Surita Sandosham

As Northern Uganda's Lamwo and Kitgum districts work to rebuild after years of civil war, the Enabling Rural Opportunity Network (ERONet) contributes to creating more resilient communities. By focusing on empowering women, girls, and people with disabilities, ERONet tackles the deep-rooted challenges that continue to affect the region, like access to clean water, through student-led E-STEM projects. Read more and share your thoughts, ideas, and experiences with the ERONet team by visiting https://lnkd.in/ge4-Xfyw #eePRO #ESTEM 📸: Water storage tanks built at schools provide water for student use, but also opportunities to study rainfall, climate, and math. Over 100 storage have been built across Uganda using a common design modified to meet local needs. Source: ERONet

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💰Mercy Corps Medium Agribusiness Grant of up to $300,000 💬Mercy Corps has launched a grant program providing up to $300,000 (approx. 12.3 million UAH) to support local agricultural businesses affected by the war, offering funding to restore production and operations. To qualify for the Mercy Corps grant: 🔘Agricultural Impact: Applicants must demonstrate war-related impacts on their agricultural business. 🔘Location: Agriculture must be conducted in specified regions, excluding high-risk zones. 🔘Land Ownership: The applicant should own between 500–3,000 hectares used for growing designated crops (excluding alcohol production). 🔘Co-Investment: Applicants must self-fund up to 50% of the grant amount, adapted to business scope. 🔘Collaboration: Applications should include a plan for cooperation with other regional agribusinesses. 💡Tips for Success ➖Clear Justification: A well-defined case for support and intended fund use. ➖Sales Strategy: An understanding of sales channels and collaboration. ➖Community Impact: Show community benefits, including job creation for those affected by the war. ➖Priority: Preference for projects involving cooperation with local farms. Fund Allocation Grant funds may be used for: 🔘Production Resources: Purchase of machinery, raw materials, and supplies. 🔘Administrative Costs: Covering wages, software, rentals, and other expenses. 🔘Project Services: Essential professional services for project implementation. #AgribusinessGrants #MercyCorps #AgricultureFunding #UkraineBusinessSupport #FarmRestoration #WarRecovery #SmallBusinessFunding #EconomicSupport #CommunityImpact #JobCreation

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🌟𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬🌟 We are proud to open nominations for the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 (𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐀). Since their inception in 2012, these awards have been a critical platform for recognizing the exceptional and revolutionary contributions of individuals and organizations in philanthropy across East Africa. They serve as a foundation for advocacy and action, driving strategic mobilization of domestic resources for sustainable community development. 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: This year’s awards are delineated into eight strategic categories, each designed to reflect the breadth and depth of philanthropic impact achievable through focused, localized efforts. 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: We extend an invite to you to submit nominations by the 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. This is a unique opportunity to elevate and acknowledge the efforts of those who harness the power of philanthropy to create sustainable change. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞: Visit our website or scan the QR code on our promotional materials to propose actors who exemplify leadership, innovation, and significant community impact in their philanthropic activities. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 - https://lnkd.in/djCTHYq8

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As part of the 2024 #SthlmForum, SIPRI interviewed betty bigombe, Government of Uganda, on how polarization at all levels affects the pursuit of peace and development, and the steps needed to overcome these divisions. Watch now ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/d3vEYeF4

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https://lnkd.in/dRGtnAE3 Gender-based violence robs lives, dignity, and perpetuates insecurity. It leaves life-long scars that affect not only the victims but also their families and communities. This pervasive injustice perpetuates cycles of fear and inequality, diminishing our shared humanity. It requires concerted efforts across the private sector, communities, governments, and organizations to raise awareness, provide support, and advocate for change of behavior and attitude. To truly honor every person's worth and potential, we must confront and dismantle these systemic abuses, fostering a world where everyone is respected, cherished and safeguarded.

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Super important work by SAGE on the cutting edges of the global economy space-- using actual info from what women in their diversity, other carers, #workers, and #Frontline groups are planning and saying they need (rather than funders sitting in our towers in global capitals). #care #careeconomy #carework #feministfunding #feminism

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🌱 **Empowering Farmers through Dialogue and Collaboration** 🌱 Caritas Jinja Diocese facilitated a pivotal dialogue on access to extension services at Kidera Sub County, Buyende District. This event brought together farmers, community leaders, faith leaders, government officials, the Member of Parliament for the area, and civil society organizations. With the government's push towards perennial crops as a strategy to eradicate poverty, they engaged in a robust discussion on which crops Kidera should invest in and be recognized for in the future. The consensus? **Oranges**! 🍊 They emerged as the preferred choice over jackfruit, avocado, and lemons. This initiative marks the beginning of a journey towards making Kidera a hub for orange cultivation. They are committed to revisiting this dialogue next year to assess the progress, address challenges, and find sustainable solutions. Together, a brighter future for farmers and communities is being built. 🌟 #ExtensionServices #KideraSubCounty #PartnershipsAreCrucial #BudiopeWest Caritas Norge Caritas Uganda

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PRESS RELEASE USADF Hosts Trade Fair in Liberia, Showcasing Impactful Agricultural Initiatives Monrovia, Liberia - May 23, 2024 - The U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF) hosted an Agricultural Trade Fair at the Bella Cassa Hotel, Monrovia. The event marked a significant milestone as USADF President and CEO, Travis Adkins, met with representatives of selected Liberian USADF-funded agricultural grantees for the first time. The fair provided a platform to engage with USADF agriculture grantees, highlighting the critical role of USADF funding in Liberia's agricultural sector. Grantees showcased their products and shared insights into their work, representing diverse agricultural initiatives benefitting from USADF grant funding support, from cocoa production to multipurpose cooperative societies empowering women in sustainable development. Participants engaged with officials from the United States Embassy, USADF delegation members, technical partner staff, and grantees. The event featured a welcome address, cultural performances, remarks from USADF's President and CEO and other dignitaries, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. During his remarks, USADF President and CEO Travis Adkins reaffirmed USADF’s commitment to agricultural-led economic growth in Liberia and dedication to equipping African farmers, cooperatives, producer associations, and agripreneurs with the necessary tools and knowledge to improve livelihoods and enhance food security. Since the inception of USADF programming in Liberia in 2006, USADF has invested over $15 million to support approximately 194 cooperative societies, producer organizations, and grassroots enterprises, benefiting thousands of smallholder farmers and other underserved populations across the country. USADF’s investments align with the U.S. Government’s efforts to improve food security and provide secured livelihoods, especially for underserved populations and communities. To learn more, visit www.usadf.gov or contact USADF Liberia at [email protected]. About USADF: USADF is an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs. USADF's investments increase incomes, revenues, and jobs through grant investments and market-based solutions to poverty. USADF creates pathways to prosperity for marginalized populations and underserved communities continent-wide.

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Member based organisations play a critical role in spearheading lobby and advocacy for their members to ensure they get good services,inclusion in service access etc. Last week Heifer International Zambia 🇿🇲 we held a women lobby and advocacy training for District Women Development Associations (DWDA) under the #womeneconomicempowermentproject funded by SIDA. The objective was to empower the Women leaders with lobby and advocacy capacity to enable them develop and submit lobby papers to their leaders as part of promoting Women inclusion.The training also incorporated a stakeholders mapping approach to understand which stakeholders exist and what services they can provide in the process of lobby and service provision.It was also clear that lobby is a give and take process and can take time depending on the gravity of the issue at hand. One of the key aspects of the lobby process is member consultation to ensure clarity and focus on issues affecting members. Some of the issues the participants brought out was lack of representation at Ward Development Committee (WDC) to ensure Women participation in Community Development Fund (CDF),low inclusion in Cash for work programs etc. However,some districts like Chadiza reported having manged to get representation at these committees.Indeed it's possible to increase inclusion and promote women participation. #WomenEconomicEmpowerment #WomenLobbyandAdvocacy #WomenInclusion #SIDA We Effect Mwape Kalamba-Phiri Vincent Siakwale Vincent Siakwale mercy chitambala Albert Mutasa

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Have your say on my latest article on the current wave of abductions, disappearances, torture and killings of government critics in Tanzania.

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Managing a program includes managing internal and external evaluations—writing the RFP, hiring the team, collaboratively designing the evaluation & using the data. If you’re a program manager & looking for guidance on this process check out the Program Manager’s Guide to Evaluation. #nonprofit #evaluation #capacitybuilding #programmanager

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You can’t do more with less. You should not try to do more with less. You should enhance your impact instead. International and intermediary NGOs who support local organizations should refocus their efforts on creating what I’ve coined “civic architecture,” to weave together changes at the local level with convening, catalyzing, and community building globally. We need a civic movement to counter rising authoritarianism, food insecurity, climate change, war, and violence. At #DevexWorld, I enjoyed meeting other development professionals who are trying to navigate the changing landscape of our development sector. I appreciated the consensus around the challenges that scarce resources pose, and I loved meeting new professionals who have great ideas and energy for how we can create change. What were your takeaways from the #DevexWorld2024 conversations?

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The Power of Collective Action in Transforming Communities - individual actions are life-saving, collective actions are life-transforming! Travelling to Ethiopia last week to witness the closure of one of our programs in Gambella, I was reminded of one of the powerful forces and opportunities to ‘community transformation’ that I now believe we have not fully harnessed. Listening to both refugee and host client testimonies of how the project has influenced their lives, one cannot avoid noticing the key connecting thread which normally is the springboard for a lot of powerful initiatives. Cohesion or social capital within groups stood out as one of the key gains that clients will continue to leverage years after the project is gone. In related conversations with colleagues, I could not resist sharing what I have learnt of the kibbutz model in Israel; the story of the Egyptian pyramids; and how I marvel at how tiny ants build huge anthills…all thanks to the power of collective action. As the sector, we have also seen successful models built around collective action - from the graduation model to many behavioural change approaches across sectors and outcomes, including mother care groups in promoting household nutrition, Parents and Teachers Associations for improving school outcomes, women and girls safe spaces or groups for safety outcomes, and local economic development initiatives for power outcomes. The question is – are we always harnessing the power of collective action to improve and sustain outcomes? Looking back at my 20 + years of doing this work, I partly feel the guilt but also the responsibility to share some of my revelations. Curious to hear what you think are other ‘missed opportunities’ to promote collective action in our respective sectors?

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I was honored to participate in the first panel discussion at this year's FANRPAN Regional Multi-sectoral Policy Dialogue in Malawi, just immediately after the official opening ceremony. The panel focused on agriculture and food systems transformation, and I was invited to share AGRA's perspective on this issue. At AGRA, we envision food systems transformation as a comprehensive and sustainable change in the entire food value chain - from production, processing to consumption to increase productivity and income for smallholder farmers, strengthen resilience, foster inclusive markets, promote sustainable farming practices, and support government in creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive. I emphasized the importance of closely following the mega trends and priorities shaping Africa's food systems, including demographic, economic, environmental, and social trends. At the helm of it is the youth population bulge. This can be be achieved if there close and effective collaboration with government, development partners, private sector, and civil society. The conference offered valuable insights and learning opportunities. I look forward to applying these lessons to drive the positive change that we desire to achieve in Malawi. AGRA FANRPAN Network #FANRPAN2024

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Happy to be part of the team that contributed to the development of the technical brief on the integration work in Family Planning, Adolescent Health, and Biodiversity Conservation in Fisheries. I provided input on issues in the sector highlighting areas requiring linkages. The work demonstrates how sectors such as Health and Environment need to collaborate for optimal impact, resulting in access to services such as FP and Health for economic gains and improved livelihoods within the fishing communities https://bit.ly/4cCrogv

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I was thrilled to participate in this assessment, from the initial design phase through to data collection, analysis, and report writing, culminating in the final presentation. Each stage, especially co-presenting the findings alongside my supervisor, was a career highlight and a moment of great pride. Turning to the research findings, the data reveals significant differences in performance between Farmer Service Centers (FSCs) and other agrodealers across several key indicators, demonstrating the competitive edge of FSCs in many areas. FSCs consistently outperformed other agrodealers in terms of annual sales, profitability, customer base expansion, and workforce growth. Notably, 83% of FSCs reported sales increases of over 25%, compared to just 32% of other agrodealers. Similarly, 50% of FSCs experienced profitability gains exceeding 25%, underscoring their strong market presence. In customer acquisition, FSCs saw a remarkable 67% growth in their customer base, while only 33% of other agrodealers reported similar success, indicating that FSCs have been more effective in attracting and retaining customers. Additionally, workforce expansion emerged as another key indicator of FSCs' growth, with 67% of them increasing their staff by more than 25%, compared to just 14% of other agrodealers. This not only highlights their scaling efforts but also reflects their ability to enhance service delivery through a diverse range of agricultural products and services, including advisory, veterinary, and irrigation support. The stark differences between FSCs and non-FSC agrodealers in areas such as educational attainment, product diversity, and the provision of specialized services further underscore the FSCs' superior ability to meet the evolving needs of farmers. Overall, the findings suggest that FSCs, with their comprehensive service offerings and strategic market engagement, are better positioned for sustainable growth and are playing a transformative role in Rwanda's agricultural sector. In contrast, other agrodealers may need to adapt more rapidly to remain competitive.

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"Mutual aid groups are the backbone of the humanitarian response in #Sudan. 🇸🇩 ". This is the time where (like any complex entity with interconnected structures and roles) we'd assess the context, look at where the gaps are snd why, identify alternative pathways and solutions that accept the reality of the new context, and then reallocate efforts and resources accordingly (including the role you play and how you need to adjust to support this new structure and strategy). This one sentence above captures what others would prefer to spend millions of dollars, minutes, meetings and unnecessary lost lives on before making a decision to pivot and do the last step: reallocate the resources to get the job done. And listen to those closest to the ground when they say "we can do this, we don't need you for this, we got this, but if you want to help, genuinely, then help us by creating the conditions that allow us to do it safely". It's not rocket science. Have we forgotten or maybe there is an assumption its done because we )should) carry our responses always with the #centralityofprotection in mind! In Gaza, too, the sentence that runs around my head is: "We don't want you to send food. We want you to STOP 🛑 sending bombs 💣 " What if we just paused and took a breath and listened (TRULY, INTENTIONALLY and ACTIVELY) to the plain and simple description of reality of the context and life for people on the ground, and what THEY say they need? There are some great organizations doing this work (too many to name) but I want to give a special shout out to some who highlight how responses can look very different if you ask a "humanitarian actor" and local communities and leaders themselves.

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