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Projects Namuwongo Revival Church Outreach
| OverviewPilgrim is an indigenous Christian non Profit organization in Uganda founded in 2001 and registered in 2002 to share the hope and love which is found in Christ Jesus with the disadvantaged peoples, restoring the dignity of the war and poverty afflicted peoples of Uganda and Africa as a whole. Pilgrim organization is intent on tackling the sum total of factors that have led to total erosion of the God given dignity, self esteem and self determination of the peoples of Uganda, commencing from the war affected peoples of Eastern and Northern Uganda. BackgroundFollowing independence from the British, Uganda secured one of Africa’s highest levels of economic and social development. From 1971 the growth was cut short and reversed during the reign of dictator Idi Amin Dada who not only ruined the economy but also killed over 900,000 Ugandan’s to stay in power. His overthrow in 1979 led to a succession of governments that failed to bring order to the whole country. In 1986 Yoweri Kaguta Museveni led a rebel force that overthrew the then military regime and established a government that has tried to bring the country under one rule. His attempt met resistance from the east and north of the country in form of an insurgency that produced a counter response from the government. This conflict has taken the last twenty years and is slowly coming to an end but with a heavy toll on human lives and the socio economic infrastructure of the east and northern Uganda which are now the most backward regions in the country. As is characteristic of most African countries, Ugandans, despite being well resourced naturally, are heavily afflicted by poverty, disease, ignorance, food insecurity, illiteracy and man made disasters like war, cattle rustling, insurgency, political turmoil and economic inequalities. This has resulted in loss of lives, mass displacement and encampment of entire communities in internally displaced peoples (IDP) camps, depletion of livestock through cattle rustling, loss of property and reduced access of the population to their land. Owing to lack of a social security system, the prolonged displacement and war have created chronic food insecurity and abject poverty among the formerly food secure and food exporting people of the region. Malaria, diarrhea, typhoid, measles, cholera are decimating the population. People are too poor to afford social services and most children fail to make it to school despite the introduction of universal primary education (UPE). Those who make it through UPE are unable to proceed in secondary education. To raise money most have resorted to tree cutting and deforestation for firewood and charcoal trade. As a consequence, large expanses of land are getting more depleted leaving the area further prone to erosion and land degradation. A region that was food sufficient and the food basket of Uganda has become dependent on food aid and relief assistance from the UN and other humanitarian agencies. Today, it registers the highest levels of malnutrition, maternal mortality rates, and adult/child illiteracy levels. It has the lowest academic performances at all educational levels compared to other regions in the country. It has the worst socio economic indicators despite the rich fertile soils and enormous economic potential therein. The affected region constitutes 1/3 of Uganda total area and 1/4 of Uganda’s population, covering 12 districts of Soroti, Kumi, Katakwi, Amuria, Kaberemaido, Apac, Gulu, Pader, Lira, Kitgum, Moyo and Adjumani that have been directly affected during the last twenty years. Currently over 1.8 million people are internally displaces and live in IDP camps in Uganda. Peace is setting in since the local people of Teso, Lango & Acholi Sub regions formed community militias that helped the army to flush out the rebels, thereby contributing to the on-going Peace Talks between government and the rebels. With the signature of a peace accord between the remaining rebel faction and government, government has recently adopted a policy of encouraging people to return and resettle in their home areas. This is however getting little impact as the population is still wary of their safety and afraid of the attacks from the armed Karimojong rustlers. Government is finally beginning to address the problem of disarming Karimojong rustlers. The success of government’s resettlement program initiative will depend on it’s ability to avail colossal resources to finance the resettlement of IDPs, disarmament of the rustlers, implementation of the peace accord, and arrive at an amicable political resettlement with the rebels, a responsibility that government has been promising without success to accomplish during the last 20 years with little impact. In sum total, the outcome of the years of war and relentless rustling in the Teso, Lango and Acholi sub regions is an unprecedented level of poverty, internal displacements, socio economic decline, abduction and loss of hundreds of human lives, high food insecurity and malnutrition levels, gross abuses of human rights, decline of economic opportunities in the region and environmental degradation. The above conditions have made the people lose their dignity and self esteem producing an environment of hopelessness and bitterness. This anger, shown by general protest vote against the ruling party in the just concluded elections, needs to be harnessed for constructive purposes so that the dignity, hope and well being of the people can be restored. To address these problems, Pilgrim was established in 2001. Efforts to secure resources locally were not successful until the Vision was shared with The Three Loaves Trust of the US where resources for startup activities were secured. In line with this, Pilgrim has established a secondary school college – Beacon College proving full sponsorship for more 300 orphans, former abductees, child soldiers and destitute children from IDP camps and war torn areas to attend first class education. Pilgrim has also secured over 300 acres of land for the construction of a permanent home for the college, a trauma treatment center, a zoo & wildlife park plus community environmental conservation activities. Resources are needed direly for these activities to succeed. Objectives of PilgrimTo share the Hope which is found in God and help to restore the dignity, self-esteem and welfare of the people of eastern and northern Uganda through holistic psychosocial, spiritual and economic interventions that target the entire community, starting with the most needy groups and households. The Long Term Objective“To contribute to the development of tourism and socio-economic activities in Eastern and Northern Uganda through wildlife ranching and environmental conservation with community based social and economic interventions in Kumi, Amuria, Soroti, Kaberamaido, Pallisa, Apac and Katakwi districts. The Immediate Objectives
Programme ComponentsThe Programme components of Pilgrim that will enable it to achieve its goals and objectives are as follows:
While all these five components are necessary, the programmes are listed in order of priority and importance with respect to saving lives. Education and Relief/Resettlement can’t wait as the school is to reopen in two weeks time for the second term and we need resources direly for these activities. In the following sections, please find summaries of the programmes and critical activities that require financial support. Each component is summarized and broken into sections that provide an overview of the project. The expected outputs, planned activities, achievements so far, resource requirements, and the critical needs are depicted for ease of reference. The total resource requirements and priority needs are also shown to enable the reader see where to focus. Lastly, there is a section showing the organizational structure of Pilgrim and profile of the key staff managing the organization. At the very end of the report, a five year plan is attached with the contacts of the key persons who may be reached for further information. Beacon CollegeIntroductionThe Beacon College programme is a response to the lack and terrible state of education and poor performance of children in the region. It also addresses the high levels of school drop outs in the region owing to poverty and loss of parents to war and diseases, rendering children incapacitated and unable to continue education. It is a strategy of developing a new breed of leaders and Africans who value their localities and will devote their lives to improving the standard of lives in Uganda and Africa as a whole. This is also the genesis of a University in Africa with a profound difference. Currently BOHC is open to only totally destitute orphans, impoverished IDPs and those who have failed to go to school. PurposeTo make and develop responsible servant leaders from hopeless and marginalized IDP children, destitute orphans, girls who dropped out of school, and child-headed families. We plan to accomplish this through the provision of first class all round secondary and tertiary education where they will grasp Christ-likeness, and become a new breed of God fearing leaders and revolutionaries who will move Africa into her destiny and place in the world. This will be done through secondary school education, tertiary education, and university education. Target BeneficiariesMarginalized IDP children, destitute orphans, girls who have dropped out of school, and child-headed families. We target to provide education to 500 children each year for the next 10-20 years. Key Expected Outputs
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