Access to Rural Non-Farm Livelihoods - Natural Resources Institute

The Community Services Department was completely unable to cope with the huge numbers
of orphans, and many NGOs stepped in to try to fill this gap. Their work has been primarily
aimed at assisting with school fees (pre 1997) and uniforms, etc., medical care, and other
necessities, as well as with vocational training and provision of credit for orphaned youths.
One of the more successful is OCBO, a CBO established in 1990, which later became a
Danida partner and works district-wide. One of its main achievements has been the
establishment of a register of all vulnerable children 66,67 . Through this it has been able to
target its nutrition and early childhood development project, as well as its school fees
support, vocational training, and credit programmes at the most needy. It also campaigns for
assistance from both Ugandan and overseas children’s organisations, such as Children at
Risk, based in The Netherlands.
World Vision also works with orphans. Although many of their programmes are relief
oriented, in Rakai their programmes are long-term and integrated – they are currently
working on a nine year Area Redevelopment Project in Kooki County, with the focus on
orphans, from the child through to the community. Efforts are targeted at the poorest and
focus on strengthening agricultural production through training and the provision of simple
implements so that households have enough for subsistence and some to sell. They then hope
to shift the focus from subsistence farming to cash cropping and animal rearing, as “no one
can develop just using a hoe”. Animal rearing is currently being promoted through a
“revolving goats” scheme. They also provide support to schools and assistance to orphans in
accessing education and vocational training, as well as credit. Other programmes with more
general focus include leadership training and community heath services.
Many NGOs have also targeted women, both married and widowed, and there have been
some successes. However, Rakai remains a place where cultural and traditional beliefs and
practices are still strongly adhered to and there is still much work to do. It is still unusual for
women to own either land or other property, and childless widows are often driven off “their”
land by the relatives of their late husbands. There are also allegations that “if wives are too
much trouble, then they are killed”, despite the clear position of the law.
66 Orphans, abandoned children, children with parents not capable of caring for them, street children, child
mothers, and disabled children.
67 However, the evaluation of the RDDP found that this excellent resource had not been adequately utilised by
local government or other NGOs.
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