About The Uganda Partnership
Our work began as a grassroots collaboration in 2007. As a popular education practitioner and researcher, UP’s Board President Dr. Christina Morgan, was doing research in Uganda when she was connected with a group of passionate locals, including experienced development workers, community leaders and teachers, who were dedicated to making change in their communities. Christina consulted with these locals to understand and assess the need that existed in their community and slowly began to bring together other compassionate volunteers and donors in Canada to support the project. The volunteers in Canada were brought in to support and steward the development ideas of those identifying and experiencing the need in Uganda. To this day, the organization continues to run as a collaboration in this way, a philosophy which we hold closely. Our philosophy is derived from participatory research methodology and critical pedagogy, based on the work of Paolo Freire. ​​​​​​
​From the beginning, Christina worked closely with the Bitereko Widows Association (BWA), an association of widows working in solidarity to bring themselves out of poverty.
The initial and most pressing need that was identified and which we began to address as a grassroots group was the level of marginalization experienced by the widows. Many women in the region, Bitereko sub-county, had been widowed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In Uganda, as well as much of sub-Saharan Africa, there is significant stigma associated with HIV/AIDS. Widows in this context experience stigma threefold: they are culturally stigmatized for the fact that their husband contracted and succumbed to the virus; they are socially stigmatized if (which is often the case) they contracted HIV/AIDS from their husband; and, perhaps most devastatingly, they are economically stigmatized based on the assumption that they are not capable of providing a future for their families since their husbands are gone.
Initially, our group began to address this third issue by fundraising for and offering student sponsorships for widows’ children (our PIF Student Sponsorship program). ​In 2008, the BWA expressed a need for small funding opportunities and through the participatory process with Christina an idea for no interest, no deadline group loans emerged. This idea was trialed with the first group and based on the successful outcomes other groups formed and joined the BWA and successfully participated in the microfinance group loan program. All the while, UP was working closely with the BWA to offer adult education and empowerment opportunities, including raising awareness of HIV/AIDS and providing access to treatment. ​​
Where do we work?
Our organization operates in the Bitereko sub-county of Southwestern Uganda. The sub-county is characterized by hills, forests and escarpments on the western rift valley and the region experiences alternating wet and dry seasons. The major source of livelihood in this region is subsistence farming and selling crops, especially bananas. Livelihoods can be disrupted by high instances of malaria, lower harvest production, reduction of land acreage, increase in crop diseases and an increasingly unreliable climate.
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The region is rural and most communities, including ours, are accessible only by dirt road. Locals generally travel by foot or motorcycle and, combined with the terrain and weather, this makes it difficult for individuals to access resources like food or goods from nearby cities/trading centres or services like schools, government agencies, and clinics/hospitals.
What makes UP different?
​Education and health care are common areas of focus within international development however, our innovative participatory philosophy and willingness to pursue meaningful collaborations guarantees the effectiveness and longevity of our development work.
After a few years of their microfinance loan program, the BWA ambitiously identified a desire to open a primary school to address the need for quality education for children in the community. In 2012, after the land and initial buildings for the Legacy Community Primary School were purchased (fundraised via The Legacy Corporation), the BWA and our Project Director, Bago, began to operate a successful primary school. The site of the Legacy Community Primary School continues to develop over time and we will soon be expanding to build the Legacy Community Clinic. These infrastructure developments are being funded by The Figment Foundation, another Canadian registered charity that we have partnered with since 2021.
Since 2021, the Legacy Community Primary School has become a beacon of hope and positive change for the surrounding community adding to our organization’s positive reputation in our region and bolstering community support for our projects.
A Timeline of the Uganda Partnership
2008
Microfinance Group Loan Program with the BWA began. We also began our fundraising partnership with The Legacy Corporation in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
2010
UP became incorporated as a Non-Profit Society in Alberta, Canada.
2007
Our work in Uganda began with an initial focus on adult education, student sponsorships, and access to HIV healthcare with the Bitereko Widows Association (BWA).
2018
UP began the work of applying for charitable registration in Canada. UP also became involved with Youthnited Nations Inc. during the initial planning and fundraising for the future Legacy Community Clinic.
2020
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down operation of the Legacy Community Primary School and halts all UP projects in Uganda. Fundraising from The Legacy Corporation, Youthnited Nations Inc, and individuals in Canada allowed our community members some basic needs throughout this difficult time.
2024
UP continues to grow as an organization working closely with the BWA, the Legacy Community Primary School, the Figment Foundation and a handful of other funders & supporters.
2023
The BWA restarts its microfinance group loan program for the first time since the pandemic.
2022
UP continues to support the recovery of our community in Uganda from the COVID-19 pandemic. Uganda had some of the strictest lockdowns and therefore some of the most significant setbacks from the pandemic. The Figment Foundation plays a significant role in this recovery.
2021
UP gained status as a Canadian Registered Charity! This allowed us to partner with The Figment Foundation for infrastructure development at the Legacy Community Primary School and future Legacy Community Clinic.
Project Team in Uganda
In Uganda, a qualified group of individuals lead our various development projects and work closely together to ensure that our work is responsive to the community's needs.
Volunteer Board in Canada
In Canada, our volunteer board is dedicated to securing funding, providing organizational support, and maintaining PAR philosophy for the project in Uganda.