Africa

A Change in the Weather

Uganda: Seeking Food Security

Uganda Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

Although the Ugandan people are moving steadily towards democratic governance, sadly, this peace and progress has eluded the people of the North, now in their tenth year of civil war. By the end of 1997 as many as 257,600 - half the population of the districts of Gulu and Kitgum - had been displaced by fighting.

Civilians continue to be targeted by rebel atrocities and forced conscription. An estimated 8000 children have been abducted, their whereabouts unknown. In 1997 a normally peaceful area in Western Uganda near the Zairean border, Bundibugyo, was attacked by another group of rebels causing 100,000 to flee into camps for safety. Diocesan partners in both areas of fighting received �79,000 in CAFOD emergency support to help war victims.

Even in areas where the war has receded, life is difficult for Ugandans in many other ways. In the diocese of Soroti, for example, the local Church, supported by CAFOD, is engaged in a battle against great food shortages caused by both natural and man-made enemies. These range from widespread armed cattle raiding by the Karamajong people to the devastation of the important cassava crop by the "mosaic" virus.

Last year CAFOD agreed to support a new project run by the Church in Soroti to increase local food production. One of the main objectives is to open up more farming land by providing more draught animals and ploughs, and to improve farmers' methods of agriculture and tree-planting.

Through this project, farmers can buy bullocks on a subsidised basis, and similarly acquire tools, seeds, and ploughs by paying back just 50 per cent of the cost over several years. To address the cassava problem, a new, virus-resistant strain is being made available.

The diocese is working hard to mobilise the local populace, to train farmers and to provide back-up through a food shortage project which subsidises the prices of foodstuffs during the very leanest times.

Uganda is the epicentre of the world HIV/AIDS pandemic, with 2 million people or ten percent of its population now thought to be infected. CAFOD's partners at hospitals in Masaka and Kampala continued to run outreach programmes which assisted 12,582 people with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Medicine, food, counselling and many other forms of support are channelled through professional teams and also through networks of carers who are relatives and neighbours. CAFOD is also funding training and education to challenge people to attack the root causes of the disease through behavioural change.

 

Sudan: Working in the War Zone

Sudan map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

There has been a distinct shift in the fortunes of the warring parties in Sudan as the main rebel army in the south - the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) - have forged an alliance with northern parties opposed to the hard-line Islamic fundamentalist ruling regime.

Fighting in the east of the country early in 1997 provoked a fierce response from the government of Sudan, as the main power plant supplying Khartoum was threatened. As usual, it was civilians who suffered; their villages burnt and tens of thousands displaced from their homes. Shortly after, the rebel army made substantial gains in southern Sudan and refugees living in Uganda and Zaire began to return in large numbers.

CAFOD continued to support the Church in Sudan in its struggle for peace and justice. The war has divided the Churches - almost half of the Catholic dioceses are in SPLA territory and the rest are in government-held areas. In September CAFOD helped to facilitate a meeting of church representatives from both sides, an important opportunity to renew the vision of a peaceful and just Sudan.

CAFOD continued to act as a liaison agency for the Caritas network, channelling around �500,000 for relief and rehabilitation programmes to the Churches in Sudan, together with about 5,000 tonnes of food aid.

CAFOD also continued as the liaison agency for Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan (CEAS). During 1997, this consortium of church agencies assisted the population in Yei in Western Equatoria following the fall of the town of the SPLA. Over �300,000 worth of relief assistance was given to refugees returning home.

CAFOD contributed some �60,000 to the work of the CEAS in rehabilitating those affected by the fighting in the Southern Blue Nile, providing seeds and tools, and working with income-generating groups as people try to establish their own livelihood.

Beyond material assistance, CAFOD also supported the peace efforts of the Sudanese Churches, funding a visit to South Africa of church personnel to establish links in a country that suffered similar problems of oppression and injustice. CAFOD's partner, the New Sudan Council of Churches, has also been instrumental in talking to the opposing factions to try to find ways of reconciling their positions.

However, the prospects for 1998 are still not good. Poor harvests in 1997 mean that the "hunger gap" - the time between the exhaustion of the old harvest and the bringing in of the new - will be prolonged. On top of this, the "final" battle for Juba, the capital of the south of Sudan, will surely be a matter of time in coming. With peace talks between the two sides postponed until April 1998, Sudan seems to be on the brink of a new disaster.

 

Ethiopia: Self-help Development

Ethiopia Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

With good rains in 1996 leading to better than average harvests and increased food availability in Ethiopia during 1996/97, the Ethiopian government made optimistic announcements early in the year indicating that Ethiopia was on the way to achieving greater self-sufficiency in food production.

By the end of the year the situation had changed dramatically. Failed or patchy rains in the short February-May rainy season, followed by unseasonally heavy rains in October-November which damaged or destroyed crops, resulted in an estimate of at least 5 million people in need of relief assistance going into 1998. At end-December 1997, CAFOD made an initial grant of US$50,000 (�30,900) for emergency relief in southern Tigray.

CAFOD general development grants for Ethiopia in 1997 focused on the basic needs of food production, community water supply, health, training and capacity building, and self-help/income generation activities.

CAFOD continued to support Self Help Development's rural development programmes in the Meki and Mareko areas with grants of �40,000 and �34,000 respectively. The projects aim to improve agricultural and livestock production while conserving and restoring natural resources. They have addressed long-term sustainability from the outset and local people and government authorities have been fully involved in managing all project activities.

In September 1997 CAFOD began to support a new community water project run by the Catholic Secretariat in the draught-prone district of Hararghe. This project is firmly rooted in strong community participation in initiatives such as rehabilitating and protecting existing springs, hand-dug wells and collecting rainwater from roofs. CAFOD's commitment will run to �20,000 per year for three years.

In Tigray, CAFOD contributed �23,500 towards the drilling of five borehooles in areas where large numbers of people had little or no access to clean water. A three-year commitment to support the clinics and community based healthcare activities of the Daughters of Charity was also made.

CAFOD grants have gone to strengthen local organisations through the training program of the Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA) and towards the skills training of disabled young people from the slums of Addis Ababa. CAFOD contributed to CRDA's micro fund for small-scale community development projects - one way in which CAFOD funds can reach communities who would otherwise have no access to international donors.

 

Mozambique: Building From Basics

Mozambique Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

Whichever set of data is used, Mozambique remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world. The governments lacks the resources and the capacity to cover the huge costs of rehabilitating a country the size of Mozambique, and the bilateral aid channelled through the government does little to alleviate poverty at the grassroots level.

Since the Peace Agreement in 1992, CAFOD's work in Mozambique has gradually moved from rehabilitation to development. Soon after the end of the war, much was done in the way of helping refugees return and settle their land of origin. CAFOD support was given in the form of housing materials, water wells, boreholes and training.

One such project, run by the Archdiocese of Maputo and backed by CAFOD, helped refugees returning from South Africa to settle on land just outside the city. When they returned they owned nothing except the clothes they were wearing. There was little material available for house building, forcing them to improvise crude shelters out of bits of sacking and discarded plastic.

CAFOD funds were used to buy timber and corrugated steel sheeting, and houses for over 200 families have now been built. Wells were also dug around the new settlements in a programme which will be extended around the archdiocese for areas lacking clean water.

Although many refugees are now settled and pleased to be back, the need for infrastructure and education remains a challenge. Many children and young people missed out on school and vocational skills training and a large number of schools, hospitals, health posts, roads and general services were either destroyed or remain closed due to lack of government funds.

Many local church projects which CAFOD helps fund are in the remotest parts of the country where basic social services are extremely rudimentary. In Tete Diocese, where partners are still struggling to overcome the effects of the war, CAFOD funds basic building and carpentry training for both men and women. Now the men are able to make furniture and women are generating an income for themselves by making bricks for sale. Wells and hand pumps have also been provided in this area, further improving the quality of life for all.

It is through such integrated approaches to development that people can help themselves, and thus maintain both their well-being and their dignity. Working in Mozambique is a constant challenge and CAFOD remains committed to strengthening and supporting such self-help initiatives.

 

Nigeria: Towards Good Health

Nigeria Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

The western press never tires of printing stories about oil wealth and corruption in Nigeria, yet in reality most of the country's 100 million people are hardworking farm families.

A shortage of subsidised fertiliser in 1997 left many of these farmers worrying about lower yields which will make it hard to provide for their families. CAFOD partners are encouraging farmers to produce more nutritionally valuable foods which will go further for families - for example soy bean, a vegatable protein which boosts the diet in the absence of meat or eggs.

In addition to anxieties about food security, West Africa is famous for high mortality rates from a variety of diseases. In 1996, 10,000 people died in a meningitis epidemic. CAFOD partners particpated in a massive vaccination campaign and in 1997 the number of cases dropped drastically. Cholera is however a constant danger.

"Our area had about 600 deaths from cholera last year," said Sister Sylvia Ndubuaka, nurse-midwife at Gussoro Primary Health Care Programme in Niger State. "There are so few health facilities and it takes hours to reach the people of Erena, cut off by the Kaduna River. We have to leave the truck at the river, take our motorbikes across by ferry, then ride on the motorbikes for over an hour to reach some villages."

The project has trained 23 health workers, so the next time cholera strikes they will be more prepared. "We have a lot of goals," admits Sr Sylvia, "foremost of which is immunising infants and children against the childhood killer diseases."

Another area of health achievement is the River Blindness Eradication Programme. Ten years ago the pharmaceutical company Merck discovered the drug Ivermectin which prevents river blindness. One tablet taken once a year is all that is needed. The drug is donated to developing countries but requires a distribution programme. CAFOD healthcare partners in Vandeika and Adikpo have been delivering the tablet annually to over 50,000 people. Blind people being led around by young child guides has already become a much less common sight in the area.

In November 1997 CAFOD sponsored a workshop in Makurdi for partners working in primary healthcare to share experiences and advice. All those present were involved in small community-based projects, and they rededicated themselves to working with local people to achieve better health for all.

The health workers they train are bringing health education and basic medicines to hundreds of remote villages around the country. "There are a lot of fake medicines being sold in Nigeria," one mother told CAFOD, "but I can trust those I buy at the village health post."

 

Rwanda: Reaching for Justice

Rwanda Map and Statistics (CIA World Factbook 1997)

During 1997 CAFOD continued its efforts to contribute to a better justice system in Rwanda, still a huge area of need as prisons overflow with those accused of genocide awaiting trial. Whilst taking into account the human rights situation, support was given to provide legal representation and council for both accused and survivors.

CAFOD is also working to address the acute shortage of prison staff in jails which are holding five times the number they were built for. A unique training scheme for women officers entirely funded by CAFOD is sending 70 women to Rwanda's 17 prisons to help with the 3000 awaiting trial. "I love my country and I think this job will help my country," said one young trainee.

Another urgent need concerns the mental health of the traumatised population of Rwanda and in 1997 CAFOD helped to fund training in "trauma first aid". Severe psychological damage is widespread since the terrible events of 1994 and it is recognised that sufferers cannot wait for enough specialists to be trained.

A programme of basic training for non-experts has therefore begun through CAFOD partner AVENGA - the Association of Widows who Escaped the April Genocide. This group of (not so) ordinary women have from the start helped each other and shared their limited resources and it was therefore judged very important to provide them with their own training in treating trauma. It is hoped that this could be offered to a wide variety of people in the caring professions such as religious leaders, nurses, social workers and youth leaders.

CAFOD signed a new agreement in 1997 with Caritas Nyundo in north west Rwanda, to help them set up a diocesan Caritas capable of running its own programmes. This is a difficult task as this area of Rwanda is the theatre for the on-going struggle of rebels against the Kigali government.

CAFOD maintained close ties with Caritas Goma, in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (ex-Zaire). Since the "liberation" of Kivu, and the massive return of refugees which followed, there has been a continuing lack of security in the region. Many are still displaced and lack the most basic necessities. Reports from the Caritas Goma area showed malnutrition to be widespread among the adults and children, with mortality rates at 150 times the normal level.

CAFOD supported a feeding programme run by Caritas Goma during 1997 for the most vulnerable population of the diocese, distributing rice, maize, beans and salt through parishes, camps, orphanages and nutritional centres.

CAFOD Review of the Year 1997

 
Headlines from Catholic World News

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