The results will come: a Ugandan businessman’s perspective
In the Invisible Children Uganda (ICU) lobby display case, some small reed bracelets caught the eye of Mr. Owor Deogratius Fredrick, director of Rocola Robugeco Uganda Ltd. printing company in Gulu. Fredrick remembered seeing his parents wear the simple, adjustable bracelets when he was a child, and they always held a fascination for him. “I […]
Village Savings and Loan Association // an inside look
As one of my last posts as IC’s social media intern, I wanted to write about a program in Gulu, Uganda that is close to my heart and is one of the (many) reasons that inspire me to work at Invisible Children. Our Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) program in northern Uganda is one […]
Village Savings: learning the basics
Invisible Children Uganda’s (ICU) Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) provide community members with an opportunity to save money, earn interest, and take out loans to start up their own businesses. The 95 savings groups meet once a week, and those meetings are overseen by a community facilitator. Facilitators are also trained in teaching Functional […]
Uganda turns 50
Uganda celebrated 50 years of independence on Tuesday. There is much to celebrate, from heroes like Stephen Kiprotich who took the gold in the Olympics in August, to being ranked the “top travel destination for 2012” by Lonely Planet, to major successes in economic development. According to the World Bank, “Uganda has surpassed the 2015 […]
What peace means to me
Years of peace in northern Uganda have brought hope and opportunities for improved livelihood to the communities there. Wednesday, World Vision in partnership with Gulu District and the Acholi Peace Initiative held an event for International Peace Day. Invisible Children Uganda (ICU) was invited to have a booth at the event to display our Mend […]
Livelihood: fresh water
Invisible Children Uganda’s (ICU) Livelihood team headed to the field last week to survey communities and determine where future boreholes should be drilled. Partnering with TechnoServe, ICU is planning to drill 8-10 more boreholes in rural communities in northern Uganda, in addition to the 20 they already drilled. The purpose of the survey is to […]
Livelihood: Exchanging Ideas
The Invisible Children (IC) Livelihood team has started up 45 Village Saving and Loan Association (VSLA) groups recently in Bobi and Lakwana. In VSLA, community members are able to pool their money and take out small loans to start up businesses. After several months of operating the new business, members pay back the loan with […]
Never too late to graduate
This past week saw 805 women and men graduate from Invisible Children’s (IC) Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) program. The graduation came after members of IC’s Village Savings and Loan Associations successfully completed a one-year course on basic subjects of numeracy, reading and writing. Due to insecurity from the past war in northern Uganda, many members […]
Livelihood: Fruitful labor
Trucks, buses and cars cruise along the road, tearing up the loose dirt and creating a cloud of the red dust. It’s hot and it’s dry, and nothing looks better right now than the fruit stands on the side of the road, offering a cool, sweet treat to passengers on their long journey. Some women […]
The Worth of Water
Most of us are able to walk about ten feet over to the kitchen faucet, turn it on, and immediately fresh, clean water is pouring into our glass. Simple. Easy. Clean. However, the reality is that the lack of access to clean water is what thousands of people face around the world. A recent article published in Aljazeera discusses […]