W.A.S.H (WATER, SANITATION & HYGIENE)
Worldwide, there are over 600 million people who do not have clean drinking water. That is nearly double the population of the United States. Every day, people walk for miles to collect water that makes them sick. Every year, over 350,000 children, under the age of five, die from diarrheal diseases, directly linked to contaminated water, lack of sanitation, or inadequate hygiene.
In Soroti, Uganda, Harambee has drilled five boreholes that provide clean water to over 15,000 individuals. Through coordination with Soroti’s local government and district officials, and the generosity of landowners, who donated their land, we were able to ensure that the boreholes were placed in areas where they were most needed. We have also provided training in the local schools on good sanitation and hygiene practices.
To assure continual communal use, Harambee has established a borehole repair and inspection process with the Soroti’s local district officials, who instituted a small user fee, to ensure maintenance of the boreholes.
Our actions have helped to drastically reduce malaria and a number of illnesses and deaths from waterborne diseases and has enhanced the health of the community.
(1) Harambee Cow Project - YouTube
Cow Exchange Project
Harambee, in partnership with the International Mission Team of Shiloh Baptist Church, Alexandria, VA, established a Cow Project, for the purpose of providing Ugandan heads of household, an opportunity to engage in economic development and nutritional sustainability for their families.
To date, Harambee and Shiloh’s International Mission Team has presented forty (40) cows and two (2) bulls to Ugandan families in need. One cow not only covers the needs of an entire family for milk, part of the milk production can be sold, thereby producing income.
The team, with local government and church officials also set up processes to monitor the care of cows and redistribute new cows to other families in need. Additionally, agricultural assistant packets were developed to aid Cow Exchange Project recipients, as they returned home with their cattle.
(1) Harambee Lira Project - YouTube
Lira Oxen Project
In October 2009, Harambee International Development and the Lira Pastors and Elders Fellowship (LPEF), an organization of religious leaders from 31 churches in the Lira area successfully obtained a U.S. Embassy, Kampala Uganda Ambassadors Award to begin an initiative to transport oxen back to northern Uganda.
The purpose of the Oxen Project is to create economic, nutritional and communal stability for the Ugandan families by providing an oxen and use of available land. These families were impacted by the 25 year war with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). The Harambee team worked with local government and church officials to institute monitoring processes to observe care of oxen and redistribution of new oxen to families in need. Currently, Harambee and LPEF have provided 28 oxen that have plowed 28 acres of land.
Harambee has partnered with a local community group, the Lira Pastors and Elders Fellowship (LPEF), an organization of religious leaders from 31 churches in the Lira area. On ten acres of land the farmers have produced the following crops: cassava, soy beans, green peas, and sweet beans. The remaining eighteen acres will grow the following crops: sunflower, cotton, millet, black beans, corn and sweet potatoes.
Revolving Door
Harambee (HIDC), Shiloh Baptist Church (SBC) of Alexandria, VA and Soroti Pastors and Elders Fellowship (SOPEF) created a Micro-Cooperative Purchase Revolving Fund, for the establishment of small businesses that could serve as an economic engine to improve the lives of members of the Soroti community.
Together, HIDC and SOPEF examined and vetted candidates from SOPEF congregations, who had written business plans for the establishment of a small business enterprise. HIDC and SOPEF also developed procedures and loan terms, consistent with the Ugandan constitution, banking laws, customs and traditions and instituted low interest rates (5%) and repayment plans, to ensure successful repayments of the loan, in a timely manner.
The repaid obligations serve as a source of funding for new cooperative purchase obligations and a basis for additional Harambee financial support. Harambee reserves the right to continuously monitor and audit records and disbursements from the revolving fund.
MALARIA EDUCATION AND PREVENTION
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that kills thousands of people each year throughout Africa and the world. Harambee provides information on general health issues, concentrating on malaria prevention and distributes medicine to aid malaria treatment.
Harambee has distributed over 400 chemically-treated mosquito nets to villagers and internally displaced persons in Northern Uganda. Additionally, we have provided training on the proper use, care and maintenance of mosquito nets.
HIV EDUCATION
Harambee partnered with a local hospital in Soroti, Uganda to provide medicine and supportive services to HIV/AIDS patients. At this hospital, there were about 500 patients with only one resident doctor. Stuffed animals were provided to children for comfort and encouragement. It was very heart-wrenching to look in the faces of babies with HIV and other patients that were unable to receive adequate medical attention. We must find a way to do more to help address medical shortages. We are in search of medical doctors and other health care professionals to work together with us to address Ugandan hospital shortages in medicine and medical supplies. If you are interested in being a part this team, please contact us.
PATIENT CARE AND SUPPORT
In Africa, when a person goes to the hospital, a family member goes with them to serve as their caretaker. Under the supervision of hospital staff, the family member provides day-to-day basic care for the patient, including washing the patient's clothes and bed linen. In a local Soroti hospital, the washing bay, where laundry was handled, was very unsanitary and unsafe because of an inadequate draining system. Dirty water and blood from clothing and linen sometimes pooled at the bay after washing was completed. This caused serious contamination, with flies and mosquitoes carrying blood from one patient to another.
Harambee funded and oversaw the construction of a new washing bay, with running water and an adequate draining system. Also, the new washing bay is much higher off the ground than the previous one so that the caretaker does not have to continually bend over to wash items.
Harambee Educational Assistance
Every year, beginning in December, a Scholarship Review Committee, appointed by Harambee and SOPEF, select five applicants to receive a $500 educational assistance scholarship. Recipients must be enrolled and attending elementary school (grade levels one through five), have a minimum grade average of B or better, and are active in the local community.
To date, Harambee has awarded five scholarships, for a year of private primary education.