Life in Africa-Global Discussions

Disaster in Uganda

About a week ago , I was watching the TV and was overwhelmed with sympathy at the loss in Haiti , filled with pity yet I had nothing much I could do about it, little did I know that very soon we shall have a similar situation here in Uganda.

Heavy rains here has led to the death of more than 100 people.Two days ago , a land slide occured in Budada county of Mbale district killing over 100 and burrying many others , numbers not yet established search for bodies continues, a very sad situation and the few who have survived have nowhere to go , they need to be resettled somewhere , but we are not very sure where. They lost all that they should survive on and coupled with the grief for their lost ones, they are completely ripped of their sense of living. As change makers here on ned, maybe we have some way we can bring back life to these people.

Last comment added: Thu, 04 Mar 2010 08:11:08 PST

COMMUNITY MUSHROOM CULTIVATION PROJECT

It’s roughly two years since Life in Africa Kireka came to life and has always depended on only the paper bead activities as a source of income for community sustainability. With many people making beads at the quarter and outside the quarter, some times it takes a bit longer to get the buyers of these beads as there are more producers than buyers locally.

Thebead foreign market is also seasonal and yet life has to go. So the community members thought of an alternative sustainable project to supplement Bead project and help make our community computer training and other center activities survive. For this matter we have chosen mushroom cultivation project because of having both local and international market and at the same time rich in nutritious valve which is good for the community.

We thought of having this project at the center but seems the space might be small as we do have other activities; however one of the members is willing to give a space at the quarter to run this project. So we are requesting for your contributions that could be in terms of finances, ideas, advises in order for this project to happen.

BACKGROUND

Three weeks ago I attended mushroom cultivation workshops at one of Uganda’s agricultural research centers. Within two days, I learnt and got interested in the mushroom project because of the many advantages realized, like no arable land needed and simple science involved. Besides just that, many people eat mushroom including the poor people which means our community is already the market source.

It used to be consumed only in big hotels and restaurants and imagine being imported from South Africa! So far I have contacted some super markets and some restaurants and the feed back sounds encouraging. I guess if we produce at large scale plus proper packaging and publicity, who knows that we may capture international market but we still want to begin at small scale and as a demonstration to our community.

Being rich in nutritional valve like protein, fats, vitamins to mention but few, I also learnt that it’s good for people with cancer and diabetes. May be this is what we can begin preaching to our local communities who did not know yet what valve mushroom has to begin eating that would help them health wise. As we think of resuming breakfast club, we could include in their diet. Meanwhile additional skill life training to our community mostly the women that would help them cultivates vegetables for themselves instead of every time bothering their husbands for money to buy red meat and other vegetables.

INTRODUCTION ABOUT OYSTER MUSHROOM CULTIVATION

Mushrooms are fruiting bodies of some fungi belonging to class “Basidiomycetes” SP. There are both edible and poisonous mushrooms but for this matter we are looking at edible mushrooms.In the past mushrooms were only growing wildly in association with termites and as saprophytes under Gods own arrangements and these grow seasonally. But due to demand for mushroom and its being seasonal in nature, instead of waiting for God always, man decided to advance in biotechnology and mushrooms can now be grown indoors artificially.

Initially African people used to refer mushrooms as “the food for the gods because of their special flavor, nutritional, value and medicinal properties. Among the Baganda people it’s never missed during the celebrations of the birth of twins.

BENEFICIAL TO PEOPLE’S HEALTH

Where as some low income earners may buy mushroom to eat in the names of preventing certain diseases, as its anti cancer properties, biotic properties, we as community are looking at its being both medicinal and riches in nutritional value like,proteins,fats,vitamins,minerals and carbohydrates. According to survey carried, mushroom cultivation is still carried by very few Ugandans despite the need. And that is why Uganda still imports form either Kenya or South Africa.

If we produce mushroom in Kireka, we shall reduce the costs associated with imports and charge only 3000/= to meet production costs instead of 4000 or 5000/= that importers charge.

HOW TO DO IT/REQUIREMENTS FOR OYSTER MUSHROOM CULTIVATION.

1. CONTROLLED ENVIROMENT: a) Incubation room: this is what is needed to help create “dark room” of 60% humidity low ventilation and internal temperature ranging between 20 to 30 °c

Cropping room: this we shall have a kind of partition room within the incubation room with ventilation to give in some light.

2.Substrate: this is the organic materials on which to grow the mushroom. Various agricultural wastes can be used singly or in combination like cotton seed husks, bagasse, dry maize cobs, dry banana leaves etc. But for this matter, we shall use cotton seed husks because of its availability and high yield productivity of mushroom.

3.Sterilizer: could be drum or big saucepan for boiling the substrate and for this matter we intend to use drums.

Firewood: 5.Water

Black polythene bags: these are what we intend to use as our gardens. Each polythene bag shall be filled with 4kgs of substrates.
Spawn (mushroom seed)

BUDGET FOR MUSHROOM CULTIVATION (400 GARDENS)

Item	Quantity	cost	Total
Sustrate	2000 kgs	100	200,000
Seed(spawn)	200	2000	400,000
Polythene bags	400 pcs	200	80,000
Water	800 j'can	50	40,000
Firewood			100,000
Transport			200,000
Sub total			1140,000
Fixed assets
Labor	2	60000	120,000
Shed(dark room)	1		600,000
Cans	2	5000	10,000
Drums	2		50,000
Wire mesh	1		50,000
Fixed asset total			760,000
Total			1,900,000/=

FIRST CULTIVATION

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES (AFTER TWO MONTHS)

Yield per garden	2.0	2kgs
market price	3000
income fro 400	2x400x3000	2400,000
Risk factor	10%
10% of 2400,000	2,160,000
Net profit	2160000-1900000	260,000

SECOND CULITIVATION AFTER TWO MONTHS

Yield per garden	2.0	2kgs
market price	3000
income fro 400	2x400x3000	2,400,000
Risk factor	10%
10% of 2400,000	2,160,000
net profit	2160000-1140000	1,020,000/=

The whole process takes two months but to make it a regular activity, we shall plant giving one to two weeks time allowances between the first cultivation to another so that we have regular supplies.Since its community project, profits realized shall be invested in another project and shall be shared among them after all the center expenses.Your advises,quesitions are the only way forward.

You can also follower our other community's activities at:

http://ndeloswwworld.blogspot.co m/

Last comment added: Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:34:36 PST

A new day for Children Of Hope - Uganda

It is beautiful to have a caring friend like Grace Ayaa from LIA foundation,who is hosting us for WE networking workshop going on.I have now learnt to use the tools on various websites. It has been really a very fruitful day for me and I belive that this will totally be a new begining for our Children Of Hope Uganda as well as being my tool for sharing new ideas and i know i shall keep learning more and more things happening around the globe as I move a long my new venture .So please keep visting this thread for updates from my blog .I would always appreciate suggestions,comments and advice from each one of you here on ned.

For more details on Children Of Hope Uganda. click this ;

http://cohuganda.blogspot.com/

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MY LIFE AT AMASIKO

Ned members,am so proud to announce that I have learnt a lot today. I have signed in to Flickr,Facebook and lastly Blogger. I have always looked at these sites as ... but once I have gotten to know them,they are pretty fun. For instance on blogger, I have written shortly about Amasiko Youth Care Association. In this discussion,I request nedstars to please respond so I may know what others think. For more info on what Amasiko does,please visit us here;

http://www.amasiko.org/index.php ?option=com_content&task=vie w&id=9&Itemid=45

And also my blog which talks about us at;

http://amatsikoyouthcareassociat ionsdays.blogspot.com/

Last comment added: Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:26:40 PDT

The kampala junior team trip to kenya

Kampala junior team after the norway trip we are set for the Kenya-Nairobi where we think our team is well prepared although we are still running up and down for financial support from people with kind hearts.we are here in a workshop organised by life in Africa of MRS.Grace Ayaa.it is so interesting and educative to us.In the workshop right now we are learning more of life skills.Thanks goes to Mrs.Grace.

Last comment added: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 06:51:06 PDT

Grace Needs Our Help

Grace Aaya has worked for and with the members of Life in Africa in Uganda for the last 6 years. She is one of the most giving and caring women I know and she is loved by all of the women in the Acholi Quarters.

Grace, a war widow herself, has also taken in orphans and raised them as her own. So far she has raised 10 children. The people of her village and the women of the Acholi Quarters know her to be the kind of person who will share what little she has with anyone she sees in need.

But now Grace needs our help. Her youngest daughter, who is almost 13, is critically ill. She has an enlarged spleen caused by recurring bouts of malaria, an umbilical hernia that is causing much distress and most serious, her appendix is inflamed and the doctors fear the appendix will burst if surgery is not done right away. In Uganda, if the appendix bursts it is almost certain death.

The medical bills over the last few months have totally exhausted the meager funds that Grace had. She has frantically been trying to find funds for the operation that will save this child's life but cannot. As a mother, I cannot imagine anything worse that watching your child suffer and being helpless to save them.

I am asking all the friends and supporters of Life in Africa to help save this child's life by donating what you can. If enough of us donate even a little, we can raise this money very quickly. I am also asking you to pass this on to all your friends and contacts. The more people we reach, the faster we can save this child and time is critical.

Thank you so much for your support. I know Grace thanks you too.

Last comment added: Sun, 06 Sep 2009 00:31:02 PDT

Mosquito Nets for Kireka

While I was in Uganda, I stayed at a place called the Red Chile. Its kind of like a hostel or guest house and has mostly international travelers. It was cheap, clean and convenient to get to the center in Kireka. But it was also so interesting. I love to talk to people and I met so many people there (I stayed there for 25 days) and had such interesting conversations.

I also visited Child Aid Uganda and heard about their mosquito net project. It got me to thinking and so I started looking at our members at the Kireka center and asked them about the use of nets. They all said they would like to have nets but of course cannot afford them. They all know that the use of good nets, while not a cure all for malaria, will greatly reduce the cases and that really interests them.

I also had a conversation with a group of doctors and nurses who were volunteering in Kampala and the surrounding areas. They were all very strongly in favor of the use of nets. One young doctor from the UK told me that in the 2 years he has been working in a remote village he has seen the cases of malaria go down by at least a third due completely (in his oppinion) to the proper use of mosquito nets. He felt that the number would go up dramatically if enough nets could be put in use to protect everyone. Currently most of the give away programs only target pregnant woman and very young children. Bill Gates and his program actually did a give away 2 years ago at the Acholi quarters in Kireka but they only gave away 900 nets. There are currently over 4000 houses and about 15,000 people so that did not make a huge impact.

In talking with our women at the center it became clear to me that to really make an impact, all members of a family should be protected. If you have a home that is run by a mother or a grandmother and is supporting a lot of orphans (very typical of our membership) then if she get malaria, the whole family suffers. And if only one net is given to a household that may include up to 20 people, how do they decide who gets to use the net? Its a real dilemma.

I have been talking to some people here who are interested in spearheading this kind of project for LiA Kireka. Our plan is to provide nets for each BED in the household. We really feel that by doing this we can make a bigger impact. I currently have Grace and Peter doing a survey of our members to determine how many nets would be needed in each household. Along with the nets will be education on the use of the nets, proper installation, care and maintenance of the nets and a follow up survey to document the impact.

I think it may be very interesting to watch this develop.

Last comment added: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:26:30 PDT

Its a brand new day for LiA!

It has been an incredibly hard, frustrating and heartbreaking year for LiA. At times it has seemed that it would all go up in flames. But over the last 10 years we have crashed and burned many times and always seemed to rise up like a phoenix out of the ashes. We are once again rising and this time we are like a phoenix with golden wings. A new day is dawning for LiA and it is so exciting.

I have finally had success in my search for a market for our bead products. We have hooked up with a national distributor and they are great and are so thrilled to take on our products. They are fantastic and I believe together we are going to make great things happen for our communities in Uganda. Sorry, can't give too many details yet. There is a team of lawyers working out all the legal details and I cannot divulge too much until that is complete. But this is BIG.

We will be making some big changes to our program. The jewelry will be rebranded under a new name, the quality of our jewelry will be upgraded substantially to make it more appropriate for the American market (better grade of elastic, professional clasps, quality findings on earrings, etc) , lots of standardizations which will make it easier to sell (lengths, styles, colors), and some new products that will wow you. Plus, we will be mass producing in quantities that are amazing.

We have been working on this for the last several months conducting market research, holding focus groups, and planning. The results have been fantastic and some big names in the retail market are already on board. This is what we have wanted and it has finally come to pass. What this will mean for LiA is a total rebirth and Christina's vision will finally be realized. Lots of stable income producing activity for members, the creation of a new center, the re-establishment of programs such as the community loan program, the LiA Kids Club, adult education, a large school fee fund, and much much more. We now have some corporate sponsorships and can really take action again. We are redesigning our website and the new definition of Life in Africa Foundation in Uganda (Grace's new activities) are going to be really kicked up a notch). So, exciting!

I will be reporting more on our new developments. I am actually leaving for Uganda in two days to set up the new production system and to fine tune everything there. Plus I will be meeting with the board of directors there and planning new programs to enact. I will be there for a month and it will be an incredibly busy one.

Stay tuned, there is more to come.

Last comment added: Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:30:12 PDT

Amasiko Small Grants application

Amasiko Community Based Eco-Camp is an initiative of Masiko Youth Care Association. This association was started by a group of orphans, their caretaker, Wilfried van der Veen and some wellwishers. Their aim is to start a training centre for destitute youth in sustainable agriculture, tourism and other income generating activities and support the trainees to become self reliant small scale entrepreneurs. A piece of land is acquired at lake Bunyonyi, for construction of a training site and for the development of some ecological sound accomodation for income gerating through eco-tourism to earn the required operational costs for the training centre. One activity will be training in small scale semi intensive chicken rearing: Our small grant application can be found under: http://www.ned.com/group/lia-glo bal/ws/amasiko_small_grants_appl ication/

Last comment added: Sat, 04 Apr 2009 07:28:21 PST

Children of Hope-Uganda

First thank you to Grace Ayaa for suggesting that Children of Hope partner with Life in Africa, and for visiting wonderful Esther Atoo, Director of Children of Hope in Lira, northern Uganda.

Since my March, 2007 visit to the original 43 orphans victimized by the Lord's Resistance Army, I have found it hard to help from such a great distance in Canada. Life in Africa's Web Empowerment has closed the gap.

Paying school fees for 163 orphans and vulnerable children is the goal. Sustainability is the problem.

Esther and I have been planning some income generating activities to put Children of Hope on a sustainable footing. She has already organized paper bead necklace production with the caregivers committee, as these gorgeous necklaces sell very well in Toronto.

The next income generating project, sewing school uniforms, depends on the purchase of 5 sewing machines for $700 Cnd. A small grant from Life in Africa would help us keep these children in school for a better future for them and their communities.

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