UWESO and Its Communities

UWESO is an indigenous, non-governmental, interdenominational and non-political development agency working to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVCs) in Uganda, with programs targeting children themselves, their households and their communities.  It works through grass roots community groups called clusters.  These clusters select their own members from the community, are comprised of 35-200 members and usually meet once a week.  UWESO has well established programs in four main areas: Food Security & Nutrition, Health, Social Economic Empowerment, and Education & Child Protection.  Informal interviews with the staff regarding present efforts by the office here have indicated that, within this region, the most sustainable of the main areas is the Social Economic Empowerment area, more specifically, the Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs).  VSLAs are comprised of 10 to 25 members of a cluster, chosen by themselves, and allow for members to have a safe way to save money and make loans among themselves.  In the past, they have operated only from their own savings and the service charges paid by members who take out loans.  The VSLAs also form Social Funds, which require an agreed upon deposit by every member and can be used as a kind of insurance, for example, in the event that there is a death in a member’s family.  For accountability purposes, members share out at the end of a cycle, which is usually a year.  These associations have not only thrived on their own regardless of UWESO’s funding resources but have continued to multiply, even without the guidance or the training of the UWESO staff.  The need for food security is also very evident in the villages, as the responsibility of providing food for several OVCs often falls upon a single adult, and conversations with the communities themselves and the staff have indicated that pigs would greatly benefit the communities because they multiply very quickly, are relatively more resistant to disease, and produce relatively large numbers of offspring.  For more information on UWESO, its communities and its programs you are welcome to visit their website at www.uweso.org.