By Gilbert Akampa Kakurugu
Kabale
Self Help Africa (SHA), an international charity organization that promotes and implements long-term rural development projects in Africa on Thursday officially closed and handed over the project to Kabale and Rubanda districts after the expiry of a five year contract.
Self Help Africa partnering with African International Christian ministries- AICM with funding from Irish Aid have been implementing a project in the two districts, dubbed “ striking a balance: Developing a green economy around the lake Bunyonyi Basin” .
The project has been in areas around Lake Bunyonyi including Muko Sub County in Rubanda district, Rubaya and Butanda sub counties in Kabale district to reduce siltation from agricultural practices around Lake Bunyonyi.
On Thursday, during the project stakeholders’ closeout meeting and handover of the project deliverables to the districts at Whitehorse Inn, in Kabale municipality, the Self Help Africa project Manager, Neftali Mugizi, said that the project started in 2017 and run into two phases supported communities with grants to members of village natural resource management committees, supporting farmers on bee keeping, mushroom growing, and sensitizing farmers on soil and water conservation technologies including digging up trenches, and check dams, and establishment of farmer field schools among others with 2271 direct beneficiaries reached in 17 communities.
The second phase of the project started in April 2021 and is slated to officially end in December 2022. It was a continuation of the first project, which ran from 2017 and ended in December 2020.
Mugizi added that they have realized that considering the entire lake catchment area and the project’s geographical scope, a lot is desired to be done as the larger part of the catchment is not tackled, hence posing more threat.
Handing over the documentations about the project, the Self Help Africa program coordinator in charge of East and Horn of Africa, Alexandra Reihill, asked the people to protect the projects which have been put in the community promising to lobby for more support. He added that Self Help Africa that is operating in 17 countries currently has 101 projects which it supports across the world.
The Rubanda District Chief Administrative Officer, Alex Kwizera and the Kabale district Vice Chairperson Miria Tugume commended Self Help Africa and AICM for the putting up visible projects and promised district’s commitment to monitor it to ensure that there is positive change they made in the community where the project has been implemented. They hope that the project will contribute a strong advocacy to the community and asked for more funding to renew the same project in other areas in the district.
Marion Katusiime, an official of AICM, which has been implementing the project, said that the project has contributed to the inclusive and low carbon-economic transformation of communities in the Lake Bunyonyi basin, generating sustainable economic growth, increasing employment, reducing poverty, improving nutrition and sustainable management of the environment.
The Executive Director of African International Christian Ministry Denis Mucunguzi asked District local governments to always make follow-ups on projects established by Self Help Africa even after the phasing out of the project, in order to help the community. He added that the district should implement the bylaw which the district councils passed conserving Lake Bunyonyi Basin
