tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58125857160383723432024-03-13T20:50:27.652-07:00Out of AfricaRayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-16586768284208784932013-02-05T15:05:00.004-08:002013-02-06T16:07:08.206-08:00Triumph over Adversity<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Canadian Co-operators stand by Ugandan partners in good times, bad</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To escape the rebel soldiers, Ivan Asiimwe hid in a northern Uganda swamp, afraid to move for fear that he might be spotted and shot. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The soldiers were one threat to his life. The others were the crocodiles and other wild animals that he shared the swamp with. Ivan stood trembling in its cold, muddy waters so long (two weeks) – even sleeping standing - that his black skin “turned white.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today, Ivan Asiimwe is Head of Internal Audit & Supervision of the Uganda Cooperative Alliance which joined forces with the Canadian Co-operative Association to develop and deliver the Integrated Finance and Agricultural Production Initiative (IFAPI). Phase I of the project was carried out between 2005 and 2008 while civil war was still being waged in Uganda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Canada stood by<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rose Angeyango, Head of Microfinance for IFAPI said CCA was the only international partner that stood by UCA during this period of political turmoil. If not for CCA, UCA would not exist,” she told our group, her voice breaking with emotion “We were able to forge ahead and (CCA) is why we are here today.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By not turning its back on UCA, and moving forward with IFAPI, thousands of Ugandans have benefitted from this unique initiative. IFAPI links all levels of the supply chain – production, marketing and finance – and connects farmer, marketing and savings and credit co-operatives to improve the lives the rural poor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cross-Canada team<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our role was to gather and record the stories of members who have discovered the power of belonging to co-operatives Much like Ivan’s story, they told heartbreaking tales of death and disease, poverty and inhumanity. Julius Turyahebwa, project coordinator for IFAPI, said the war, which only ended in 2008, forced people off their land and into refugee camps, making them entirely dependent on hand-outs. “It was just life in the camps,” he explained. The violence also contributed to the spread of AIDs with soldiers raping women, even children, as a weapon of war. (A number of the women farmers and small business owner we met with were widows of disease victims. The co-ops they belonged to were helping them become self-reliant.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Farmers had to abandon their properties, and even those that remained risked having their crops stolen by soldiers. Displaced farmers had no means to keep pace with advances in farming, and so, over the years, not only was arable land untilled, the knowledge gap widened. “In terms of capacity building they lost a lot. It was really a dire situation,” Ivan said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rudimentary farming<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a farmer’s daughter I admit that I struggled sometimes to understand why Ugandan farmers are so far behind in terms of their tools and methods. Their equipment is rudimentary – most still used hand hoes – and only now are they employing what Westerners would consider basic farming practices like pruning to increase their productivity and production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, as I learned from an earlier mission to Nicaragua, we cannot look at the pictures we see in developing nations through our North American lens. As I listened to Ivan and others, it was clear to me that Ugandans have suffered greatly from political strife. Indeed given their struggles, it was impressive to see how far they have come in such a short time.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same can be said of the co-operative movement in Uganda. It too was devastated by war. Once a strong sector in the country’s economy, Uganda’s dictatorial governments all but wiped out the democratically-controlled network. “It was like committing suicide to talk about co-operatives,” Ivan explained. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, Uganda’s “whole social structure completely collapsed” under the regimes of rulers like the infamous Idi Amin. “War was so bad we could not mobilize co-ops,” UCA manager Patrick Okello said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that Uganda is no longer “under the rule of guns” and people are relatively free, the co-operative is enjoying a resurgence. And that’s in no small part due to the collaborative efforts of UCA and CCA. In fact, its IFAPI co-operative business model has been so successful it is now being replicated in other African countries.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could not think of any better way to spend the latter part of the International Year of the Co-operatives witnessing first hand how Canadian supported-co-ops and credit unions are helping lift people out of poverty and stand on their own two feet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-68369969869470721312013-02-05T14:39:00.005-08:002013-02-06T16:07:33.019-08:00It’s magic<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><strong>Collins Kamakech, DEI ACE, RPO</strong></span></td></tr>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing co-ops come to life in Uganda</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here we were in northern Uganda, thousands of miles from our Canadian homes, the blazing sun heating up the tiny SACCO (Savings and Credit Co-operative) office where we had gathered, and we’re talking about building a snowman as a metaphor for creating a co-operative.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A month earlier, the SACCO board was in this same office, huddled around the manager’s computer <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to watch a video Prince Edward Island co-operator Siri Jackson-Wood had made, of children rolling, shaping snow into a frosty figure that smiled at them from the screen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Siri, who was one of six Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA) volunteers that delivered a pilot program in northern Uganda, called the Development Ladder Assessment, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>used the video to illustrate the power of belonging to a SACCO.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Journey of discovery<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a fitting start to our own journey of discovery into the lives of the rural poor.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we saw over and over again during our study mission, there is something magical about seeing a co-operative come to life when hands and minds are joined.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we know, the United Nations International Year of Co-operatives in 2012 presented an exceptional opportunity to tell the world about the many ways credit unions and coops are “building a better world.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When the calendar turned to this historic year in January, 2012, never could I have imagined that eleven months later, I would be in northern Uganda, witnessing first-hand how credit unions and co-ops are helping people work their way out of poverty and bringing lasting prosperity to their families and their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nicaragua<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">I have had the good fortune to participate in two missions now, the first being in 2010 in Nicaragua. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">My trek to Uganda reinforced my belief that the co-operative model is the best model to </span>to bring economic democracy, and a life with dignity, to people in need throughout the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I returned to Canada from Uganda, along with my teammates, changed people: inspired to tell fellow Canadians about the very real difference we are making in the lives of the less fortunate; inspired to become better global citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there any better legacy IYC 2012 could leave?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Though building a snowman may not be a perfect metaphor for creating a co-operative in Uganda, given how quickly it would melt under the hot African sun, it does demonstrate how much is being achieved by working together.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-9142211121633013302012-12-07T06:13:00.003-08:002012-12-07T06:13:50.395-08:00Infectious smiles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><em>Taking photos at a Kampala arts and craft market, left to right, are: Laurie Tennian, Jim Harris, Cindy Corrigan and Lacey Chyz.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"><strong>Eye-opening, life-changing experience</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I found myself smiling a lot while I was in northern Uganda, infected, as our team leader Karen Timoshuk put it, by the “contagious smiles” of its warm and welcoming people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">This is despite the abject poverty that overwhelmed our senses everywhere we went, from the acrid smells of open latrines and burning rubbish to the soft cries of street beggars pleading for a few shillings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Yet in this sea of human misery we found sprigs of hope shooting up from its murky waters. This was captured in the words and photos of the SACCO, RPO and ACE members who walked incredible distances of 5, 10 and even 20 kilometres, to share their heartbreaking – and heartwarming - stories with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">On the last day of our two-week journey of discovery, our team of Canadian co-operators and communicators, reflected on our shared experience and its impact on us as individuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Cindy Corrigan</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, director with the East Kootenay Credit Union in British Columbia, was struck by the pride she saw in the people she met with. “That pride came to me so forcefully it rocked me. Somehow I want to bottle that and I want to take it back home. I want to stand in front of a room and share that passion.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Rolf Traichel</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, director with the Federated Co-operatives Limited in Alberta, said the story he planned to tell when he returned to Canada was that Ugandans are people “just like us. They want their kids to go to school just like us. They want to build a house just like us. They want to have financial security just like us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Adele McGuire</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, an accountant with the Metro Credit Union in Prince Edward Island, was “amazed just how much they (Ugandans) believe in co-operative values. They seem to really thrive on co-operative values and really want to belong there (SACCO).”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Jim Harris</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, communications specialist with Manitoba Central, agreed. “The spirit of co-operation and the importance of co-operatives here (in Uganda) is something we can share back in Canada.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Lacey Chyz</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">, communications and member relations officer with the Lakeland Credit Union in Alberta, said the mission validated her dedication to the advancement of the co-operative movement among youth. “All along my goal has been to bring back to Canada the co-operative values I believe in so strongly.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Both <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Deborah Chatterton</b>, public relations professional with Vancity in BC and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jennifer Nelson</b>, travel writer and representative of Saskatchewan Central, both spoke of the strides the Ugandans have made in releasing poverty’s grip under IFAPI, an innovative approach CCA and UCA have taken to rural development in northern Uganda. Though Ugandans' measure of success is small by Canadian standards, Deborah said it had changed her definition of prosperity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">With those parting words we parted ways, convinced, more than ever, that the co-operative model is the best model to help people in need provide food, shelter and well-being for their families.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">We left Uganda both sad and happy. Tired but inspired. Changed people that are determined to become better global citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I can think of no better way to end the International Year of Co-operatives than to have witnessed first-hand how co-operatives and credit unions are empowering people to build a better world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-6213676221179762182012-12-05T16:39:00.004-08:002012-12-05T16:39:26.237-08:00On the Farm<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvrtoSK9fRXv-wbnCVvdjDWt36yO0PZqDmOaWZd_Imle3DYl6vuGXTY7JNyEvKmdQ9Z9Y6tSkkugMy8MqOjm66eSPXoNbAwwPVX5-g4eipD9ZjdXIbCsfIDzazhGthJ1KQqNiaQTgx3k/s1600/074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvrtoSK9fRXv-wbnCVvdjDWt36yO0PZqDmOaWZd_Imle3DYl6vuGXTY7JNyEvKmdQ9Z9Y6tSkkugMy8MqOjm66eSPXoNbAwwPVX5-g4eipD9ZjdXIbCsfIDzazhGthJ1KQqNiaQTgx3k/s400/074.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><em> Justus Kasaugatu and his wife Eves Kasangaki, members of Brecco SACCO</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>In a Growing Business</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Today we are winging our
way back to Canada, our heads and hearts filled with the moving stories Ugandans
shared with us – stories of how the partnership between the Canadian
Co-operative Association and Uganda Co-operative Alliance has helped them to
build better lives for them, their families and their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">For me, the memories
include clasping a farmer’s black hand in mine and demonstrating the meaning of
CCA’s “hand-up-versus-hand-out” approach to aid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">We were discussing the
Integrated Financial Agricultural Product Initiative, an innovative program developed
and delivered by the UCA in collaboration with the CCA that links agricultural
co-operatives and savings and credit co-operatives to promote rural development.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the rural areas of
Northern Uganda where this model has emerged, farmers now have access to local
primary co-operatives, second tier marketing and supply co-operatives, and
SACCOs which provide all important financial services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">John
Kennedy, a soya and maize farmer in Nyaravur, is among the 6,000 Ugandan
producers that are pooling and marketing their produce through co-ops. “With
this bulking we have a ready market for our products and we are realizing more
profits.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This
is confirmed by IFAPI survey findings, which showed that in 2011-12, members of
rural producer organizations increased their revenue by a combined 30 per cent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The farmers we
interviewed during our two-week study mission also reported significant
increases in productivity as a result of the training they received in best
farm management practices under IFAPI. In some cases the growers doubled and
even tripled their yields thanks to this capacity building program.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Natural
resources</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The farmers also
recognized that Uganda’s agriculture sector could be sustainable, even
profitable, given the country’s rich natural resources, but only provided IFAPI
continue to bridge their knowledge gap with training.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Indeed, Ugandan farmers
have natural advantages that Canadians would envy – a favourable climate that
allows for two growing seasons and the ability to produce a wide variety of
crops, plus fertile soil and plenty of untilled land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, compared to
Canada’s agriculture industry, Uganda’s is decades behind, with many of the
farmers we met still using hand hoes to seed their crops. UCA officials we
spoke to during our debriefing in Kampala cited two reasons for the apparent lack
of progress – “politics” and over 20 years of civil war.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In some cases, farmers were
forced to abandon their farms and others that remained risked having the fruits
of their efforts stolen by rebel soldiers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The war’s impact on
Uganda’s agriculture sector is still very much in evidence by the rudimentary
practices and tools farmers employ in production.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, this is changing
as farmers, no longer “under the rule of guns”, return to the land to carve new
lives out of Uganda’s red soil, aware of the tremendous potential it holds and
guided by the knowledge they have gained from IFAPI and the co-operatives it
has helped to form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-75051894915387423172012-12-04T06:34:00.001-08:002012-12-04T06:34:17.820-08:00The "Unbankable"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><em> Armstrong Abdubango, Dikiri Kabucan SACCO (micro credit co-operative</em><strong>)</strong></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">CCA-UCA
partnership promotes trusted places to save, borrow, insure<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Before SACCOS (credit
unions) were formed in the rural Ugandan communities we visited, people hid
their savings under mattresses, in holes in walls. They even buried them in
termite hills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Robberies were common.
Some lost all the money they tucked away when fire burned their thatched clay
huts. Savings were buried and never found after a family member died, having
failed to disclose the money’s location. Savings were even eaten by rats, lured
by the smell left on the bills by previous handlers, like fish mongers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Those that did their
banking at commercial institutions were frequently ripped off. Some were “very embarrassed”,
in the words of Brecco SACCO members, to discover that their meagre savings had
disappeared due to high “service” charges on their accounts. Often they were
refused loans, being part of the rural poor that were deemed “unbankable” by
the private sector banks. In addition, the distances that separated them and
the banks made it too costly for most to do anything but make sure their money
was well hidden from thieves and rodents.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Olivia Mugisa, Brecco
SACCO treasurer acknowledged “you can’t do your banking at home.” However, the
rural poor had limited options when it came to savings and loans.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">That
changed 10 years ago when the Uganda Co-operative Alliance, joined with the
Canadian Co-operative Association, to design and implement a program that would
help to </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">build sustainable livelihoods
and reduce poverty in the sectors of agriculture, finance and micro, small and
medium enterprise development (MSME).</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Trusted places<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">One of its main thrusts was to encourage the formation of SACCOs, </span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">community-owned savings and loans
institutions that provide poor and middle class households with trusted places
to save, borrow and insure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In the decade that has followed the launch of
IFAPI (Integrated Finance and Agriculture Production Initiative), the number of
SACCOs has increased from eight to 22 in northern Uganda. These
democratically-controlled, member-owned centres now play a significant role in
the socio-economic development of the communities they serve.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Now
we know how to sell our products,” said Brecco SACCO member Stella Kannyege.
“We know how to save money and pay it back. We know how to control our
businesses. And we know how to build groups.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
ripple effect of these micro credit co-operatives has spread throughout northern
Ugandan society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Impact on women <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Louis
Odhur, a widow and farmer in Omoyo, said her SACCO’s promotion of gender
equality has had a positive impact on the women in her community. “They do not
fear things now. When there are meetings they attend. It has given them
courage.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Robert
Parmu, loans officer with the Erussi SACCO, said women are now borrowing money
to pay for their children’s schooling, independently of their husbands,
resulting in greater “harmony in the homesteads.” Other outcomes have been a
reduction in domestic violence, substance abuse and crime.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“People can now take
care of their lives and control of their own destiny,” Chegere SACCO manager
Peter Aceny said. “We say no more going back. We are moving forward. We are
continuing until reach our destination – sustainability.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-27522200792828388112012-12-02T11:29:00.003-08:002012-12-02T11:34:31.272-08:00African Safari<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the old saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words. So I will let the photos I shot today from a simple point and shoot camera to tell the story of my African safari and boat tour. We are staying in the Murchison Falls National Park, the largest park in Uganda for some R&R before returning to Kampala tomorrow for debriefings on our Canadian Co-operative Association Study Mission.</span><br />
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Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-17945800091264279932012-12-01T06:50:00.001-08:002012-12-01T06:54:58.778-08:00Bridging the Gap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><em>Sister Mary Atimango and MUWOGORO member Paula Atimango stand before group's harvest of maize</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Co-operatives helping the disadvantaged</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The mothers spread
blankets across the green grass and cradled their infants under the leafy shades
of Itek trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Laughter filled the air
as the women talked and their older children played with news friends. It looked
like they were enjoying a picnic. “It’s screening day for AIDs,” Sister Mary
Atimango said as we strolled past the village’s health centre. We were headed
toward the garden and fish pond her organization created as part of its mandate
to help disadvantaged women become self-reliant.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Sister
Atimango heads the Mungudit Women Group (MUWOGORO, which means “God is Good”).
It <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has undertaken a number of
initiatives to build the capacity of its membership through skills training and
ultimately reduce poverty in Eurussi and surrounding area. MUWOGORO has a
bakery to produce bread, cakes, mandazi and hosts for Catholic masses and a
small mushroom farm. Members also receive training in home economics, food
security and nutrition as well as reading and writing. Plus they receive
counselling on HIV/AIDS and other health-related issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Not far from
this mountaintop village, young men like Brian Ouuku are learning to become
self-sufficient through the Boda Boda Association. The Boda Boda is a term that
refers to fare-charging motorcylists, similar to cab drivers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Until Ouuku,
22, joined this group of young entrepreneurs the future looked bleak. “I was
idle. I had nothing to do.” He had limited education, having dropped out of
school when his father died 10 years ago. Ouuku worked on his family’s
subsistence farm to keep the household fed. Today he has ambitious goals for
the future. “If I work hard I plan to get a motorcycle and God willing, in the
next few years, to get a taxi car.” He will turn to his local SACCO, a savings
and micro credit co-operative, assisted by the Canadian Co-operative
Association in partnership with its Ugandan counterpart the Uganda Co-operative
Alliance, for the loans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“My life has
improved,” Ouuku, who is youth representative on the Dikri Kabucan SACCO board
said. “I can now earn a living, but I have not yet reached my expectations.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">When asked if
he is a role model for his peers he replied, “Yes, it is obvious. There are
some that encourage me, some that admire me. But there are some that discourage
me,” he added added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Life is very
difficult for youth in Uganda, Ouuku acknowledged. “There are few job prospects,
even for young men and women who hold university degrees. Their situation can
lead to drug and alcohol abuse, and even crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“You find the youth in the video halls. You find them in the trees
smoking and drinking,” said Nyamutoro Sophie Prosper, SACCO manager, who had
joined us to translate our interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The stories
that we have collected on our Canadian Co-operative Association mission have
been both heartbreaking and heartwarming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are stories of organizations like SACCOs, Rural Producer
Organizations and Agricultural Co-operative Enterprises uniting through the
joint partnership of the CCA and UCA, to raise the standard of living for the
rural poor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In northern
Uganda, this alliance is responsible for the development and implementation of
the Integrated Finance and Agriculture Production Initiative. The strategy’s
main elements are to improve skills, to raise productivity, lower poverty and
to increase access to financial services.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It is making
a difference for the young men that belong to the Boda Boda association and the
women that are members of MUWOGORO.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Right now the
40 members of Boda Boda group shares two motorcycles but plan to acquire a
third. And they have used the proceeds from fares to purchase 16 goats. Their
goal is to increase the association’s membership, just as the goats will
multiply in offspring, for the mutual benefit of all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">And some
members, like Ouuku will learn and earn from this joint enterprise to become
self-employed and self-sufficient.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-33417671481120892452012-11-30T09:49:00.001-08:002012-12-01T06:50:52.958-08:00When in Uganda<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTEs56StWLBrIvp-lEBjfaIuLtLIHwKkdOdU8JopDi51v-9-tSxxbqHuK__UBfjsYVpewVmFSX-aMwUJENygJ8vDeuMSwUPjmznavJSkXrUMkHFonzldaJFA2zhA6WjuYrNoIs1iW2iY/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaTEs56StWLBrIvp-lEBjfaIuLtLIHwKkdOdU8JopDi51v-9-tSxxbqHuK__UBfjsYVpewVmFSX-aMwUJENygJ8vDeuMSwUPjmznavJSkXrUMkHFonzldaJFA2zhA6WjuYrNoIs1iW2iY/s400/032.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><strong> </strong><em>RolfTraichel, FCL Director, Alberta, Adele McGuire, Metro CU, PEI and Laurie Tennian, CCA, Ontario, wade through water to cross a flooded road</em></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Grasshoppers, White Ants and other Curiosities</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Grasshoppers
are crunchy, salty and tasty. How do I know? It was one of the food items on
the lunch menu during my Canadian Co-operative Association study mission to
northern Uganda. No after effects. Just a few legs sticking in my teeth.
Kidding! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that I have tasted cricket, I would try
white ants, another delicacy here, if offered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I did, however, pass up an opportunity to try homemade beer, made of
sorghum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sipped from a plastic jug
through long slender reeds, the brew has lumpy grey yeast foam floating on top.
As hot as it was (temperatures have been ranging from 25-30 C) the words buzz
kill came to mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Since the
last two blogs have centered around heavy topics, I thought I would go on the
lighter side tonight and tell you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some
of the notes my teammates and I have taken to tell our Canadian family members
and friends when we return home December 5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
beer of choice for us is Nile beer and is similar in taste to our Moosehead
ale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ugandans
put their surnames before their given Christian names. The top two names seem
to be Stella and Peter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Uganda
is a Commonwealth nation and is predominantly Christian. The influences of both
can be seen in many ways. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have seen
enterprises called Trust Jesus Saloon, Mercy Unisex Salon, God is Able store
and Blessed Internet Café.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Almost
every household it appears has a cell phone, even though many communities are
still without electricity. Solar panels are a popular source of alternate power
and are sold at roadside stands, along with charging stations, resembling our
outhouses, to restore dead cell phone batteries.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most
main streets have a pool table outside a bar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Ugandans
drive on the left side of the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most
roads we are travelling resemble our logging roads and are riddled with
potholes, rocks, puddles and trenches carved out by rain. Others have been
“goat trails” at best. It makes for bumpy rides. We have been stuck twice and
another time had to wade through knee-deep brown water to cross a flooded road.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Boda
Bodas are maniacs on motorcycles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
fare-charging drivers have so many accidents that a wing of the Kampala
hospital is dedicated entirely to their treatment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Uganda’s
soil is red similar to Prince Edward Island’s. Coincidentally, we saw an Island
dirt shirt being sold by a roadside vendor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Uganda’s
oranges are green. Other tropical fruits grown here include bananas, papaya,
mangoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Top
crops are maize, yams, cassava, “Irish” potatoes, rice, yellow beans<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Uganda
is the biggest coffee producing country on the continent, next to Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">50%
of Uganda’s population is 15 and under. We are constantly swarmed by children
who want to touch our pale skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
entry into their communities is greeted by shouts of Muzungoos or Mondoos,
meaning “whites”, and friendly waves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Uganda’s
population is 33.4 million, almost the same as Canada’s, but its geographical
size is half the province of Saskatchewan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Most
rural homes in northern Uganda are thatched huts made of grass and clay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Vegetation
is lush green and includes palm trees, cactus and aloe vera plants.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Biscuits,
similar to our Arrowroot cookies are often served at functions we attend,
sometimes with great fanfare (packages draped with cloths and presented in
fancy dishes). We are also offered a choice of Coke, Fanta or Mountain Dew.
Ugandans love their soda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">It
is common to see two boys or two men holding hands as friends<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rural
Ugandans main mode of transportation is the bicycle, followed by the motorcycle.
Most walk to their destination. Today we met a teacher who walked 20 kilometers
, one way,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to be present for our
get-together in the mountain top village of Erussi near the border of
Congo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has been our experience – SACCO,
RPO, ACE members travelling 5, 10, 20 kilometres by foot to share their stories
of success with the Canadian co-operators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-53156324058630543432012-11-29T09:36:00.002-08:002012-11-29T09:36:19.966-08:00Lion Queen<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivmCpoU4Hhbj5xniargC-BPu7WlDVMlWQJxiEeN5vx3W0udeBtDOBVHHdA_4gmKnD6ZiIyfA5h8KdV1KR8YVYjpvvRkInsQ6XSDciwY1goZlhwKe4b4yiqtgVNNkNguZmBXcutIQ1bgc/s1600/Beekeeper2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivmCpoU4Hhbj5xniargC-BPu7WlDVMlWQJxiEeN5vx3W0udeBtDOBVHHdA_4gmKnD6ZiIyfA5h8KdV1KR8YVYjpvvRkInsQ6XSDciwY1goZlhwKe4b4yiqtgVNNkNguZmBXcutIQ1bgc/s400/Beekeeper2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Jenet Elwii, Farmer, Beekeeper,Chegere SACCO chair</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong></strong></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><strong>Not Quite Queen of the Jungle</strong></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Peter Aceny
can list many positive things his co-operatively-owned credit union has done
for his northern Ugandan community. But the one he is most proud of is a
reduction in domestic violence. “It’s not a malady here now,” said the Chegere
SACCO chair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Under the
Canadian Co-operative Association-sponsored IFAPI (Integrated Finance and
Agriculture Production Initiative) gender equality in the region’s co-operative
system is actively promoted. Both sexes receive gender equality training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Projects are assessed to ensure they employ a
balance of a balance of men and women. And organizations like the Chegere savings
and loans centre are required to have at least one-third female representation
on their boards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As a result
of these affirmative actions, men have come to appreciate, in Aceny’s words, that
“women are not supposed to be treated as slaves.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Indeed, women
have come a long way in Uganda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By sharing
roles of responsibility with men and, in many cases, holding leadership
positions, women are building confidence and gaining the respect of their male
peers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have gone from being treated
as subservient to men to being regarded as equal partners in the economic and
social development of their communities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“You see me
talking with her with maximum respect,” Aceny referring to the chair of his
SACCO<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jenet Elwii. The maize farmer and
beekeeper is making sure the voice of women is heard loud and clear in several
organizations. In addition to her executive position on the SACCO board, she
also heads her community’s anti-corruption committee and is treasurer of her
Area Co-operative Enterprise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Leadership training<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">As a result
of her involvement in her SACCO and ACE, Elwii said she has increased the
production of her crops, received training in leadership and has created
friendships.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">She is
regarded as a role model to her community and is often sought out for her
advice, according to Aceny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Elwii’s
prominent stature in Chegere is a testament to the success of IFAP’s gender promotion
efforts. However, there is still much to be done before women are truly equal
to men in Uganda. Consider the following:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Women
produce 70-90 per cent of Uganda’s food but only own seven per cent of the
land.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rural
women work considerably longer hours than men – between 12-18 hours a day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Women
make up the majority of the rural poor. Most are small land holders engaged in subsistence
farming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The biggest obstacles
to women’s advancement in Ugandan society are lack of education and confidence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Though women
are in numbers too big to ignore, when it comes to their roar, men are still
the king of the jungle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-40422506822562245002012-11-28T11:37:00.001-08:002012-11-28T11:39:06.185-08:00AIDS in Africa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmPtevJ-sx32Vz_QAjfjmGXkItyTZx7ji_y6lbTUieE4LMctWAMhbvOR7hH29zfMoFRXgFLkRF4Uw8fa6e9tIENSzuxUjsu_bCOo-pmivuHOukZd9_tJPrEW9sUINBr5txSjenoG0dmM/s1600/Dance.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvmPtevJ-sx32Vz_QAjfjmGXkItyTZx7ji_y6lbTUieE4LMctWAMhbvOR7hH29zfMoFRXgFLkRF4Uw8fa6e9tIENSzuxUjsu_bCOo-pmivuHOukZd9_tJPrEW9sUINBr5txSjenoG0dmM/s400/Dance.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Women and
children danced and sang a traditional Ugandan song of welcome as we entered
their small community of thatched clay huts, tucked away in the bush.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">After this
enthusiastic greeting their leader stepped forward to tell us about his group –
People with HIV/AIDS for the Oyam District. They included the infants, toddlers
and teenagers standing before us, smiling warmly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Their homes
are located on the outskirts of Kamdini, a town of 23,000 and a bustling centre
for trade. Its main street is lined with modest shops, bars, restaurants and
hotels that have started and expanded with loans from the member-owned Savings
and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
activities of the SACCOs, like credit unions in Canada, are guided by the seven
principles of the co-operative movement, including concern for the community.
It is in this spirit that the SACCO helps to meet the needs of the most vulnerable
– the poor, the widowed, the orphaned and the AIDS-infected.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“We don’t
just think about money,” said the organization’s chair in explaining its
mission. “We look at the social aspect too.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Needs are great<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The needs are
great. As the gateway to northern Uganda, town became home to an army base when
political violence erupted here in the late 1960s. The prostitutes followed the
soldiers to Kamdini and so too did the deadly virus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sex trade, however, was only one contributor
to the prevalence of the disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women,
even children, were raped as a weapon of war, spreading the disease to its
homes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“People have
suffered severely,” Kamdini’s mayor Herbert Ogwal told me as we walked through
the littered and crowded downtown, filled with vendors hocking their wares to
the passing motorists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">However, as
our visit here confirmed, SACCO is helping to ease the town’s suffering by
investing in enterprising residents that large commercial institutions regard
as “unbankable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Invested in distillery<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Among them is
Santa Okello, a widow with HIV-AIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even though she had little collateral she received a loan from SACCO to
start a distillery, making liquor from sugar molasses that she sells to the
Nile Beer brewery. Her enterprise now supports 10 households. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">“Without
SACCO I would have been dead,” she said, when asked how this community-led
institution has affected her life. “It allowed me to start this business to
look after the children you see here.” In addition, the mother of ten and
grandmother of 10, whose husband died of AIDS eight years ago, is able to
purchase medication to treat her illness with the income she receives from the
distillery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The savings
and loans centre also assists the nearby collective of people living with
HIV-AIDS, led by chair James Obongo, a grandfather of 30 with two wives. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Before SACCO came we were not even meeting
basic needs. “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Its 43
members, including children whose parents have died of AIDs, make arts and
crafts, to generate revenue, develop skills and a sense of purpose, as well as
combat stigmatization. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We are very poor
and our health is not so good,” Obongo acknowledged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The activity is particularly important for
the orphans who cannot go to school because of lack of money to pay tuition
fees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Obongo said
SACCO has given them hope, as did the visit by our team of Canadian
co-operators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Now we are optimistic we will continue living
with your coming.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Note:</span></b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> Sadly the AIDS situation is not
improving in Uganda. In fact, according to a study released in August of this
year, Uganda is only two African countries, along with CHAD, where AIDS
infection rates are on the rise. Nearly a third of Uganda’s population once had
AIDS or the virus that cause it. The rate declined in the 1990s as a result of
public health strategies. However, this latest survey shows that the rate has
increased from 6.4% in 2005 to 7.3%. It found that one in 10 women will have
AIDs by their late 30s, the same number for the men when they reach their late
40s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-949921982903682582012-11-26T11:23:00.001-08:002012-11-26T11:23:26.669-08:00Merry Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbREAIamcM8Z8NT77OEcXTSc6q368VCLAAxlFaFEoElnN6zREarcg5jL8XPbas2rrktf8W5x6A18p-Nz95-wwDKfhgfAD9DDvEfXxsdjkRCHbWl8uz1GT9LjNebbPRR_7S4eU4dvnDpj0/s1600/Hassan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbREAIamcM8Z8NT77OEcXTSc6q368VCLAAxlFaFEoElnN6zREarcg5jL8XPbas2rrktf8W5x6A18p-Nz95-wwDKfhgfAD9DDvEfXxsdjkRCHbWl8uz1GT9LjNebbPRR_7S4eU4dvnDpj0/s320/Hassan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Nsangi Ahmad
Hassan’s Northern Uganda home will be filled with holiday cheer this season
because of a Canadian Co-operative Association-supported co-operative. The
income he has earned from the co-op’s sale of bricks and fish will allow him to
buy a dress for his wife for Christmas. The 28-year-old can’t remember the last
time he purchased a gift for the mother of his three young children - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>twin five-year-old girls and a three-year-old
girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“In the African culture it is
really a very, very bad thing not to please your wife.” He began setting aside
money six months ago and looks forward to the day when he will have enough
savings to take her to the shop and have her pick out the dress he will buy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Bomido
co-op is the first of a number of community-led enterprises we will visit over
the next two weeks as part of our educational study mission to Africa. I am one
of eight co-operators from across Canada who will be capturing in words and photos
the people behind these collectives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hassan is
among the young Ugandans who have discovered the power of belonging to a member-owned
rural producer organization. They share in the proceeds from a fishing and
brick making co-op near the town of Macinda. Working together, they have
created jobs for themselves and better lives for them and their families. “It
means a lot to me,” said Hassan of the democratically-run business. “Education
is a long-term investment.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Before the
co-op was formed, Hassan was “home starving with a diploma in administration.”
He had worked on a road construction project as a security guard but when the
road was completed he was out of a job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Hassan said
joining the co-op has “improved the standard of living” for him and his family.
In fact, it has generated enough revenue that he has begun construction of a
new home for his wife and three children. Only one room is completed, which
serves as temporary living quarters for the five-member Hassan household.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Still, for
the first time in several years, that small single room will be the site of a very
merry Christmas for the Hassans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
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<br />Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-88281496988669280912012-11-25T12:09:00.002-08:002012-11-25T12:20:10.220-08:00It's a Small World<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLAign6J3RwHZmUNHfpfVkwk6JKWEoZdFuTw5Uery8J67FsFBjfcL6Gc445-sz-KWSEFYI-MokSz1011F6gmP53vknqghYdgHdZZ4RkACWzKEHjnBHTE1OmXZC3bUPvzsh61KvQe3eGUU/s1600/Laurie+Tennian.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLAign6J3RwHZmUNHfpfVkwk6JKWEoZdFuTw5Uery8J67FsFBjfcL6Gc445-sz-KWSEFYI-MokSz1011F6gmP53vknqghYdgHdZZ4RkACWzKEHjnBHTE1OmXZC3bUPvzsh61KvQe3eGUU/s320/Laurie+Tennian.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“All human beings are created from the foundation of Islam,”
our tour guide said warmly to the Canadian co-operators who had come to his
place of worship during our two-day orientation in Kampala, Uganda. “You are
all Muslims. Welcome back home!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Home? I was a Canadian woman in Africa standing in a Muslim
mosque , named in honour of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. How out
of place could I be?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And yet I fully understood the significance of his greeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only minutes earlier, I had donned a head scarf and skirt, slipped
off my sandals and entered this magnificent copper-domed structure. Like most Westerners,
I knew little about his faith. But as we compared the text of the Qu’ran and
the Holy Bible,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shared religious
teachings and discussed Muslim and Christian rituals, I learned our beliefs
were more alike than not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The visit to the Gaddafi National Mosque, and an earlier excursion
to the Kampala arts and craft market, were early introductions to Uganda, as we
settled into our new surroundings, including getting acclimatized to the plus
30 degree Celsius weather, getting to know our teammates, and becoming more
familiar with the Canadian Co-operative Association’s international development
work here and throughout Africa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The mosque sits high atop one of the 20 hills that encompass
Kampala. A few of us took the 308 steps to the mosque’s minaret, where we were
rewarded with a panoramic view of the capital. The structure is the second
largest of its kind in Africa and has the capacity to hold 35,000 worshippers.
The faithful are called to prayer here five times<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a day. About 20 per cent of the Ugandan
population is Muslim, the remainder largely Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our trek to the hill top was a perfect starting point from
which to begin our two-week educational study mission.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was a reminder that we are a family of brothers and
sisters – black and white, Muslim and Christian.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning we headed to Misandi to start our journey
of discovery – to gather and tell stories of people helping people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-8296786957099554442012-11-21T02:20:00.003-08:002012-11-21T02:22:31.739-08:00On my WayThere are no more sleeps and only hours to go before I board a plane bound for Toronto, then London, and then Entebbe to begin our two-week educational study mission to Uganda. Excited? Yes. Nervous? Yes. But would I turn back the clock and say 'No' to this journey? Not a chance. This is an exceptional opportunity to see first hand the important role the Canadian Co-operative Association is playing in the socio-economic development of Uganda by supporting and strengthening the country's co-operatives and credit unions. I know from a similar mission I was on to Nicaragua in 2010 what an incredible learning, life-changing experience this will be. I thank CCA for the privilege to be part of this "storytelling" trek with fellow co-operators and communicators across Canada.Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-44020298837480307972012-11-18T11:14:00.001-08:002012-11-18T11:14:06.320-08:00Making a World of Difference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-edDr28G53k5TaUQPk4VfGLlfbOMPxnEWV9rYSvHhEuZWx2YF8RLFX-DThZxLis6MZ0o-6Jhr8EXIVJC4N8rw-O8doXxKQtKQRVDP1S2gADIw4pdelXBwpIQCCA68wv01SKCoi35NJk/s1600/African+Lady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-edDr28G53k5TaUQPk4VfGLlfbOMPxnEWV9rYSvHhEuZWx2YF8RLFX-DThZxLis6MZ0o-6Jhr8EXIVJC4N8rw-O8doXxKQtKQRVDP1S2gADIw4pdelXBwpIQCCA68wv01SKCoi35NJk/s320/African+Lady.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Did you know that in 2011-12, CCA worked in 22 countries with 32 partner organizations to reduce poverty and create prosperity? Not many people do. That's one of the reasons for our educational study mission to Uganda - to raise public awareness and appreciation for the ways in which CCA is working side by side with co-operative and credit union leaders around the world to make a world of difference for their members, their families and their communities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">With this in mind, I offer you this brief background on CCA's initiatives in Africa to bring democracy, and a life with dignity, to people in need.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">CCA’s development mission is to establish and grow co-operatives, credit unions and community-based organizations to reduce poverty, build sustainable livelihoods and improve civil society in less developed countries. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The organization has a long history of helping people in need around the world, dating back to the the late 1940s when CCA, as the Canadian arm of the CARE program, provided relief to Europe.</span><br />
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At a time when many African countries were gaining their independence, CCA was there supporting their efforts to become self-sufficient by helping them to start-up and expand their co-operatives and credit unions. The results of their development efforts are paying off.</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Studies show that in Africa, co-operatives have re-emerged successfully from the pre-liberalization period, and are today contributing to the continent’s poverty reduction, employment creation and social integration. This renewal is no doubt largely due to the ongoing work of Africa’s co-operative organizations and their international partners like the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5812585716038372343.post-25963971407546330002012-11-15T13:20:00.002-08:002012-11-15T13:22:04.833-08:00Time is drawing near<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzvti3ELjU_1rNkxLl0GZPQ1-yd3vbuFYAeGKu6jBjPTRkJjUCyYh0gO61LgvgyoAxieRy0mhcC7Qy5ZRBJc4clnkEnGj2sK9SeHmpVXUp4u2wQlQMNiOfKs99Skzn0zgijuH4jLjcE4/s1600/Head+Shot+Red+Dress+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWzvti3ELjU_1rNkxLl0GZPQ1-yd3vbuFYAeGKu6jBjPTRkJjUCyYh0gO61LgvgyoAxieRy0mhcC7Qy5ZRBJc4clnkEnGj2sK9SeHmpVXUp4u2wQlQMNiOfKs99Skzn0zgijuH4jLjcE4/s320/Head+Shot+Red+Dress+2.JPG" width="320" /></strong></a></div>
<a href="mailto:rayanneb@rogers.com"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Out of Africa</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.rayannebrennan.com/"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">www.rayannebrennan.com</span></a><br />
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1353012392301_244" style="color: #1f497d;"><br /><span style="color: #1f497d; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"></span></span><br />
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">From November 21 to December 1 I will be on an
educational study mission visiting co-operatives in Uganda with the </span><a href="http://www.coopscanada.coop/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Canadian Co-operative Association</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
In Africa, I will learn how farmers in Northern
Uganda are improving their livelihoods through an innovative and integrated
program that brings together production, marketing, and financial services
co-operatives.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I will be contributing to the team’s blog, </span><a href="http://theviewfromhereuganda2012.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">The View
from Here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">, to learn about how
co-operatives are alleviating poverty and building a better world. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Follow us on our exciting journey of discovery.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This is my second mission to a developing nation
where CCA is helping to build pathways out of poverty. The first was to Nicaragua
in 2010 and it was a life-changing experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span>
<br /><em>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></em>
</span>Rayanne Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481260782264294890noreply@blogger.com2