ACT Uganda Blog

Joan Rukundo (pronounced joe ahn  roo koon dough), is one of ACT's HONOR Scholarship beneficiaries. Joan is a double orphan, last-born, from a humble family of five children. Joan's father died when she was 3 years old and her Mom died when she was 13 years and in Senior 1 (8th grade).  From then she began living a miserable life living alone in her parent's house because all her siblings had gotten married.  Joan is a clever and hard-working young woman. She concentrated on her books to make sure that she met her earlier academic bursaries (scholarships) which is the only way she could attend school. Joan was remained in the Girl's Dorm one break with two other girls. She did not want to go home and be pressured by her family to get married. She wanted to study!  It was fortunate that ACT introduced a scholarship program at Muko High School called the ACT Empowerment Scholarship and Joan qualified for the scholarship. She is proud of that.  In 2021, ACT transitioned t

"May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall softly upon your fields, And, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of God's hands." A wonderful, well-known, oft-spoken Irish prayer on this St. Patrick's Day - March 17th, 2023.  The meaning of this sentiment in Irish tradition is  that the "wind' represents the breath of the Holy Spirit, that the sun and rains represent love and appreciation for nature and the environment. This week brought the rains to Muko in order to begin another planting season. In Uganda, they do not describe summer, fall, winter, spring but rainy and dry seasons. We in the US, complain and exclaim much about the weather day-to-day but in Uganda, it represents whether the farmers will be able to grow the food for their family's survival.  The Muko residents work hard to plant, maintain and harvest their plots of land with basically one tool - a lo

My name is Moses Kamushaba. I am a Boda Boda driver (motocycle taxi) at Muko Market. One day I was transporting one of the HANDS team members heading out to distribute the iron rich bean seeds to farmers in Kabere Parish in March of 2021.  I sat there on my motorcycle as farmers in that group received the knowledge about iron rich beans agronomy and the seeds for planting. The Team Leader talked about crop spacing and how local farmers can utilize the small plots of land they own for their household as far as crop and nutrition is concerned.  Moses Kamushaba seated on his motorcycle in 2021 listening to the ACT presentation One time I asked Onesmas if I can get a chance of receiving the seeds so that I try it at home. I received 3 kgs of iron rich beans at the ACT Resource Center in September of 2022. Onesmas further taught me about the garden management practises, recommendable crop spacing, factors to consider while planting, nutrition and malnutrition, food security, breast feeding

As we move into March already (how can that possibly be?), we are so thrilled to share our gorgeous 2022 Annual Report with everyone! Our Communications Team Leader, Diane Busch facilitates getting all the information, does a good deal of the writing, designs the report and publishes it every year. We are so very grateful for her dedication and skills. Please enjoy all that everyone accomplished in 2022. And, if you have any comments or questions, you can capture them here or send them to me, waechtersue@gmail.com Here is the link to read the full report: 2022 ACT Annual Report And here is the cover page... Now, let's get busy and celebrate our 20th Anniversary in 2023!