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United Families Make Fruitful Fields: How AVSI makes refugees “protagonists” of their own development in Uganda

At AVSI we say that we want to make people “protagonists” of their own development. Here I saw a real example. These people, with all of their intersecting vulnerabilities, anxieties, scars and poverties, found a place where they could come together and be seen. This relationship, offered in a peaceful place, unlocked their learning potential. They were empowered to reconsider their preconceptions, and not to stop at reconsidering, but to actually apply their learning to their own families and relationships.

Peace Besime and Nsanze Sepiria: A couple’s story of resilience in Kamwenge, Uganda

We share a couple’s story of resilience. Peace Besime and Nsanze Sepiria were struggling after years of failed farming ventures, they could barely pay for their basic needs (medical expenses, school dues for their five children, and the construction of a decent shelter). Thankfully, they were introduced to the Graduating to Resilience Activity funded by USAID (led by AVSI Foundation, in partnership with American Institute for Research and Trickle Up). Peace and Nsanze were empowered with practical tools: goal setting, business coaching, good agronomic practices, and even more; finally, their voyage to self-reliance began!

The story of Florence: Coaching and livelihood trainings help families in Southwestern Uganda achieve their goals

We tell the story of Florence, 42 years old and the mother of nine children, just one of the 6,824 households actively involved in the USAID-funded Graduating to Resilience Activity in Kamwenge District, Southwestern Uganda.

Florence’s children had no access to quality education, and in and out of their school since she had no money to pay for their fees. Worse, the family couldn’t afford to feed the children with nutritious meals and their health was in disarray. Florence’s hopes of guiding her children to a bright future appeared dim.

Women’s Day 2023

On this very special day, March 8th, 2023, AVSI Foundation celebrates International Women’s Day – a day dedicated to celebrating the remarkable achievements of all the strong women across the globe and to share awareness on the need for full gender equality in all spheres of life.

Graduating to Resilience Summit Brings Together More than 200 participants to Celebrate the Success of Cohort One

AVSI-USA hosted a hybrid, full-day, learning summit with the Society for International Development, US Chapter (SID-US) on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, in Washington, DC. The Summit marked an important milestone as AVSI concluded Cohort One activities of the Graduating to Resilience Activity, funded by USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA). Held the week of #WorldRefugeeDay, the Summit was a celebration of our participants, who are the inspiration of our work.

Finding hope, resilience and beauty in the slums of Kibera

Ruth and Elizabeth lead the group through an intricate maze of tin houses. The terrain is muddy. We are in Kibera, Kenya, the largest slum in Africa and the third largest in the world, with a population that varies between 500,000 to well over 1,000,000 depending on the source. Here, most residents live in extreme poverty, earning less than US$1.00 per day. Along the path, we see children playing dangerously close to the open sewage. A colorful mural brings some beauty to Kibera, but hope seems to be a concept that abandoned this place a long time ago. For Ruth and Elizabeth, on the contrary, hope is alive and well. They were both able to open their own small businesses thanks to AVSI’s “Tumikia Mtoto” (“Serve the Children”) project. We are on our way to visit their businesses.

Researchers at LGIHE in Uganda Showcase Findings at the Annual CIES Conference

COVID-19 has not slowed the need to improve educational outcomes in East Africa. If anything, the global emergency has thrown a spotlight on learning disparities in developing nations. The educational professionals and researchers at Luigi Giussani Institute for Higher Education in Uganda (LGIHE) – an AVSI-USA long-term partner – have been working for over a decade to promote teaching methods that unlock the full potential of each learner. “School leaders and teachers are the linchpin to the radical change needed to ignite self-awareness and critical thinking in learners,” said Mauro Giacomazzi, Institutional Development Advisor for LGIHE.

Fighting gender-based violence in Uganda thanks to USAID’s better outcomes project

Alice’s favorite time of the day is sunset. She and her husband wait for their six children to come back from school. They sit together around a cup of tea and talk about their day. But Alice’s routine was not always so pleasant. Before joining AVSI’s Better Outcomes project, returning home at sunset was a nightmare. Everything she earned would be spent on alcohol by Robinson, her husband, leaving nothing to buy food for their children. When she tried to talk with Robinson, he would inevitably raise his hand at her.
“It was draining,” remembers Alice. “I couldn’t bear seeing my children starving.”

Delivering Study materials to ensure students continue to learn

Studies show that school closure during COVID-19 has adverse effects on children and adolescents. Young people are anxious and worried that they will never go back to school. Bernadetta Anieno, 18 years old, is no exception.
“They kept postponing the reopening, and I was losing hope,” remembers Bernadetta, who has been studying at AVSI long-term partner Luigi Giussani High School in Kampala, Uganda, since 2019. “I was just home doing nothing, not even reading. One day, I asked myself what I would become if I kept being home just watching TV?”