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Mission | Vision  | Statement   | Spotlight   | Profiles

Mission

Vision

Statement

The ravages of war and violent conflict devastate communities and the lives of its civilians.   Women and girls are particularly affected and the road to reconstruction is often much harder for them than it is for men, especially when resources are limited.  For women who were forced to participate in the conflict the return home is often a grim experience.  Many return to areas where most, if not all, of the infrastructure has been destroyed; where access to primary health care, education, employment or income-generating activities, or even arable land to farm, is tenuous at best.  Often, stigmatization accompanies them, and their children are at times rejected from the community.  As females traditionally bear the burden for caring for young children and the elderly or sick, and for running their households, access to these resources is critical to survival.  The full day’s labor it takes to gather firewood, or collect water, or obtain financial or material resources to met families basic needs often precludes their involvement in such activities as attending literacy classes, vocational training, receiving basic health services.

The purpose of the Community Action Fund for Women in Africa (CAFWA) is to invest in effective local partners working to improve the lives of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict affected areas.  CAFWA will identify, evaluate and fund organizations that have a proven track record of sustainable and effective aid for women and girls.  Examples of partner programs include microfinance, skills training, income generation, adult education, gender-based violence prevention and victim support, health services, human rights awareness, peace building and conflict management.  Specific activities could include small scale group and market gardens, brick making, bread production, beekeeping, and domestic animal production for food consumption and income generation.  Local agencies have the largest investment in their communities and are there for the long-term.  Many of these organizations have the experience and knowledge of what is truly needed to assist women and girls to improve their lives but they are small, and work with extremely limited resources. 

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Spotlight on Northern Uganda

Since 1986, a largely unknown and brutal war has raged through Northern Uganda, devastating the lives of large numbers of people.  More than 1.6 million inhabitants of Acholiland, or roughly 90% of the region’s population, have been driven from their homes and productive lands and forced to reside in camps for internally displaced people (IDPs).  The squalid living conditions in these densely populated camps have led UNICEF to describe the situation as a severe humanitarian crisis in which the ability or right to access basic health, education, sanitation, water and physical security goes largely unmet.   With food and clean water scarce and medical facilities rudimentary, incidences of diarrhea and diseases such as malaria, scabies, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are widespread and deadly. Women and children comprise close to 80% of the population of these more than 200 camps and they are the ones most affected by these deplorable conditions.

From the outset of the war roughly 66,000 children have been abducted by rebel groups, with most forced to commit a range of atrocities against their own families and communities.  During their time in captivity these children live in constant fear for their lives: made to participate in combat, working under excruciating circumstances, and often heavily abused, the threat of death is constant.  Countless children die during this time either from being killed, or from disease and malnutrition, but many manage to escape and return home.  And as these children return, some as young adults, they often experience severe social and economic challenges as they seek to reintegrate into their communities.  The lack of access to healthcare, education, and opportunities to create sustainable livelihoods means that many end up living in acute poverty.  Women and girls are most severely affected as they have often been raped and return with young children, at times resulting in stigmatization and rejection from their communities.  Some see no other options for survival than to turn to prostitution or to live in abusive relationships just to survive. 

2007 offers great hope.  With the current peace negotiations between the government of Uganda and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) there is the widespread feeling that the war will finally come to an end.  If so, some 1.6 million IDPs internally displaced people will be moving back to areas which have previously been considered too unsafe to inhabit.  Twenty years of war has taken its toll and many will return to their old communities where most, if not all, of the infrastructure has been destroyed.  And as the IDPs move back, people will have to start from scratch, often with no more in their hands than a hoe and some seeds.  The aim of CAFWA in Northern Uganda is to work with local organizations to help support this move, and to help ensure that women and girls can become active agents creating better lives for themselves and their dependants. 

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Profiles

This is Ajot Alice.  She is 30 years old and spent 4 years in captivity with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) a rebel group which has caused immense suffering in Northern Uganda.  When she was captured both her husband and two children were killed by the rebels.  During her time in captivity she was forced to participate in combat and lived as the forced wife of one of the commanders.  She gave birth to two children in captivity.  She is currently taking care of 7 children, 4 of her own and 3 orphans. 

This is Lalam Consi.  Consi is 14 years old and her dream is to become a nurse to be able to help people.  When Consi was captured by the LRA at the age of 11 both her parents were killed.  She still suffers from wounds she got during fighting but does not have enough funds to go to a hospital to get treatment.  She is currently in grade 6 and hopes to be able to continue her education if she can get support to cover school fees.

This is Orchola Ray.  She is an old grandma taking care of 17 orphaned children: some are orphans due to AIDS while others had their parents killed by the rebels.  Mama Ray is an amazing woman who works very hard to take care of all these children.  She recently got a loan of from a local organization to be able to start a small business selling vegetables to help increase her income

Lucy is a widow due to AIDS and she herself is HIV positive.  Lucy takes care of 5 children and her main concern is to be able to keep them in school.  Lucy joined a grassroots group of women called Candegmin (translated as, ‘poverty does not want you to be a fool’).  Through this group she was able to secure a loan of $7.50.  With this money she bought seeds to grow vegetables for sale.  She is very grateful for this opportunity as it means she does not have to spend all her time in the quarry where she had been crushing stones with a hammer to secure an income.