Sustainability -- What does that look like?

Sustainability is simply, the capacity to endure. I talked about it in Hand-In-Hand's Mission Statement.  So, what do I mean in terms of the work that we are wanting to accomplish in Bugabo?  What does a population of people need in order to endure?  After all is said and done, missionaries have gone home, donors have found a new purpose or lost their financial ability to give, aid is no longer available?  What does it look like to create a village that does not need hand outs, but one that is self-sustaining, that can endure on it's own?  There is no simple solution, but we believe that making the community stake-holders in it's own development is vital.

1. People need adequate food and water sources.   How is that achievable?  A staple crop such as maize needs to be grown and milled locally.  Meal is a primary source of carbohydrates that prevents starvation.  The village people need to be given a local place to mill the corn they grow and education on how to run that mill as a co-op.  A governing body needs to set aside part of the proceeds from the mill to support other developmental efforts in the village like school, housing, and sanitation.  By giving the people a vested interest in the workings of the mill, the community can profit and the individual can profit.  Women and young girls who usually have to travel over 10 kilometers to the nearest mill will no longer have to do this, and they should be given primary responsibility for the day-to-day operation and business management of the mill.  Girls are free to continue their education.  Women are free to become contributing members of society on a new level.  The community can profit, and this profit can be reintegrated into the school and public works projects, such as providing more rain catches or boreholes for clean water sources.  If an income source is provided, the standard of people's living will increase.  Initial assessment and budget for the maize mill has already been conducted.  Funding sources are being sought now.  Grant writing and submission to begin immediately.
2. People need health-care.   At a community gathering, people voted to first address the issue of a maize mill, then health care.  It follows logically that food comes before health-care, but what a decision for any person to have to make.  The establishment of a clinic to provide basic health care needs and health related education is key to the village's survival.  Assessment of the feasibility and long-term facilitation of a clinic is proposed for the end of this year.  Data assessment and grant writing proposed for Mid 2011.
3. People need education.  The "Lisa Adam Memorial School," a pre-primary and primary school, has lost its funding.  Although buildings are present for the children, the day to day running of the school is no longer being supported.  Community investment needs to be understood.  Teachers are reluctant to move to these impoverished areas after attaining an education because they are paid little.  One factor that can bring teachers to an area is to provide housing.  Also, a system of volunteer teachers from outside Uganda could be an important tool.  Making the school sustainable without outside influence is a long-term goal; however, until then this should be seen as a disaster needing aid so that the school can continue to function until lasting support structures can be determined.  Data assessment and grant writing to begin January 2011.

Evaluation of support mechanisms on-the-ground in Uganda is vital to the implementation of any project.  Communication with Project Resource Network Uganda and other unidentified NGO's is important before the grant writing process can begin.  Networks of people working together is the only way to make these events happen.  Without cooperation between existing organizations, missionaries, and the community, all the work in the world will not affect enduring change.  As the director of Hand In Hand, I know that these issues will take years to address, but I also know that your help at this crucial, formation stage is imperative.  Be a pioneer who is not afraid to give unconditionally.  Without that leap of faith, your questions will never be adequately answered.  Did I ask for a donation today?  Will you donate for the Assessment Mission that was scheduled for the beginning of November?  We need to be on the ground in Uganda for at least 10 days before any formal commitment can be made to any cooperative projects.  Just $25 can mean a lot at this critical point in our creation.

Q & A With A Donor: Skepticism and Giving

Is Hand in Hand just for funding the travel to the Bugabo village?

No. Hand In Hand is a 501c3 Not-For-Profit Organization dedicated to providing Education and Health Care to Ugandan villages. Relief is not the solution, we must provide development for the long term empowerment of Uganda. It is our mission to provide schools, teachers, clinics and health education to establish an infrastructure that is sustainable by the Ugandan people.

Of course flying to Uganda to establish relationships, evaluate need, project the distribution of funds, and monitor there progress on funded projects is greatly necessary. Funds for this trip will actually help me address some of your same concerns. I want to KNOW the people that I am working with and the political climate of the country before giving any money for development efforts.

What exactly is done to help the village & which NGO is doing it?

Initially, my involvement was to secure funds that are hard to raise by fund-raisers, funds of substantial amounts of money for a Health Care clinic, something like a doctor's office here. However, the school established in Bugabo has lost international funding through Uganda Project Resource Society in Canada. This organization's organizing members have became very old and have not been able to work (This is a lot of work!) to raise funds to keep the school running. This seems a pressing issue and will be evaluated when I go there.

Hand-In-Hand and Resource Network Uganda will be working together to secure funds, assess needs, and budget for development efforts. On this trip, we will create a budget of operation for the school and will explore resource options, not excluding those that are already established in the region. Typically schools are supported by outside entities, although Uganda's National Policy is that all children “should” go to school. I could write a book here about the extreme need for an over-haul of the school system, especially the Secondary School system where my heart lies, but I will stop here, and we can address those issues as they arise.

What steps are taken to make sure the aid money is spent on what it is intended for and not raided by corrupt government officials​?

According to my colleagues at Project Resource Network in Uganda and discussions that I have had with teachers, headmasters, and college professors, the government leaves schools along. They do not participate in funding them, but they also do not take the money given for their operation. Typically, villages build, staff, and run their own schools with outside donorship. This is part of the reason for my trip. I need to see what is going on first hand in order to be able to make good judgments about how, when, and why to distribute money. Note: Uganda is surrounded by countries like the Sudan and Republic of Congo, and we are all aware of the atrocities that have been committed there. Most refugees from those countries reside in the Northern part of Uganda. Bugabo is in the central region near Kampala; however, refugees and regional political instability is also of concern to us.

If this is part of a church mission, will it be sensitive to preserving the cultural heritage of the village's belief system or is the aim to replace it with Western Christian theology?

We, of course, will be working with religious people, mostly Christians in Uganda. The influx of aid from Western religions organizations has been the backbone of change for many Ugandans. Most call themselves Christians. However, Hand-In-Hand is not a religious organization, and our mission is not to carry the message of Christ to Ugandans. Replacement of indigenous beliefs with Christian ones has actually been going on for many years. I asked about the religion before Christianity early on in my relationship with some scholars, and the answers that I received were vague and full of negative connotations. All of this, I believe, has to do with the fear that help will not be received unless some profession of faith is involved. I am very interested, personally, to learn about past cultural heritage and how this has come to integrate with Christianity or any other religion in Uganda. You know we never leave anything totally behind, but integrate it with the new.

Is sex education and realistic family planning involving access to birth control on the agenda?

This is one of the first questions that I asked of a Health Professor at United Christian University in Uganda. The research that I have done through the World Health Organization states that AIDS reduction has been a result of the massive numbers of people that died with it in the 1990's and because polygamous family structures have been replaced with monogamy (because of Christian influence). However, the numbers are again on the rise. From what I can gather, officials at the university level that value secular ideas based in science, fully support the message of condom usage; however, some religious organizations do not. If you think about this it it not much different than in the US. However, they DO understand that sex can mean death, so in many cases all organizations are open to education about birth control involving condoms. Abstinence teaching has be the primary source of birth control in the country. In our schools, we are only able to legally teach abstinence in schools, but we get around that in many ways. Uganda is not different. One of my main health concerns is female health: the availability of birth control, condoms, and education on female medical issues.

Thank you all for your donations, emotional support, and thoughtful considerations of issues that are important to development in Uganda!

First Donation and Thoughtful Questions

Today, I received my first donation.  I want to remember it always as coming from the kind of people who are thoughtful in there giving and who ask GREAT questions about Hand-In-Hand's efforts.  Here is the email that I received.

"Lisa,

I'd like to give $10 to you for Hand in Hand so I'll mail it to you this week. I have a few questions about it, though, so bear with me. Is Hand in Hand just for funding the travel to the Bugabo village? Who is going-you or someone else? What exactly is done to help the village & which NGO is doing it? What steps are taken to make sure the aid money is spent on what it is intended for and not raided by corrupt gov. officials (I'm not trying to paint the Ugandan gov w/a broad brush, but there are widely documented problems in a lot of countries where monetary aid is given & Uganda has had its fair share of them).

Is sex education and realistic family planning involving access to birth control on the agenda (I certainly hope so)? If this is part of a church mission, will it be sensitive to preserving the cultural heritage of the village's belief system or is the aim to replace it with Western Christian theology (again, I understand that sometimes the native beliefs run counterproductive to progress & that a new system can open doors to a better way of life--I just want to know if this is strictly a one religion operation or if it's more of a general idea that will coexist w/the native system). I think what you are doing is great. You are becoming a change agent!

You already know that I do not believe you need God to be good--but I also think there's nothing wrong w/those who feel you do. The end result is what counts. :) If you can answer my questions, I'd appreciate it. I have some ideas for some publicity that might give it a boost (thinking video PSAs & content for your site).
Loving the changes, process & journey that your life is about & loving you!"

I will reply to the specific questions in my next post: "Donation Concerns: Skepticism and Love."