Uganda: Agricultural initiative a success
Youth Action International has successfully implemented the Family Empowerment Initiative to support children made vulnerable by AIDS, poverty and conflict in Rakai District. In the first phase of this program, YAI provided 150 families with seeds and tools for subsistence farming. We trained farmers on various topics including post-harvest handling, good environmental practices, and seeds preservation. This has helped with food security for the families and enables them to provide basic necessities for the children.
The second phase was to support the community in groups to develop grain stores. YAI provided the communities with necessary training to start the grain stores. This will help the entire community at such times when availability of grains deteriorates, when terms of trade shift in favor of grain traders and when purchasing power declines.
The final phase was to provide training in Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) to families in Rakai. VSLAs are groups with between 15 and 30 members. This program reaches the most marginalized people in Rakai that have low or no income and it operates on a large scale that it will eventually provide sustainable profitable savings, insurance and credit services.