Search
Viewing 1665 to 1680 of 2668 news
-
In Uganda, innovation helped students survive during Covid lockdown
Racheal AKELLO | 06/10/2020
They had just received their biggest order ever. In February 2020, they won a contract to make 500 uniforms for pupils of Kisumu Primary School. But then Covid-19 struck. Schools and businesses were closed. Public and private transport were banned and a 7 pm curfew was introduced. For Juliet Aigo and Rose Akello, who run a tailoring shop in Uganda’s northeastern region of Karamoja, it was like a dream was shattered. They had worked hard to reach where they had. In this remote region, where child marriage and poverty are widespread, the two girls took an extraordinary step. They left the village to enroll in a training course in Moroto town, some 100 km away. The six-month course in tailoring and fashion design at Daniel Comboni Vocation Institute was part of a skills training programme, run by Enabel.After graduation, the two friends bought a sewing machine on credit and opened a tailoring workshop in the trading centre of Nakiripirit. As the business took off and more orders came in, they were able to pay off their sewing machine and buy two more. The uniform contract was going to be a huge boost for their infant business. “This was one of the biggest orders in three years. But as soon as we had started the work, the government announced a lockdown,” says Juliet. Not only was it a major setback for their business, the girls suddenly found themselves struggling to survive and slipping back into the poverty trap they had tried hard to escape. The course, however, had taught them to think out of the box, be innovative, and adapt to changing situations. When the use of masks in public places became mandatory, they saw it as an opportunity. They took their sewing machines home, to the village of Acerere, and started making face masks, which they sold at UGX 1,000 each. And since people in the village had no money for new clothes, the tailors made patching and repairing old clothes their new trademark. “It was business as usual and we survived better than most businesses during the lockdown,” says Rose. “On a good day, we made up to UGX 8,000.” They also turned to farming. On Julie’s family land, they produced their own sorghum and sold the surplus. That helped them acquire additional sewing machines and expand their workshop. Despite the setback caused by the Covid-19 epidemic, they not only managed to keep their business going but also to continue dreaming. “One day, we want to turn our workshop into a public training centre for fashion designers,” says Rose.
-
350 more Refugees & Host Communities trainees get skills training in West Nile - Uganda
Racheal AKELLO | 06/10/2020
Another 350 young people in Uganda’s West Nile region have enrolled in short term skills training courses organized by the Belgian development agency Enabel. This brings to 2,550 the total number of youth, both Ugandans and South Sudanese refugees, who have benefited from the programme in the last four years. The new batch of students, based in the districts of Arua and Yumbe, are trained in bakery, shoemaking and soap making, which are marketable enterprises in the area. “The courses last between 10 and 100 hours,” says Enabel’s training manager, Robert Kisoma. “At the end of the training, the beneficiaries receive a start-up kit to enable them start a business.” Bakery students are given a frying pan and a bag of wheat flour. Students in shoemaking get sowing needles and a shoe frame, while those in soap making receive a mold, a weighing scale and a bucket. The project, funded by the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF), aims to contribute to the peaceful co-existence of host and refugee communities. The region hosts over one million refugees. It also aims to address youth unemployment and poverty in West Nile – the second poorest region in Uganda, according to the World Bank. Indeed, a 2015 baseline study found that 71 percent of the youth in the region lived in extreme poverty, while an estimated 31 percent was unemployed. One of them was Jackson Eneku, a 23-year old Ugandan resident of Arua. Since he dropped out of secondary school, he had no way of making ends meet. Eneku was selected to participate in the bakery training and received the start-up kit. Now he is earning on average UGX30,000 a week from the sale of his locally baked bread. In the neighbouring district of Adjumani, Betty Doru, a 24-year old South Sudanese refugee who completed the same course, started a bakery with some fellow students. “With the sale of our bread, we have set up a saving scheme. Members can borrow money from the scheme to support their families,” she says. Kenneth Kaunda, Enabel’s Skills Development Director, says after the training, most beneficiaries either become self-employed or find a job. The majority see their income increase significantly. Research conducted by Enabel found that 80 percent of beneficiaries saw their earnings rise by at least 50 percent.
-
Les systèmes de collecte d’eaux pluviales, un enjeu important pour l’amélioration de l’hygiène en contexte de Covid-19
Carla MORVAN | 06/10/2020
Les infections liées aux soins de santé dans les FOSA (Formations Sanitaires) sont une cause importante de morbidité et de mortalité et entraînent une perte de ressources pour le secteur de la santé et une baisse de revenu des ménages à l’échelle mondiale. L’OMS estime qu’entre 5 et 30 % des patients hospitalisés contractent une ou plusieurs infections dont une grande partie pourrait parfaitement être évitée*. Ce constat est aujourd’hui amplifié par la pandémie de Covid-19 dont la prévention de l’infection nécessite des mesures d'hygiéne strictes.Au Burundi, certaines structures de santé n’ont pas accès à l’eau courante ce qui augmente le risque d'apparition des infections nosocomiales (maladies contractées dans un établissement de santé). Notons que le pays possède un climat tropical, avec une saison des pluies s’étendant de septembre à juin. La collecte des eaux pluviales est une technique qui permet d’alimenter les centres de santé en eau presque sur la totalité de l’année et ainsi renforcer l’hygiène dans le cadre de la stratégie de prévention et contrôle de l’infection (PCI) menée par le MSPLS.Dans le cadre de ses activités pour la mise en œuvre du Programme Résilience – Twiteho Amagara, Enabel appuie la construction de systèmes de collecte d’eaux pluviales au niveau de dix-sept centres de santé (CDS) basés dans les Provinces de Rumonge et Bujumbura. Jusqu’alors, aucun dispositif permettant un accès à l’eau au niveau de ces CDS n’avait été mis en place. La mise en place d’un système de collecte d’eaux pluviales (SCEP) permettra un gain de temps considérable pour les gardes malades qui n’auront plus à se rendre à plusieurs centaines de mètres voire kilomètres pour s’approvisionner en eau. Une amélioration considérable de l’hygiène des locaux est également attendue. Il s’agit d’un élément non négligeable dans la lutte contre les infections liées aux soins de santé, en particulier dans la prévention de la pandémie de Covid-19. Par ailleurs, le personnel des CDS, sera plus disponible pour les patient.e.s. Le système de collecte d’eaux pluviales permettra des économies budgétaires non négligeables pour les FOSA qui faisaient appel jusqu’à présent à des prestataires externes pour acheminer l’eau. Cette activité contribuera également à la réduction des inégalités de genre dans la mesure où il a été observé que les gardes malades sont en grande majorité les filles, les sœurs ou les mères des patient.e.s. Enfin, cette activité concoure à la protection de l’environnement notamment car la collecte de l’eau pluviale réduit la quantité d’eau ruisselante. Cette eau ruisselante est problématique à plusieurs niveaux. En effet, l’eau emporte sur son passage les déchets ce qui contamine les ruisseaux, les rivières et les lacs. De plus l’eau de ruissellement emporte également les fumiers épandus dans les champs et les espaces non mis en valeur engendrant un appauvrissement de sols ce qui diminue la productivité agricole. *Source : Normes essentielles en matière de santé environnementale dans les structures de soins – OMS – J. Adams, J. Bartram, Y. Chartier
-
Réunion du 2ème comité de pilotage du programme e-TAMKEEN - Maroc
Bassam ALAOUI MDAGHRI | 01/10/2020
Le 1er Octobre 2020, le programme e-TAMKEEN de renforcement des compétences des fonctionnaires femmes et hommes au niveau central et local en matière de digitalisation, a tenu son deuxième Comité de Pilotage par vidéo conférence.La rencontre a regroupé des représentants d'Enabel, du Département de la Réforme de l'Administration, de l'Agence de développement du Digital (ADD), de l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Administration (ENSA) et de la Direction du Budget relevant du Ministère de l'Economie, des Finances et de la Réforme de l'Administration (MEFRA). Les discussions étaient centrées principalement sur la présentation de l'état d'avancement du programme et sur la validation des chantiers du prochain trimestre.
-
Pig and poultry farmers to acquire more competences on value chains - Rwanda
Denise NSANGA | 30/09/2020
An online training was organized by Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) in collaboration with Enabel, for Livestock Farmer Field School Master Trainers on poultry (broilers, layers, dual purpose) and pig value chains with eventual capacity building of commercial small & large farmers on how to run farm business as an enterprise. The training is being delivered by Vetworks, a Belgian based consulting firm, which will share with trainees not only relevant innovations and experience but also designing, organizing and conducting Livestock Farmer Field School (L-FFS) training. The 10-day session will provide 14 trainees from RAB and the Private Sector operators with competences to train other 100 L-FFS facilitators on poultry and pig production techniques and entrepreneurship in 10 selected districts of project intervention.
-
In Rwanda, Belgium provides the Ministry of Health with 40 ambulances to support health sector
Denise NSANGA | 29/09/2020
The Kingdom of Belgium, on September 24, 2020 handed over 40 ambulances to the Ministry of Health of Rwanda to boost access to health services. The forty ambulances worth around Rwf2 billion will be dispatched in district hospitals throughout the country and aim to strengthen the health system and reach Rwanda’s target of 1 ambulance per 40.000 inhabitants by 2024, for better service delivery. Speaking at the event, Ambassador of Belgium to Rwanda Benoit Ryelandt said that the donation of ambulances was planned as part of the current Belgo-Rwandan cooperation in the health sector. “The Health sector is one of the components of the current 5-year Belgo-Rwandan cooperation 2019-2024. The 40 ambulances were planned to be delivered throughout the project but with COVID19 pandemic, it is even more useful to deliver all the ambulances now and at the same time to help contain the spread of the virus as well as other contagious diseases” said HE Benoit Ryelandt, Ambassador of Belgium in Rwanda. The Minister of Health, Dr. Daniel NGAMIJE said that the new ambulances will contribute to improve access to health care and service delivery to reduce deaths and reach the universal health coverage. He said: “The support of 40 ambulances to our health sector contributes to the attainment of the Government of the Rwanda National Strategy in the context of Epidemics response such as ebola virus desease and COVID19 pandemics to mention but a few.” The health sector is focusing on Maternal and Child Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health, including Family Planning, and Household access to health care. It covers 40% of the total envelope, i.e 45 million Euros.
-
In Uganda, an advert for a skills training programme changed Koojo’s life
Racheal AKELLO | 28/09/2020
Along Balya Road in Fort Portal, a town in western Uganda on the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, there is a small but busy graphic design shop, called Kabarole Red Enterprises. The owner and manager, John Koojo, proudly shows his equipment for making tie-dye embroidery and printing banners, signposts and labels. On display are screen printing machines, printing films, computers, T-shirts, fabric ink and dye. In less than 3 years, Koojo, aged 38, has made a name for himself. The demand for branded goods and customised T-shirts is high in this fast-growing town. Among his customers are schools, churches, cooperatives and businesses. He owes his success to an advert he came across in 2017. A graphic design teacher at Rosa Mystica Institute offered a six-month course to whoever was interested. The course was funded by the Belgian development agency as part of a skills training programme, aimed at addressing the huge problem of youth unemployment in Uganda. Although Koojo had studied Arts and Design at the university some 20 years earlier, he lacked the practical experience. Indeed, the university did not have any of the tools and machines needed in the present-day labour market. Failing to find a job after graduating from university, Koojo had worked for many years at his uncle’s tailoring workshop. The training course changed everything. His art and graphics skills greatly improved and with the sale of his first customised T-shirts, he was able to open a shop in the town’s business centre. Now he earns about 1.5 million shillings a month. With that money, he has been able to buy land, construct and furnish a house and send his three children to school. Koojo is also passing on his skills to other youth in Fort Portal. He trains them for three to five months and charges 500,000 shillings for the entire course. ‘If they wish to stay and work for me, they are allowed and they earn a commission on items sold and clients brought,’ he said. Isaiah Buttuura, an IT student from Makerere University, is one of his apprentices. Buttuura used the three-month lockdown, introduced by the Government to fight COVID-19, to get the practical skills needed to start up his own business. “The training has helped me to acquire skills. I was also able to earn some money which kept me going during the lockdown,” he said. Koojo's long-term dream is to transform his workshop into a quality training centre for unemployed youth. “Let young people get hands-on training. Skills development gives them a better chance to be job creators, rather than job seekers,” he said. The Skills Development Fund of the Belgian development agency has so far benefitted 2,450 young people in the Albertine-Rwenzori region.
-
World Clean Up Day en Guinée : Sanita villes propres collabore avec les partenaires locaux
Djene Deen KOUYATE | 25/09/2020
La journée internationale de l'assainissement #Worldcleanupday est une occasion exceptionnelle de mener des actions citoyennes d'assainissement. Le World Clean up Day est la plus grande action civique au cours d'une journée, des milliers de bénévoles et des partenaires du monde entier dans plus de 150 pays, se réunissent pour nettoyer le monde et débarrasser notre planète des déchets, nettoyer nos plages, rivières, forêts et rues.Sanita villes propres, un projet exécuté par Enabel sur financement de l'Union européenne, se joint depuis 2019 à cette célébration en accompagnant des bénévoles et des partenaires guinéens à l'initiative d'assainissement des lieux publics avec l'implication de différentes structures actives dans le secteur pour une meilleure gestion pérenne des déchets.Sanita villes propres appuiera tout ce mois de septembre ces initiatives bénévoles pour le World Clean Up Day, en nettoyant avec les autorités, les jeunes et la population environnante, les ONGs évoluant dans les zones abritants les nouvelles zones de transit et de tri.Grâce à ces actions, les populations environnantes pourront (re) vivre dans un quartier assaini et sans pollution; et elles s'engageront à les garder propres en gérant de manière adéquate leurs déchets et/ou en s'abonnant à un ystème professionnel de collecte de déchets.L'assainissement est la responsabilité de tous.
-
Word Cleanup Day: In Uganda, Fort portal residents adopt proper waste disposal
William YEKA | 22/09/2020
Fort Portal residents have been urged to desist from littering to safeguard the town’s image as Uganda’s Tourism City. Home to several tourism sites, Fort Portal is one of the 7 municipalities recently upgraded to cities. Speaking during cleanup day commemoration in Fort Portal town today, Enabel Resident Representative Christelle Jocquet said the district is the face of Uganda so should continue to look as such. “Littering is a major public health and environmental threat the world is battling today,” Jocquet said. “Rubbish and pollution is a growing problem in most cities, towns and communities.” Jocquet said improper waste disposal especially during this rain season could result in deadly illnesses such as Cholera. Uganda, she says can’t let this happen during these already dire times of the coronavirus disease. While government may have laws in place, Jocquet says everyone should make it a personal responsibility to keep the environment litter free. “Everyone desires to live in a clean environment since inaction affects you as an individuals as well as the larger community. It should therefore be the responsibility of each one to ensure he or she dumps waste in places designated for the purpose and this should be taught right from home,” she says. She commended the ban of the use of polythene bags commonly known as “kaveeras” saying it was a good step towards conserving the environment for future generations. “While the decision should be commended, there is a laxity in implementation since we still find kaveeras littered implying they are in use.” Jocquet said. World Cleanup Day is a global social civic action day commemorated yearly to discourage improper solid waste disposal. 80% of waste floating on water bodies is said to be mismanaged waste, posing a serious danger to human and aquatic life.
-
Utilisation de drones pour une agriculture climato-intelligente au Bénin
Reece-hermine ADANWENON | 18/09/2020
En collaboration avec des partenaires locaux, Enabel et la société TechnoServe développent des analyses par drone et d'images satellites pour améliorer les données sur la production de la noix de cajou au Bénin et les traduire en outils pour l'appui aux producteurs.Cette analyse aide à améliorer la compréhension du rendement et des changements dans l'utilisation des terres pour la production de noix de cajou et permet d’orienter les producteurs vers des conseils sur les pratiques agricoles intelligentes face aux enjeux climatiques. Un projet innovant partenaire du programme Wehubit d'Enabel.
-
Enabel signs an agreement to start the implementation of SAWA project in Gaza Strip
Roula HANDAL | 17/09/2020
Enabel signed an agreement with the Environment and Development Association (Byader), Centre for Women's Affairs (WAC) and the Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI) to begin implementing the project "Enhance Resilience for Micro-businesses and Create Sustainable livelihood Opportunities in the Gaza Strip - SAWA" with a budget of €1.650.000 funded by the European Union. SAWA is a 3-year project and aims to contribute to economic resilience in the Gaza Strip through enhancing the resilience and sustainability of micro-businesses in the Gaza Strip and initiating sustainable and innovative green/circular economy initiatives. SAWA meets the urgent needs of the most vulnerable population in marginalized communities in the Gaza strip and seeks to strengthen their economic resilience through focusing on niches among the initiatives of the selected beneficiaries. SAWA also helps facilitate new economic growth opportunities in the field of circular and green economies by providing green solutions to problems identified by the industrial sector and by creating new business opportunities for innovative green entrepreneurs. SAWA will be implemented in a partnership with experienced civil society organizations and private sectors in Gaza Strip following a community-based approach in which their capacity will be upgraded in the field of business development services and green/circular economy allowing them to deliver high quality services to their communities. As such, the project will support the creation of viable and economically sound micro-businesses that are essential for livelihood, self-employment and long-term job creation through providing capacity building, skills enhancement, seed funding coaching and mentoring and technical assistance to vulnerable and marginalized groups. The project will benefit 150 unemployed young people from training opportunities (administrative, financial, and technical), counseling and guidance sessions, grants to create micro-businesses, as well as 30 young entrepreneurs capable of creating innovative solutions in the green/circular economy. SAWA also supports partner institutions from civil society organizations and private sectors by providing capacity-building programs to enhance its institutional capabilities. The agreement was signed at Enabel office in Gaza strip in the presence of representatives of the Belgian development agency and partner institutions. Mrs. Haneen Abu Nahla, SAWA Intervention Officer and Enabel’s Office Manager in Gaza, Dr. Sabri Sabt, Chairman of Byader Foundation, Ms. Amal Siam, Executive Director of the Center for Women's Affairs (WAC) and Mr. Ali Hayek, Deputy Chairman of the Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI). As per the signed agreement, the project’s implementation starts mid of September 2020 for the duration of 20 months. The representatives of the partner institutions addressed the importance of this agreement in fighting unemployment, poverty, economic empowerment of young people and women, and enhancing the resilience and sustainability of micro-businesses in the Gaza Strip.
-
Irrigation dans l'Imbo Nord: la production agricole augmente de 50% - Burundi
Guido COUCK | 17/09/2020
Dans la province de Cibitoke, les travaux d’aménagement du périmètre Imbo-Nord (3.000 ha) entrepris par le projet PAIOSA ont permis une augmentation des superficies irriguées et une meilleure valorisation des productions agricoles via une gestion plus équitable et durable de l’eau.Ces travaux d'irrigation ont mené à une augmentation de la production brute de plus de 50%.
-
Resilient cities: Wehubit launches a new call for proposals!
Thibaut MONNIER | 15/09/2020
Through this new call for proposals, our Wehubit programme tackles the global challenge of sustainable and inclusive urbanisation as defined in our strategy.This call for proposals is open to any private or public non-profit organisation established in one of the 14 partner countries of the Belgian Development Cooperation which wishes to further develop a digital solution on the theme of resilient cities. These include, for instance, projects focusing on increasing citizen participation in urbanisation, more efficient management of public services reducing environmental impact, solidarity and social cohesion, and much more!Would you like to know more or inform potential partners? Do you know organisations that might be interested?Go to wehubit.be in the financing instruments menu.Participation in this call is open until October 22, 2020.
-
Covid-19 lockdown was a blessing in disguise for Acola Annette - Uganda
Racheal AKELLO | 10/09/2020
For many people, the 3 months lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic was a challenge. It was hard to survive on meager savings and adjust to the sudden change in the pattern of living where one was required to only stay at home. But for Acola Annette, the lockdown was a blessing in disguise. She got the rare opportunity to venture into her passion. Annette 24, a 2nd-year student at Karamoja’s Nakapiripirit Vocational institute in Uganda had a dream of setting up an animal husbandry farm.Following the closure of schools as a preventive measure to the spread of the COVID -19, she went home with an idea to sell the one cow that her mother has bequeathed her. The UGX 520,000 income from selling her cow, was re-invested to acquire a herd of 5 piglets each at UGX 70,000.” I knew this was the right thing for me to do because this area has many bars and people love eating pork” she reminisces with a smile.Annette’s pig farm has grown to include 13 pigs and she is now also buying local chicken to diversify her farm products. She also grows sorghum, sim-sim, and cassava to help feed the family. “I got the time to try out all the farm projects I had dreamed of because the end of lockdown coincided with the rainy season here in Karamoja,” she says. Annette says that the opening of restaurants has helped the business to grow. She sells 2-3 chicken a week and she is able to earn at least UGX 45,000. Her biggest challenge was feeding animals since they mainly feed on left-overs from restaurants and the pork orders were not anticipated since bars were closed. Annette dreams of becoming a veterinary Doctor at the end of her career.
-
Rehabilitated forests handed over to local cooperatives - Rwanda
Denise NSANGA | 03/09/2020
Forests in Rwanda cover 30% of land use. This is composed of 11.9 % (translated into 283 128 ha) of natural forests and 18.1 % (translated into 714 102 ha) of planted public and private forests. According to 2015 National Forest Inventory report, around 68% of non-protected tree plantation of Rwanda are owned by privates and many are poorly managed and over exploited (stem cut every 2-3 years in average) with a very low standing stock (17 m3/ha vs a standard of around 60-80 m3/ha as stipulated in the National Forest Inventory of 2015) and a productivity 2-3 times less than the ideal average standard of 12m3/ha/year. The lack of organisation of these forest growers working each individually on their very small size parcel has been limiting their performance and their joint knowledge and investment sharing opportunities. In consequence, these private forests were only producing around 0,8 Million of m3/year, while they should provide at least 2M m3 per year. This is why the support of these private forest owners is an essential pillar for the development of the forestry sector and sustain landscape restoration and watershed management.880 Ha of degraded private woodlots have been rehabilitated through the Private Forest Management Units (PFMUs) approach, and handed over to their owners - grouped in 18 cooperatives for sustainable management - in the four districts of intervention: Rwamagana in Eastern Province, Gakenke, Rulindo and Gicumbi in Northern Province. The project has been jointly implemented by Enabel and the Ministry of Environment through Rwanda Forestry Authority, to implement the Rwanda National Forestry Policy, 2018-2023.
