

  • Amuria, Amuru, Gulu, Omoro, Kitgum, Nebbi, Soroti, Serere, and Zombo districts which fall under Teso, Northern Uganda and West Nile Farming systems.

 

Learn More About the Project here

Tagged with
SD-HS food security SIDA funded projects Right to food seeds

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Resilient Livelihoods

RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS

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Youth Engagement and Empowerment Project (YEEP)

YEEP is a three-year project (2020- 2022) funded by the European Union to be implemented by Oxfam in partnership with International Foundation for Recovery and Development (IFRAD) and African Youth Development Link (AYDL). These partners come in with unique expertise and value add to the project with each leading in implementation of specific components while ensuring integration and complementarity.

This is a 450,000 Euros project to be implemented in 4 districts of Oyam, Gulu, Arua, and Nebbi targeting 2000 youth both in and out of school with an overall goal to improve youth livelihoods and participation in governance and development processes in Uganda

Overall objective

To improve youth livelihoods and participation in governance and development processes in Uganda

Specific objectives

  • To increase employability and income of youth through agribusiness, entrepreneurship, vocational skilling, and business development
  • To increase participation of youth in decision making processes
  • To reduce youth vulnerability to sexual exploitation and Gender Based Violence

Link To The Country Program

It contributes to the overall vision where citizens, and particularly women, across all age groups claim and exercise their rights and responsibilities and are able to influence decisions that affect their lives. Particularly, the project strategy aims at ensuring that marginalized and vulnerable communities are economically empowered and have resilient livelihoods and that Inclusive and accountable governance systems are in place to promote rights of vulnerable people.

Project Approach

The project is implemented by Oxfam in partnership with IFRAD and AYDL. IFRAD mobilizes youth groups to equip them with entrepreneurship skill so that the young people are able to identify business opportunities, grow existing projects, access markets and even financial services. They also focus on the attitude change towards agriculture by the youth so that they are able to engage in agriculture as a business. This greatly contributes to the economic empowerment of the youth.

AYDL engages youth in building their capacity in leadership, influencing and advocacy. They work closely with youth councillors, community influencers and group leaders. AYDL also has a responsibility to popularize youth related policies in communities through different channels

All the three partner have the responsibility to integrate gender and SRHR information during implementation of project activities

Project Outputs

Outcome 1: Increased youth employability & income

Outputs

  1. 1000 micro businesses established
  2. 940 youth internship and apprenticeship placements secured
  3. 8 Micro and Small Enterprises strengthened
  4. BTVET institutions supported
  5. 1440 youth skilled in entrepreneurship and business
  6. Improved access to markets
  7. 40 youth trained as trainers on Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)
  8. 100 youth trained as trainers on Cash Time
  9. Private Sector Networks (PSN) established
  10. 2 Aggregation Hubs Hired

Outcome 2: Increased youth participation in decision making processes

  1. Youth are informed about existing youth policies, programs and strategies
  2. 80 youth in leadership influence the youth agenda at all levels,
  3. 70 youth associations’ functional and voicing youth concerns
  4. Youth utilizing social accountability platforms

Outcome 3: Reduced child marriages and teenage pregnancies

  1. Increased access to SRHR information & services,
  2. 4 By-laws and 2 ordinances addressing teenage pregnancy & child marriages are in place and functioning,
  3. Referral pathways on SRHR strengthened
  4. District action plans on ending teenage pregnancies and child marriages developed
  5. 100 youth and adolescents trained as trainers on GALs
  6. 15 institutions with staff trained on SRHR

Expected Change

The youth are economically empowered and are able to influence decisions on issues that affect them.

Tagged with
youth youth empowerment YEEP

GENDER JUSTICE AND WOMEN RIGHTS

Uganda’s constitution, alongside a number of laws, articulates a commitment to attain gender equality. However, bridging the gap between policy and practice remains the challenge of our times, as evidenced by gender gaps in health and education, economic and property rights, and participation in leadership.

Oxfam recognizes that there is no economic, social, or environmental justice without gender justice. We mainstream gender in our programming to promote women’s rights in the areas of governance and accountability, resilience livelihoods, and humanitarian preparedness and response. Oxfam has advanced this through projects aimed at building capacity of institutions and actors and promoting women’s leadership and participation.

We also apply gender analysis to address the root causes of gender inequality. This analysis has informed the specific strategies including research, policy analysis and documentation, partnering with Women’s Rights Organizations, capacity-building, and supporting community structures for local activism against VAWG.

We continue to advocate for and support women and women led organizations to play key leadership roles in humanitarian settings by claiming their rights and finding the strength, voice, and space they need as a way to reduce gender inequality and improve the effectiveness of humanitarian action.

Our Gender Justice and Women’s Rights work aims

  • To work with marginalized women and girls, social movements, and partners to challenge and transform social norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls
  • To strengthen movements and allies to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls, including supporting access to justice and public interest litigation
  • To transform people’s attitudes, practices, and behaviour towards women’s unpaid care work through research and influencing
  • To influence policies among government, companies and CSOs to value and recognize women’s unpaid care roles
  • To hold government accountable to local, national, regional, and international women’s rights commitments by working with other CSOs to monitor and report on progress
  • To create safe spaces for feminists to convene, bringing together older and younger feminists to chart the future of women’s rights in Uganda and support the growth of feminist organizations
  • To promote education and access to sexual reproductive health rights services for girls and young people to stem teenage and early pregnancies

Projects

Partners

  1. Center for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD)
  2. Femme Forte Uganda
  3. Reproductive Health Uganda (RHU)
  4. Makerere University School of Public Health
  5. Uganda Women Parliamentary Association (UWOPA).
  6. Advocates Coalition for Environment and Development (ACODE)
  7. Girls Forum International (GAFI)
  8. Mission Uganda

Donors

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