A drive to remember: ECOaction at work in the Covid-19 lockdown
By Reagan Kandole, Mia Perry, Vanessa Duclos, Raihana Ferdous and Deepa Pullanikkatil
The Covid 19 pandemic continues to expose the most vulnerable people in Uganda’s communities. As the country transitioned towards a total lockdown, banning public transport, strict regulations on the labor force and only essential services — monitored by the health and security sector — the progress and gains made by community initiatives like ECOaction have been threatened. ECOaction is a non profit organisation that creates income and livelihood opportunities for the most marginalised urban youth and women through innovations in waste management. ECOaction is located in Banda, an unplanned settlement of Kampala City, Uganda. The organisation works with the most vulnerable groups of plastic collectors, mainly elderly women and young adults, and provides them with alternative markets for recycled products. ECOaction also builds the capacity of its beneficiaries around waste management and environmental conservation. One of the main challenges in our community right now is that they are not able to sell any of the plastics they collect to the recycling companies during the lockdown, which means they have no money to pay for food to feed their families.
“For most of the women we support, the main source of income is collecting plastics and if they cannot move around to collect and sell these bottles, then they are not able to feed their families. Even with the government’s attempts to distribute food to the most vulnerable, not everyone will be able to access that support and there is an urgent need for more basic supplies to be distributed. Otherwise, there is a risk that many people will die of starvation, malaria, stress and many other diseases”. Reagan Kandole, Executive Director of ECOaction.
The photo story below depicts the journey that ECOaction’s team took, despite public transport bans and distancing policies, to reach out to this community
Translation into arts
By Vanessa Duclos and Reagan Kandole
Reagan Kandole, Executive Director of ECOaction, an NGO based in Kampala, Uganda, shares with us how the current worldwide crisis coverage inspired him to translate information into arts – channeling the doubts during the lockdown into creativity. If you want to get in touch with the artist, you can do so here.
Corona
By Tom Ketlogetswe, Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Botswana
Your strength is not in doubt
You are stronger than many imagined
Nations are perishing
Locals are hiding in fear
Your strength knows no boundaries
Your sweeping powers are unimaginable
Leaders across the globe shiver
Heroes are neither spared
The poor have no place to hide
The rich are contemplating hiding in cosy closets
You have unleashed your strength
Indeed you have surpassed your immediate predecessors
Copyright: Tom Ketlogetswe 2020
Photo essay - Clean Air Project Launch
By Reagan Kandole, Dalton Otim, Anthony Kadoma and Vanessa Duclos
The proliferation of plastics globally is now a major challenge, especially over the last two decades. Worldwide, we are producing over 300 million tons of plastic each year, 50% of which is for single use purposes. More than 8 million tons is dumped into the ocean yearly, becoming a big environmental issue and threat to our ecosystems and biodiversity. Kampala city, Uganda, generates 750 tons of waste a day of which half is collected and sent to the dumpsites. The other half, mainly plastics and polythene, is irresponsibly disposed and finding its way from our communities and streets, to drainage channels, to rivers, lakes, and wetlands.
This problem is even more prominent in the urban slum dwellings. School setting is one of the best platforms for promoting proper solid waste management through education, skills workshops, and fun activities outside classrooms, hence enhancing teamwork. By sensitizing the children, behavior changes can be fostered around proper waste management.
ECOaction, an SFA Network NGO partner, together with Kampala City Council Authority, AEIF Alumni 2019 and five primary schools in Kampala City (Namirembe Infants School; Bat Valley Primary School; Kawempe Muslim School; St Ponsiano Kyamula School and Luzira Church of Uganda School) received funding from the Ugandan US Embassy to implement the “Clean Air Project” in 2020.
The following photo essay takes you through the launch event, which took place on March 6th 2020.
Why Volunteering is so Rewarding
By Ruth Mumba, Director, Abundance, Malawi
I read somewhere, “Volunteers are love personified”. I think that phrase truly defines what volunteering is. It’s a service beyond self. A journey that cannot be summed up in financial terms but with immeasurable returns. My volunteering journey led me to be part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship 2019. The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, which began in 2014, is the flagship program of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) that empowers young people through academic coursework, leadership training, and networking. The Fellowship provides outstanding young leaders from Sub- Saharan Africa with the opportunity to hone their skills at a U.S. college or university with support for professional development after they return back to their home countries. Fellows engage in Academic and Leadership Institutes, meet with U.S. federal, state, and local government officials, participate in community service, visit organizations to gain professional development, and make friendships and professional contacts with Americans.
I have been volunteering since I was 17 years old. But I never imagined how key volunteering would be for my life. Back then, I did it to get enough credit hours in order to graduate high school. When I got to university, I paid more attention to why I was volunteering. I realised I did it to help other people to see a different perspective to life. We would go to a rural village every Saturday morning to teach children early childhood development skills. We played games, sang songs and had discussions on various aspects of life like education and the importance of good health. I felt so fulfilled in those few hours I spent with the children and got a new energy for the new week of classes, assignments and lecture hours back at university.
In 2016 I started working with Abundance Worldwide and became part of a larger group of volunteers on a more professional level. Abundance Worldwide is part of the Sustainable Futures in Africa (SFA) and amongst our partners and networks, we have created a platform where we can remotely volunteer and contribute to individual partner projects from activities including website development to grant applications.
There have been days I thought that I was biting more than I could chew. Communities sometimes have expectations far beyond our capability. But by working together, I have experienced an ease doing developmental work. Together, we were able to resolve conflicts in communities, help develop technical skills of the youth and built an E-Learning centre that the whole community has access to. We have engaged student volunteer to teach and mentor their peers in deprived communities.
While in the United States of America, I had a first experience of being an international volunteer, in a developed country! I had a chance to cook for the homeless, went to a farm to harvest produce for a food bank and planted trees at a local park. I realised that the world has the similar problems. We cannot sit back to wait for institutions or governments to fix them. Sometimes, it is up to us, the people, to come together, pull our resources and help those who are unable to.
I believe that one reason I made it into the Mandela Washington fellowship was due to my leadership and volunteering spirit. To see a sustainable future of Africa is to imagine the possibilities and act on it. Volunteers go far and beyond boundaries. This month at Abundance, we are hosting a Volunteer from France, Julie Charmetant. We are sharing notes on our individual volunteering journey. We want to teach, give health related advise, provide financial literacy and many more. Equipped with passion to see change, volunteers can leave a long lasting impact in individuals and communities they work in. We at Abundance are striving to do just that.
About the author
Ruth Mumba is a Geologist with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Earth Sciences and Geography from the University of Malawi, Chancellor College. She has been working for the past five years at the Geological Survey Department under Government of Malawi focusing on geological mapping and geothermal resources exploration. She is a Mandela Washington Fellow (2019) and the Director of a voluntary non-profit organisation, “Abundance” (member of SFA network) which supports a village in southern Malawi using an integrated approach. Her passion is volunteerism and supporting vulnerable communities and works towards supporting communities in Malawi use their natural resources in a sustainable manner, have access to quality education, technologies and health facilities.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Skills Development for Community Youth
ECOaction has partnered with a local girls school, Nabisunsa Girls School, to motivate youth in the community to reduce, reuse and recycle! Reagan has described how their school grounds have been transformed into a colorful urban garden with greenhouses for growing crops. It is hoped that the skills that these pupils will gain through this experience will help the youth tackle unemployment.
Dr Grace Lubaale of Kyambogo University spoke to The Daily Monitor, a Ugandan newspaper praising Reagan's community work, outlining that:
“Instead of many educators clinging to old and increasingly ineffective methods of teaching, it is better to use innovative teaching methods. This will help to produce a type of students that think outside the box, who can use what is available to bring about something new,”
“The amount of rubbish we create is constantly increasing because we have no proper disposal policy and if all our students are trained on how to manage this waste, they can extend the knowledge to the bigger communities,” says Reagan Kandole of ECOaction village, Banda.
_____________________________
Success for Abundance Fundraiser; eLearning Center secured for rural Malawi!
Abundance graduated from the GlobalGiving Accelerator program, becoming a regonised partner, through successfully raising $5,538 from 60 unique individual donors in 18 days in June 2018 to support their project, "Build an eLearning Center in rural Malawi!".
eLearning provides many benefits to rural community, as through this they can stay up-to-date with information that can help improve their lives. Abundance therefore sought help through GlobalGiving to fundraise for setting up an eLearning center at the village we work in. Donations were received from USA, UK, Canada, Malawi, Singapore, South Africa, India, Qatar, Swaziland and many more. Sustainable Futures in Africa network partners also donated to support this. The funds received will be used to purchase solar panels, Keepods, keepod-ready laptops, furniture and for holding training sessions at the eLearning center.
GlobalGiving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world. Having participated in the June 2018 Accelerator program, Abundance has been vetted and approved and are now recognized partners of GlobalGiving.
Here is the link to Abundance’s project: http://goto.gg/33386
A 'short and sweet' visit to the SFA Hub, Kampala
By Molly Gilmour, SFA Administrator, Glasgow
From the 14th to 17th May, Sustainable Futures in Africa Principal Investigator Dr Mia Perry and Sustainable Futures in Africa (SFA) Glasgow Hub Administrator Molly Gilmour traveled to Kampala, Uganda for what can only be described as the definition of a ‘short and sweet´ meeting.
Tuesday 15th May 2018: Makerere University
On May 14th Mia and I arrived to the University Guest house where we stayed during our visit. Arriving at almost midnight, we could still see the buzz of the city – people sharing meals by the road, small traders bustling around the city’s streets, a city that felt inviting, warm and friendly.
We spent the morning having coffee with Alex and Anthony, SFA Hub Coordinator and Administrator respectfully, when we then walked to the College of Education and External Studies. It was fantastic to see where my counterpart, whom I work so closely with, spends his 9-5. After having the privilege to meet many of the respective Makerere University Deans and Heads of School, we embarked on a SFA Uganda hub meeting. At this meeting we caught up with network plans which have developed, especially those that were made during the recent meeting at the University of Glasgow – which our Ugandan partners were unfortunately unable to attend due to (what I would describe as draconian) UK Immigration authorities. We looked back at recent events in order to look forward; how can the SFA network develop - concerning research as we ask ‘how can we develop methodologies through arts based practices’, and ‘how can we ensure the core coordination of this network continues’, as it was evident through our short visit how imperative SFA Administrator Anthony is to our Ugandan colleagues.
That afternoon SFA spoke at the weekly lunchtime seminar. It was attended by both students and academic staff from across the college. PI Dr Mia Perry spoke about the SFA Network and shared a presentation about the methodologies created and used by SFA. This had a fantastic impact on the attendees, as PhD students enquired as to how they could undertake a PhD placement with the network, and the Dean of Education outlining that he will introduce the SFA ‘Reporting Back Method’ to the Board of Directors for the Makerere University Graduate School.
Wednesday 16th May: ECOaction
One of the highlights for me - So many serendipitous moments, uncomfortable moments, moments of realisation … dancing and laughing moments...
Walking through the slum-like-squatted area of Kampala, the smell of burning plastics and the dust being kicked up by school aged kids reminded me of my former missions with Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières; Something I wasn’t expecting which brought both a sense of familiarity and discomfort. Yet, arriving to the bright, warm and safe space which is ECOaction, and hearing the music, seeing the dancing, I felt right at home! Reagan welcomed us wholeheartedly as we arrived; Mia, Anthony, Alex, Vincent, Richard and I. Reagan, as accurately reflected in his projects, is an energetic, warm and a colourful character.
Sitting in a room, one constructed by the community of recycled bottles, Reagan facilitated an introduction to SFA, SFA’s partners and introductions were conducted around this room. We met with Nilotika Cultral Ensemble, who performed for SFA partners alongside the community’s youth. Nilotika Cultural Ensemble shared their experiences of working with Western Organisations, and one member shared the challenges he endured during his previous partnerships with a quote ‘I am asked to sign at the expense of my culture’, that the financial stipulations by Western funding bodies allow for little/no autonomy for African partners. Being in this space as a University of Glasgow representative, an institution who have historically wholeheartedly embodied these extractive partnerships, I was faced with discomfort, but also the realisation that these partnerships must change: That there is a lot of work to do in building both trust and real relationships. There were countless examples of these damaged power relations throughout the three day visit which I experienced, and will continue to reflect and learn from.
The evening was spent conducting ‘strategic planning’ with key stakeholders at ECOaction. More will be shared come on this in the coming months!
Thursday 17th May: 32 Degrees East
Another cool, colourful and creative space in Kampala, SFA Partner 32 Degrees East is a multi-purpose resource centre including hosting artist in residence, meeting centres and art studios. Mia and Is final day, Thursday, was spent on future planning. What future research projects is SFA going to undertake next? What funding is best suited? What partners will be involved? Anthony and I, the SFA Glasgow and Uganda research administrators, created communications strategies and Impact toolkits for the research hubs.
Mia and I finished the day sitting by Victoria Lake with Richard, Alex, Twine, Reagan and Arnold conducting ‘Knowledge Exchange’ on ‘how to take the perfect selfie’
The SFA Botswana hub, based in the University of Botswana, has made excellent developments over the recent weeks. The official hub report has been shared amongst core SFA partners alongside core SFA Botswana stakeholders, particularly the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Deans of faculty of Environmental Science and Adult Education, alongside the Office of Research and Development in the University of Botswana. Currently we are working towards a stakeholder dissemination workshop, where we will report back to the community which were partners for the research trials of summer 2017, This will be held in Mmadinare with members of this community in the month of July 2018.
The team has finalised on the New Arts and Culture partnership during the Hub meeting held on the 18th April 2018. Mr Tom Ketlogetswe from Thapong Visual Arts organization was introduced to the team and they all welcomed him as a representative of Botswana SFA partnership with Thapong Visual Arts organization: https://www.transartists.org/air/thapong-visual-art-centre. Thapong Visual Arts Centre is located in Gaborone and seeks to promote unity and excellence within the Visual Arts in Botswana in all communities, through sharing skills, enabling personal growth and development and promoting arts locally and internationally through networking.
Of late we met with another potential Environmental partner, Botswana Community Based Organisations Network (BOCOBONET). The organization works with communities on issues of the environment and natural resources to promote Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) program. (https://trickleout.net/index.php/directory-pilot/botswana/bocobonet-botswana-community-based-organisations-network)
The Botswana SFA Hub coordinator, and administrator met with a team of BOCOBONET delegates on the 8th of May 2018 for an introductory meeting. We extended our invitation of partnership to them and they enthusiastically accepted. They will be introduced to the team in the next meeting where it will be decided upon partnership with them.
-- SFA Research Administrator
https://www.facebook.com/thapongarts.bw/
ECOaction
SFA partner Reagan Kandole founded a Waste Management Education Project “ECOaction” where he engages the youth and the community in handling waste
We’re a registered environmental, non-profit organization, currently located and operating within in Banda, one of Kampala’s slum areas. Since 2011 we support disadvantaged youths and women from this area, through multiple activities, aiming to build sustainable livelihoods as well as new and additional income opportunities.
Over the last seven years, our main beneficiaries and partners have been a group of garbage collectors, who lived in the Banda area. This community consists of 106 individuals, mainly single mothers and children, who collect and sort garbage, like plastic bottles or scrap metal, for saleable items. For specific activities, the group was always joined by several other, unemployed youths from the area. Some of the activities carried out have been: engaging in urban farming (kitchen gardens and poultry); briquette making from biodegradable waste; composting; greenhouse construction; construction of children’s playgrounds; building bathroom shelters out of plastic bottles; public art installations; school libraries or conduction of waste management workshops.
The outcomes, especially given the very few available resources, have been impressive and have led to a significant improvement of the livelihoods of the involved people and their environments. Unfortunately our community was then suddenly displaced in 2017, as the landlord decided to develop the land and evicted everybody within a week of notice. Since then the community members are dispersed and live under extremely vulnerable situations.
But this unforeseen event also gave us, as a very young organization, the chance to evaluate and review our structures and processes. To learn from the experiences we’ve made and to identify the necessary steps to sustainably implement the concept of Zero Waste and make it available to everybody. Because our vision includes, but yet goes far beyond, the improvement of individual livelihoods. Our goal is to create an environmental movement in Uganda which promotes the benefits of an eco-friendly society beyond trash, and where empowered and responsible citizens live in harmony with their environment.
Vision Statement:
An empowered and responsible society where citizens live in harmony with their environment, while sustainably creating new job opportunities for the most marginalized urban youth and women through innovation in waste management
Mission Statement:
Creating an environmental movement in Uganda which promotes the benefits of an eco-friendly society beyond trash through capacity development, community empowerment, innovation and partnerships across sectors.
For more information and for more colourful and creative photos check out the ECOaction
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ECOaction-52417579767297
- Follow Reagan on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kandole_reagan/
https://www.facebook.com/524175797672978/videos/1711759998914546/