A Face that we know

Submitted by admin on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 00:00

We are proud to support charities locally and international. Recently, we were able to provide a helping hand to the veterinary team KACHEP (Karamoja Christian Ethnoveterinary Project) in Uganda. Here is a touching letter sent in by one of the volunteers.

"Hi, my name is Melissa Graham and I have just finished the first three years of my Veterinary Science degree at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW. This year I have taken a year off studies to live in the Karamoja region of Northeast Uganda to work with a Veterinary mission team called KACHEP (Karamoja Christian Ethnoveterinary Project). KACHEP is a non-governmental, non-profit charitable organisation with headquarters located in the Moroto District and field offices in Nabilatuk and Iriiri Bokora in the Karamoja region. It was started in 1998 under the auspices of the worldwide organisation, Christian Veterinary Mission.
The project focuses on livestock development with the goal of promoting the use of native medicinal plants as livestock medicine, because most of the people can't afford modern medicines. The aim is to improve thelivelihoods of the Karamojong people through re-establishment of a sustainable agro-pastoral society.
I arrived at the end of March and after a long and hot bus ride on very rough tracks, finally reached my home for the next 9 months. The Karamojong people are devoted to their animals and just after I arrived was the monthly gathering when KACHEP spray the local cows, sheep or goats for free, against ticks, and the dogs and cats get vaccinated against rabies. The sheep are nothing like the sheep I have ever seen before! The only way I can tell the difference between a sheep and a goat here is that the sheep have a down-turned tail and the goat's tail points up. The cows are gorgeous and tiny! Typically an adult weighs only 200kg and is so calm and docile (again nothing like most cattle I've been around) and they look completely different to what I know. Like a small Brahman (actually the breed is called Zulu) with the hump like a camel on their backs.

As well as this we treated any sick animals for a low cost (just to cover the medicine). Karina (a vet from Germany) and myself received sick cows into our “office” (under a shady tree) and we'd gather a history (name, signalment, symptoms, any treatment yet, etc) then do a physical exam from head to toe (TPR, check nose, mouth, ears (very important for ticks) check skin, feet- foot rot, around the udder/pisel, etc.) Almost every case was tick related which was cool because I have never had much to do with these little ectoparasites before and so learnt a lot! The most difficult case that day was a young steer which had been attacked by a hyena!
Last week we gave out female goats to vulnerable women, mostly widows and young unmarried mothers who have no one to support them. In this project each woman receives a 12 month old goat which is ear tagged. The first female kid the goat has she gives back to the project to be raised for another woman. Any male kids and subsequent females she can keep and sell or raise a small flock. It was very exciting to be part of giving them a helping hand.
I’d like to pass on the very grateful thanks to your practice for the equipment you donated including stethoscopes, surgical instruments, blades and even a portable operating table! (My checked in luggage limit was challenging!)
Uganda is on the equator and a cool thing that comes with that is that the sunsets and sunrises are quick and spectacular. Also, because we are on the equator we can see both the northern and southern hemisphere star constellations! So I can see the big dipper on one side of the sky (to the right of the moon) and then turn and see the Southern Cross on the other side!"

Uganda – NABILATUK – NGO KACHEP

ln Uganda engagiert sich unser Verein durch unser Mitglied Roland Gramenz zusammen mit Bea Reist aus der

Schweiz für die NGO KACHEP (Karamoja Christian Veterinary Programm).

Im Dreiländereck Süd-Sudan/Kenia/Uganda prägt die semiaride, savannenartige Landschaft – mit geringen

jährlichen Niederschlägen – das Leben der Stämme der KARAMOJONG, einer Ethnie, die den bei uns

bekannteren Massai in Kenia sehr ähnlich sind.

Die NGO arbeitet mit 6 Mitarbeitern in der Region und der Provinzhauptstadt MOROTO und dem 30 km

entfernt liegenden Dorf NABILATUK. Aus den umliegenden Dörfern kommen die einheimischen

KARAMONJONG mit krankem Vieh zu der von der Veterinärmedizinerin Frau Dr. Jean Grade geschaffenen

Anlaufstelle zur Untersuchung und Behandlung ihrer Tiere.

Zusätzlich sind dort verschiedene Entwicklungsprogramme, u.a. das NEEM-Projekt angesiedelt. Dabei geht es

um die Wiederaufforstung dieses selten gewordenen, aber für die Bevölkerung sehr wichtigen Baums.

Von dem Baum können wichtige Produkte für die Gesundheit der Menschen und für bessere Erträge in der

Landwirtschaft gewonnen werden:

Das NEEM-ÖI, ein Extrakt zur Prophylaxe gegen Malaria und zur Heilung, wenn bereits eine Infektion vorliegt,

wird aus den Samen des NEEM-Baumes gewonnen.

Die NEEM-Vaseline, eine Creme, welche bei Ringwürmern, offener Haut und anderen Krankheiten verwendet

werden.

Der NEEM-Fertilizer, ein pulvriger Dünger wird aus den Blättern gewonnen.

Der NEEM-Cake, wird ebenfalls aus den Samen gewonnen und als runder "Kuchen" getrocknet. ln Wasser

wieder aufgelöst, wird er als Pestizid in der Landwirtschaft verwendet.

Unserem Mitglied Roland Gramenz, Geschäftsführer der in Wiesbaden ansässigen Garten- und

Landschaftsbaufirma Gramenz- GmbH, liegt dieses Projekt naturgemäß besonders am Herzen.

Dieses neue Engagement wurde übernommen, nach dem in Uganda bereits einige aus eigenen Mitteln

finanzierte Fördermaßnahmen abgeschlossen werden konnten:

Im Dorf NANFUMBA

Seit 2010 unterstützte die Gramenz GmbH, gemeinsam mit einer Gruppe von Privatpersonen ein kleines Dorf

namens "NANFUMBA" in Uganda. NANFUMBA liegt im Süd-Osten von Uganda, ca. 1,5 Fahrstunden von JINJA

entfernt.

Das Dorf mit ca. 300 Einwohnern, erhielt in Abstimmung mit den Dorfältesten ein Hilfe-Zentrum, das 2010

fertig gestellt und an die Dorfgemeinschaft übergeben wurde.

Zusätzlich wurde für das Dorf ein Brunnen zur Verbesserung der Wasserversorgung gebaut, sowie die

Wiederaufforstung diverser Rodungsflächen durchgeführt.

·Zur Verbesserung der Bildungssituation der Kinder wurden mehrere Stipendien zum Besuch der

weiterführenden Secondary School vergeben.

Zur Verbesserung der wirtschaftlichen Lage der Dorfbewohner erhielten Personen, die eine tragfähige

Geschäftsidee vortragen konnten, denen aber das notwendige Startkapital fehlte, finanzielle Unterstützung

durch einen Mikrokredit.

Zum Abschluss des Projektes im Jahre 2012 wurden sämtliche für Mikrokredite ausgeliehene Gelder an die

Dorfgemeinschaft gespendet.

Zur Information: Agroforestry report January to June 2013

mit freundlicher Genehmigung:

Sagal Joshua Mark und Mukisa Ayub

more here 

UGANDA: Inadequate healthcare and rising HIV prevalence in Karamoja

Photo: Samuel Okiror/IRIN

A Karimojong woman demonstrates the use of a female condom

MOROTO, 30 April 2012 (IRIN) - The nomadic Karimojong ethnic group, once regarded as a low-risk HIV population because regional instability in northeastern Uganda and strong adherence to their culture kept them relatively isolated, have not been a priority on the country's HIV agenda, but recent statistics show prevalence among this community is now 5.8 percent, up from 3.5 percent five years ago.

Over the past decade large numbers of Karimojong have settled in urban centres, where business is flourishing and many NGOs have set up shop; there has also been heavy military deployment in the area as part of a disarmament exercise. These and other changes in a strongly traditionalist society have combined to push prevalence closer to the national average of 6.7 percent.

"The drivers of the pandemic that exist elsewhere are now occurring here. There is also a lot of alcoholism and [domestic] abuse here, which is one of the drivers of HIV/AIDS infection," Dr Michael Omeke, health officer for the Karamoja region's Moroto District, told IRIN/PlusNews.

Limited health services

Just five hospitals serve seven districts and a population of 1.2 million scattered over some 28,000 square kilometres. "In general, HIV treatment and care services are still low in the region," said David Wakoko, Karamoja area manager for the Mulago-Mbarara Teaching Hospitals' Joint AIDS Programme (MJAP).

Most health centres in the region do not have clinical officers trained to provide life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) drugs or offer HIV care and treatment. Kaabong District for example, has five health facilities, but only the district hospital has a medical officer authorised to treat HIV-positive patients, and the hospital does not have a CD4 machine to test blood samples and measure immune strength.

Few health workers are keen to live in the remote and underdeveloped region. "Human resources are a big challenge. You need someone who is qualified to help these people, but we are not attracting… personnel," said Dr John Anguzu, District Health Officer in Nakapiripirit. "Even the local people we try to train here to help, they leave."

The region has also not been spared the drug shortages that have occurred in other parts of the country. "We do experience ARVs stock-outs... We are trying to work with the Ministry of Health and National Medical Stores to see that these stock-outs are reduced," said Omeke.

A lack of food in the arid region and the long distances to health centres are major problems for people living with HIV. "These are weak people and can't move long distances to go for treatment and drugs. The health centres are too far," said Gabriel Lokubal, who lives in Moroto. "ARVs are very strong drugs, which require a lot of eating. However, most of us don't have food, so some people have stopped going for drugs."

Knowledge about HIV is also very low. A recently released preliminary report on the AIDS Indicator Survey shows that just 30 percent of women and 45 percent of men in the northeast are well-informed about HIV/AIDS.

A complex region

Spreading the word about HIV is not easy in Karamoja, where open discussions about sex are extremely unusual and the population is largely uneducated. According to MJAP statistics only 35 percent of Karimojong men have accessed HIV/AIDS services, compared to 65 percent of women.

Because of the nature of the society and tradition, the men remain in the kraals [communal cattle pens] and are on the move... They have little interest in seeking HIV services

"Because of the nature of the society and tradition, the men remain in the kraals [communal cattle pens] and are on the move in search of pasture and water for their cattle. They have little interest in seeking HIV services," said MJAP's Wakoko. "Most of those who access HIV/AIDS services are women, especially the pregnant ones, who visit health facilities for ante-natal services."

"The HIV patients also tie HIV services to food. If you don’t have food, people don’t come," Anguzu said in Nakapiripirit.

Stigma is highly problematic for health services trying to reach people living with HIV. "When you test a person and… [the result] is HIV-positive, he or she will never come back again for further… [treatment]," said a nurse at the ARV clinic at Moroto Regional Referral Hospital. "We are trying to sensitize the community to accept their status and learn to live positively."

In an effort to bring the services closer to the people, Uganda's Ministry of Health and MJAP are running a home-based HIV counselling and testing programme, but low staffing and occasional insecurity in the region are affecting the door-to-door campaign.

"The security situation remains fluid, as it changes any time despite general improvement in the sub-region, thereby affecting the implementation of programme in most of the catchment areas," said MJAP's Wakoko.

Health workers in the region say the nature of the causes and effects of HIV mean it cannot be tackled in isolation, and a holistic approach should be used.

"The interventions need to be shared among sectors - health is concept which is determined by social, economic and cultural aspects," said Samuel Enginyu, a health educator with the Ministry of Health. "We are working on an integrated and collaborative approach with the Minister of Gender and Culture and other stakeholders."

so/kr/he
more here

Livelihood Dynamics in Northern Karamoja

A Participatory Baseline Study for the Growth Health and Governance Program

By John Burns, Gezu Bekele, and Darlington Akabwai
August 2013
This report documents the findings of a livelihoods assessment carried out as part of the USAID funded Growth, Health and Governance program being implemented by Mercy Corps and partners in the Karamoja sub-region of Northeastern Uganda. The assessment is one component of a broader research and learning agenda involving a set of livelihoods, impact and gender studies. The research is being led by the Feinstein International Center with the overall objective of informing the design and implementation of program interventions and assessing impact.
The study was conducted during the first quarter of 2013 in seven markets and thirty-one villages in Abim, Kaabong and Kotido districts. Focus groups were carried out in all villages using semi-structured interviews complemented by participatory exercises including community mapping, timelines and ranking and scoring exercises. The study also included a number of visits to market centers as well as key informant interviews.
The study set out to identify the major opportunities and constraints to production and marketing in the study area and to investigate what productive resources are currently available and how these are being utilized. The assessment also set out to investigate recent events and longer-term trends with the objective of understanding how these might have an impact on production and livelihoods. The study also looked at the current utilization of different products and services from the perspective of program participants. This was done to assess the availability, accessibility and quality of existing services both to inform programming and to establish a service delivery baseline against which to measure impact against. The study also set out to investigate perceptions of poverty and inequality and to quantify the proportion of study participants belonging to different wealth categories. This was primarily done to enable changes in relative wealth to be captured as a proxy for project impact during future assessments.

read Report

Uganda Food Security Alert - September 4, 2013

A second consecutive year of poor crop production expected in parts of Karamoja
For the second consecutive year, poor rainfall distribution and prolonged dry spells early in the production cycle have resulted in planting delays and crop damage throughout the Karamoja region. FEWS NET anticipates that the 2013 main harvest could be 30-50 percent lower than average, providing only temporary relief in areas where food security is already Stressed (IPC Phase 2). The combined impact of poor production, below average incomes, prolonged market dependence, and depleted assets is likely to result in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) by February in northern and central Karamoja.
The 2012-2013 consumption year in Karamoja began with below-average harvests in August/September 2012. As a result, poor households had significantly less food stocks and less seasonal income than normal from on-farm and casual labor than normal, leading to an early start to the lean season (Jan/Feb instead of Mar/Apr). Poor households are currently in the eighth month of what is typically a five month lean period. Despite ongoing food aid distributions, households have been heavily market dependant for 6 months, straining already low purchasing power despite lower than usual staple food prices. Due to the combined effects of a below-average main harvest in 2012, a delayed green harvest in 2013, poor purchasing power from low seasonal on-farm wages, and depletion of livestock assets over the last year, Stress (IPC Phase 2) is currently prevalent throughout the region.
Heavy, erratic rains at the start of the 2013/2014 agricultural season (March/April) waterlogged newly planted seedlings across the region. These heavy rains were then followed by a 30-45 day dry spell in May-July (Figure 1) which stunted the development of surviving crops (sorghum, maize, beans), particularly in Kotido, Kaabong, Napak, and Moroto Districts. Replanting took place in July and August, but was limited by a lack of confidence among household producers regarding rainfall during the remainder of the season. Currently, the status of planted crops areas is highly variable, with southern Karamoja expecting a near-average harvest, while in the remaining districts, production depends on better-than-average performance of the rainy season through October. Rainfall has been sufficient to allow for normal pasture regeneration.
In the most likely scenario, forecasts suggest that Karamoja will receive average rainfall through October. This will be insufficient for full crop development, particularly in the four districts listed above, given the poor start of season and below average replanting rates. Main and green harvests will be below average and up to two months late (October instead of August), providing only short-term relief to poor households. Poor households who own livestock have already sold animals to increase purchasing power, but these strategies are limited due to small herd sizes and constrained market access. Although food security will improve slightly in the post-harvest period, most poor households are likely to remain Stressed (IPC Phase 2) through December. A small proportion (<20 3="" crisis="" during="" households="" may="" of="" p="" period.="" phase="" reach="" this=""> In January/February 2014 the lean season is expected to begin early for the second consecutive year as households revert to early market dependence and food security outcomes deteriorate. Crisis (IPC 3) is expected to be more widespread, and humanitarian assistance needs are likely to increase to nearly half a million people by February 2014. Well-targeted and well-timed food and livelihoods assistance should be considered to mitigate the impact of two consecutive years of poor seasonal performance and below average staple food production on poor households.

more here 

Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Programme

KIDDP (Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Programme) is a medium term development framework specifically tailored to address the unique context and development challenges in Karamoja region. The overall goal of the KIDDP is "to contribute to human security and promote conditions for recovery and development in Karamoja". KIDDP takes cognizance of the National Development Plan and the Peace, Recovery and Development Programme (PRDP).

The KIDDP harmonizes the various development interventions by Government, bilateral and multilateral development partners, international and national NGOs and CBOs. It therefore represents an attempt by the Government of Uganda to integrate gun collection (Disarmament) with development interventions; conflict management and peace building. Hence, using development to achieve peace.  

Programme Goal:
Contribute to human security and promote conditions for recovery and development in Karamoja, by deliberately working towards sustainable peace, stability and development.  

Programme Purpose:
Develop and implement a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable disarmament programme that enhances peace building and development in Karamoja.  

The genesis of the KIDDP:
The government of Uganda undertook a disarmament exercise in 2001-2002 in order to address the problems of illegal arms in Karamoja. However, the programme was suspended due to operational problems. In September 2004, H.E the President relaunched the disarmament exercise and a large number of guns were recovered. After the initial successes, the need for a sustainable programme became a major concern both for government and other stake holders that led to the design of the KIDDP in 2005.

Legal and policy framework:
The KIDDP has been developed in accordance with the objectives of PEAP pillar 3. i.e. Security, conflict resolution and disaster management. The programme also builds on the proposals contained in the National Strategic Plan for Karamoja, discussion paper No.8 on Post Conflict Reconstruction by MpFPED. The KIDDP elaborates the Karamoja component in the PRDP and was formally approved by Cabinet and Parliament in October 2007.

Design of KIDDP:
The first draft of the KIDDP was commissioned for review by OPM in June 2005 in which conceptual linkages between small arms, human security and development were highlighted. Between 2005 and 2007, OPM conducted a series of consultative and review workshops and meetings to generate consensus among different stakeholders. The main collaborating partners that contributed to the final KIDDP document were Ministry of Defense, Sector Ministries (Works, Water, Education, Health, Gender, Environment), Karamoja Donor Technical Group, Karamoja Parliamentary Group, District Local Governments, CSOs and Karamoja communities etc.

Implementation of KIDDP:
Following the launch of KIDDP by the Rt Hon. Prime Minister in April 2008, OPM in collaboration with Line Ministries and Development Partners mobilized a substantive amount of resources to support the implementation of the below-mentioned programme components. 

Programme Components:

1. Provide and Ensure Adequate Security for the People of Karamoja
2. Establish Law and Order in Karamoja
3. Support the Provision and Delivery of Basic Social Services to the People of Karamoja
4. Support the Development of Alternative Means of Livelihood for the People of Karamoja
5. Undertake Stakeholder Mobilisation, Sensitisation and Education in Karamoja
6. Enhance the Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation of KIDDP Interventions
7. Crosscutting Issues

Smiles

Carina, Summer and Simon

Simon, Jean and Summer

Karamoja region is "worst place to be a child"

NAMUDUKA, 2 October 2008 (IRIN) - The remote Karamoja region of northeastern Uganda has such poor health indicators that up to 100 children younger than five die each week, many of preventable illnesses, officials said.

"Karamoja faces development challenges that put it in a different sphere from the rest of Uganda," Health Minister Stephen Malinga said on 1 October at the launch of a child health campaign. "The situation is alarming and health indicators are beyond emergency levels."

Speaking at Namuduka village in Moroto District, he said: "Only 3.4 percent of households in Karamoja have two insecticide-treated bed nets and 5.9 have one, yet the regional target is 60 percent of households with two nets."

Keith McKenzie, head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Uganda, said the region was "off-track in meeting health and nutrition-related Millennium Development Goals. Karamoja is the worst place to be a child, with highly elevated levels of early childhood mortality and morbidity," he said.

"Health indicators are the worst in the country, decidedly worse than in LRA-affected [rebel Lord's Resistance Army] northern districts and the rest of the country," McKenzie said.

Home to about 1.1 million people, Karamoja is a harsh, semi-arid region largely inhabited by agro-pastoralists.

Ugandan and UN officials attributed the poor health indicators to extremely low access and utilisation of basic health services - averaging 24 percent compared with the national rate of 72 percent. The situation is compounded by lack of awareness among local communities.

Malinga said maternal mortality in Karamoja stood at 750 per 100,000 live births - 50 percent higher than Uganda's national average.

"Karamoja is a complex developmental challenge, currently manifesting as a child survival crisis," UNICEF and the government said in a joint statement. "Accelerated ... actions are needed to reduce child mortality and mitigate the impact of political and climatic shocks on women and children."

Photo: Glenna Gordon/IRIN

Karamojong families traditionally live in clusters of huts called manyattas

Immunisation drive

The Accelerated Child Survival Campaign programme aims to immunise all under-fives in the region, and identify and refer for treatment those with acute malnutrition, especially in the hardest-to-reach areas.

Children aged one to 14 years will also be de-wormed, while each household will be provided with mosquito nets. "Many children suffering from acute malaria are also malnourished," said Peter Ken Lochap, the Moroto district council chairman.

Alice Ngorok, a mother of six, who was waiting for polio drops for her son, said: "I hope that now my children will live. They have promised us some mosquito nets that will prevent malaria that kills our children all the time."

Malinga decried the lack of education, saying primary-school attendance in Karamoja was 43 percent compared with 82 percent in the rest of Uganda. "Let us send our children to school, that will improve the situation. Our children must go for immunisation. This is the time to change," he said.

Observers, however, said the challenge of raising social-service delivery in Karamoja would require the active involvement of the local population. For example, latrine coverage is at 2 percent compared with the national average of 52 percent and improving this would require massive sensitisation.

There is also concern that while HIV prevalence rates are falling across Uganda, they are rising in Karamoja. Health officials in Matany regional hospital said sentinel surveillance had shown prevalence among pregnant women rising from 1.7 percent in 2000 to current levels of 3.5 percent.

Summer in the USA

Summer in the USA

Speaking Schedule September 2013

Hi All,
I am getting excited about coming home. Only seven more days before I begin my journey- which starts on the rough roads of Karamoja. I won't arrive home until four days later, so lots of travel ahead of me. As I look forward to my trip home I recognize how many things I want to squeeze into my time, only by God's grace will I succeed! I wanted to send out an overview of my schedule so that you had the opportunity to attend one (or all) of the events. I confess I don't actually know what time these events start, just the days- this is a true sign I live in Africa! At least it gives us a place to start!