About the Uganda Partnership
As a Canadian Registered Charity, the Uganda Partnership is made up of a group of dedicated individuals in Canada and a community of inspiring individuals in Uganda. In Uganda, we work with local widows, grandmothers and children of which many have been affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty. All of our projects begin and are designed through our ongoing Participatory Action Research, where the benefactors of the projects are an integral part of the project from planning to execution.
We help to empower widows through group loans for income generation and housing. We promote health and HIV/AIDS awareness by helping to provide access to doctors and loans for medical bills. We assist children who are unable to pay for their school fees to attend school without worrying about being sent away. We have a positive presence in our community and work with people for empowerment, education and sustainable change.
What is Participatory Action Research?
“It is absolutely essential that the oppressed participate in the revolutionary process with an increasingly critical awareness of their role as subjects of the transformation.”
Paulo Friere
Participatory research is a research method that focuses on people rather than data and can be used as a powerful tool for developing communities.
For the Uganda Partnership, participatory research is a cornerstone of our work. Prior to initiating any project we do extensive research into what is needed and wanted by the community. Projects are often initiated by the beneficiaries themselves and in partnership with UP, participate throughout the process of the development and execution of a plan.
Without this principal of participation and partnership many of our projects would fall short. Ultimately, we aim to empower people and reduce the concept of dependence and helplessness. What we have seen is that as the people that are receiving help become empowered and they realise their potential to not only take control of their own situations but that they can impact others positively. They begin to want to reach out and help others, in this way the helped become the helpers.
Who We Are: In Uganda
Bago
Project Manager and Development Officer
Bago volunteers full time with the Uganda Partnership. He has 4 years teaching experience and a diploma in education and a certificate in guidance and counselling. Bago has a Bachelor of Development Studies degree from Kampala International University and is currently working on his Masters. Bago is very dedicated to his work with our orphans and widows and our projects would not be what they are today without his tireless efforts.
Webaze
Onsite Manager
Webaze is a community member and an advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS who volunteers full time with the Uganda Partnership. She educates and counsels people living with HIV/AIDS. Webaze is an organizer and advisor to other widows groups, modeling the success of the first group. Webaze has become a very important, integral member of the Uganda Partnership and we all appreciate the work that she contributes toward helping orphans and widows.
Resty
Widows Executive
Resty is the elected leader of the widows executive, and volunteers full time with the Uganda Partnership. She meets with all of the widows groups providing education and coordinating between the groups and Bago. We all appreciate the work and effort that Resty contributes toward the Uganda Partnership.
Who We Are: In Canada
Nina Morgan, PhD
President of the Board of Directors
Nina began working in Southwestern Uganda in 2007 and continues to work with the Uganda Partnership both in Uganda and Canada. Nina has her PhD from Cambridge University, having conducted her dissertation research with the community in Uganda. When in Uganda, Nina works directly with the widows and children in the villages. With Bago she coordinates the various projects under the Uganda Partnership and heads the participatory research strategy that guides all projects.
Marnie Colborne
Vice President of the Board of Directors
Marnie began working with the Uganda Partnership in 2009. Originally, she became involved through one of our Canadian fundraising partners, The Legacy Corporation. As a registered nurse, she works closely with partners in Uganda on healthcare projects.
Madison Laurin
Secretary & Treasurer
Madison also began volunteering with the Uganda Partnership in 2009 through the Legacy Corporation. Today, she is the Secretary and Treasurer supporting the organization in Canada and Uganda while pursuing her Master's degree in Adult Education with hopes of working further with the widows in Uganda.