Self-sufficiency for rural farming households

The three-year project sustainably improved the nutrition, health and incomes of 668 returnee households  (approx. 4,676 direct beneficiaries) from the poorest rural farming communities in the Maracha District of West Nile sub-region in northern Uganda. Improved agricultural practices improved food production, WASH activities improved household health and reduced the incidence of hygiene-related diseases. Training in aspects of farming for income generation enabled farmers to cover their basic needs. The project also reduced the impact of climate change and promoted gender equity. 80% of project targets were met despite unfavourable weather conditions, the threat of Ebola virus and the Covid-19 pandemic. The nutritional status of families has improved by over 68%, each households consuming three meals per day. This is due to increased crop yields as a result of good farming skills, such as: proper tillage, mulching, compost use, contouring and cut-off drainages. The promotion of kitchen gardening and   commercial vegetable growing, as well as fruit trees, has contributed to good nutrition, leading to better community health. Family incomes have increased by over 100% and farmers are able to safe enough funds to cover basic needs such as healthcare, education and home improvement. Beneficiaries practice good home and personal hygiene, with better sanitation facilities, such as: dish drying racks, rubbish pits, clothes-drying lines, pit latrines, improved housing and clean compounds edged with hedges. Farmers now work together in solidarity and are there are fewer incidences of illnesses and no recorded cases of domestic violence.

The UK-based charity International Refugee Trust, established in 1989, aims to support the most disadvantaged refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees in Jordan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. It envisions a world where all people live peacefully in the place they call home, with the skills, opportunities and confidence to support themselves and progress socially and economically.