It starts with a village...but it certainly doesn't end there.
Though the coverage by The Guardian of The Katine Project has now ended, AMREF will continue working in Katine until 2011, focusing upon improving access to water and sanitation, as well as supporting and strengthening community structures.
Background
The project, a joint development partnership by AMREF, The Guardian and Barclays, was the initiative of the Guardian’s editor, Alan Rusbridger, who wanted to get involved in a long-term development project, with the newspaper and website acting as a bridge between the readers and the community involved. Through articles, blogs and videos etc, readers and web users were able to follow the course of the project, getting 'under the skin' of development and seeing the highlights and pitfalls along the way.
This tracking would be highlighted on a dedicated, innovative website on The Guardian: www.guardian.co.uk/katine
Soroti was always a deprived district, but development had been severely held back by the effects of the 20-year civil war in the nearby northern region. Rebel insurgencies in 2003 displaced the whole sub-county, killing people and cattle and razing whole villages to the ground. Mass displacement from the north, as a result of the conflict, has also placed a major strain on the already weak health and education facilities.
The health centre in Katine village had no electricity or running water and frequently runs out of basic essential drugs. People did not have the knowledge or means to protect themselves from easily preventable diseases, such as malaria. The conflict in northern Uganda had also destroyed much of the infrastructure in Katine, including schools, and also depleted farmers’ herds and crops.
The aims of the project
As with all AMREF projects, the Katine project works in partnership with community members and local government authorities so that the project closely responds to people’s needs and is sustainable.
The main objectives are to increase access to good quality health care, clean water and sanitation and education, as well as improve people’s ability to earn a decent living and give them a voice in local-decision making.
Barclays pledged £1.5m to the project, which included an upfront donation of £500,000 to get the programme underway and a further £1m in match-funding for readers' donations over the next three years. Barclays used the skills of its employees to work with AMREF in Katine to provide better access to financial services and help community members to better manage their small businesses and their money.
Find out more about The Story of Katine and how Katine residents' lives have changed.
