As some of you might have seen in the news, parts of Africa are experiencing horrible flooding. Uganda is one of the countries hardest hit, and there are parts of the country that are completely cut of from the rest of the world. Estimates so far talk about 300,000 people directly affected by the rain but far more people have lost their crops and will be needing food aid as the next harvest is not until February. Most people live in mud huts with grass roofs, which can’t withstand the rain and are basically melting away, sometimes completely collapsing. The same thing has happened to many schools, which are often already in a dilapidated state and with few resources. Another major problem is collapsing and overflowing latrines, there have been several stories of people falling into latrines so naturally people are scared to use them. It is a major health issue since fecal matter from both latrines and animals is seriously contaminating water sources. Unfortunately it seems as the rains will continue at least until November, maybe even longer. The UN is doing what they can but with little money there is not much they can do. Some people have been receiving food aid and plastic tarps but most are still barely managing.
I was trying to get to Pader last week but was unable to go as the bridge going into Pader is completely flooded. The only way in is by air but even that is not very helpful as once in Pader town it is difficult to get to many of the surrounding camps. Many of the people in the North who have been living in camps, due to the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government, but moved back to their homesteads as the security situation has improved have now been forced to go back to the camps again as the rain has destroyed everything. There are great fears of diseases such as cholera and malaria and people prefer to be closer to food distribution centers and health clinics to be able to access any sort of assistance.
Instead of going to Pader I went to Gulu, another of the towns in the North. The situation is just as difficult there, all the women I talked to were telling me they have lost their crops, probably 1/3 don’t have a house anymore, and all of them don’t know how to get by until next harvest. CAFWA is working together with several groups in Gulu. One group is called Grassroots Women’s Association for Development, a membership organization with 250 members. GWAD has asked for help with a tree planting project which will help the members increase their income through tree planting – a mix of income generating trees such as fruit trees, trees for construction and also long-term planting to help with reforestation. In addition to helping with the tree planting project we are also looking into educating and helping to provide fuel efficient stove. Most people use fire wood for cooking and the production of charcoal is a severe threat to the indigenous forests, we therefore believe a tree planting project needs to combine education and access to stoves to try and reverse the trend of deforestation. I am also working with GWAD to help provide small loans to groups of women to help start businesses. This is something we are moving ahead with very slowly as we want to ensure that the funds are actually used for what they are supposed to and that we give the women the tools they need to be able to succeed. For example we want to make sure the women have a business plan, some knowledge of accounting, and start something that is realistic and with a potential for success. Many of the women are illiterate so that as a start is a challenge.
CAFWA is also working with a number of smaller women’s groups in Gulu who have requested help with agricultural training, and tools such as hoes and seeds. I spent a day talking with 95 women to learn exactly what it is they need and how we can help them achieve that. These are all women who are internally displaced and living in camps. They all have been severely affected by the war. Some of them were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and spent several years in the bush, many coming back as girl mothers. Others are widows as their husbands have been killed by the rebels or died from AIDS. Several of the women are HIV positive.
CAFWA is also doing needs assessment of all the smaller grassroots organizations in Gulu. Our goal is to connect with more groups such as GWAD to be able to reach a higher number of women, and also see how we can best assist these groups to increase their capacity and effectiveness. Many groups rely on volunteers and have budgets of a few hundred dollars a year yet they are able to incredible work. But there are also groups that only exist in name and seek to take advantage of funds from larger NGOs. I have seen groups who advertise computer training for girl mothers but don’t own a single computer, others who supposedly provide help to orphans and vulnerable children but once asked they can’t take me to anyone they have helped. So it is a slow process, weeding out those who are actually providing a difference from those who only seek to make some money.
Please email me if you have any questions about the work we are doing, or if you have any comments or suggestions. For anyone interested in giving a donation you can do so either through paypal from our website www.cafwaafrica.org or by sending a check to
CAFWA. We have just received noticed that we qualify as a 501(c) 3 so all donations are tax deductible.
C/o Alex Cole
736 Coyote Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108
horrible flooding. Uganda is one of the countries hardest hit, and there are parts of the country that are completely cut of from the rest of the world. Estimates so far talk about 300,000 people directly affected by the rain but far more people have lost their crops and will be needing food aid as the next harvest is not until February. Most people live in mud huts with grass roofs, which can’t withstand the rain and are basically melting away, sometimes completely collapsing. The same thing has happened to many schools, which are often already in a dilapidated state and with few resources. Another major problem is collapsing and overflowing latrines, there have been several stories of people falling into latrines so naturally people are scared to use them. It is a major health issue since fecal matter from both latrines and animals is seriously contaminating water sources. Unfortunately it seems as the rains will continue at least until November, maybe even longer. The UN is doing what they can but with little money there is not much they can do. Some people have been receiving food aid and plastic tarps but most are still barely managing.
was trying to get to Pader last week but was unable to go as the bridge going into Pader is completely flooded. The only way in is by air but even that is not very helpful as once in Pader town it is difficult to get to many of the surrounding camps. Many of the people in the North who have been living in camps, due to the conflict between the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Ugandan government, but moved back to their homesteads as the security situation has improved have now been forced to go back to the camps again as the rain has destroyed everything. There are great fears of diseases such as cholera and malaria and people prefer to be closer to food distribution centers and health clinics to be able to access any sort of assistance. 
Development, a membership organization with 250 members. GWAD has asked for help with a tree planting project which will help the members increase their income through tree planting – a mix of income generating trees such as fruit trees, trees for construction and also long-term planting to help with reforestation. In addition to helping with the tree planting project we are also looking into educating and helping to provide fuel efficient stove. Most people use fire wood for cooking and the production of charcoal is a severe threat to the indigenous forests, we therefore believe a tree planting project needs to combine education and access to stoves to try and reverse the trend of deforestation. I am also working with GWAD to help provide small loans to groups of women to help start businesses. This is something we are moving ahead with very slowly as we want to ensure that the funds are actually used for what they are supposed to and that we give the women the tools they need to be able to succeed. For example we want to make sure the women have a business plan, some knowledge of accounting, and start something that is realistic and with a potential for success. Many of the women are illiterate so that as a start is a challenge. 
CAFWA is also working with a number of smaller women’s groups in Gulu who have requested help with agricultural training, and tools such as hoes and seeds. I spent a day talking with 95 women to learn exactly what it is they need and how we can help them achieve that. These are all women who are internally displaced and living in camps. They all have been severely affected by the war. Some of them were abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and spent several years in the bush, many coming back as girl mothers. Others are widows as their husbands have been killed by the rebels or died from AIDS. Several of the women are HIV positive.