HABITAT NEWS - Habitat For Humanity Uganda

(repayment) compared to other products it offered. Repayments
averaged 95% in all the branches and its demand remained
high, lending credence to the argument for more partnership,
prevalence of inadequate housing and the need for more funding
for housing intervention. 128 families were served in Q1 – Q2
FY10. Through UGAFODE, HFHU intends to serve 300 families
by June 2010.
HFHU Selected as Centre of Competence (CoC):
HFHU was selected as a Centre of Competence (CoC) for Housing
Credit Solutions by the International Labour Organisation (ILO)/
Coop Africa project. The selection makes HFHU eligible to apply
for funds for capacity building and disbursement under its Whole
Sale Lending project to partner institutions, including Savings
and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs).
(Ref: www.ilo.org/coopafrica click on; the first list of Cooperative
Centres of Competence ‘Business Service Providers’ in Africa
available now).
Bankers Realm Roll Out:
Roll out of Bankers Realm, software intended to help HFHU
better track its housing loans, is steadily progressing in its
branch offices. All key staff have since been trained in its use,
thanks to HFHI and AME Area Office support.
Human Resource:
HFHU recruited 4 staff, 3 for the Financial Education project
(i.e. 2 Financial Education trainers and 1 Project Officer) and 1
Credit Supervisor who will oversee all our branch and affiliate
operations.
Years of operation
28
Families Housed 5,973
Districts served
20
Active Project Sites
6
Governing Board
OVC House Sponsorship Cost
New House
$2,700
Incremental
Construction
$1,210
Home
Improvement
Loan (HIL)
6
I.
II.
Support any of HFH Uganda’s housing interventions. If your
support is through Habitat for Humanity International, be
sure to indicate the HFH Uganda fund code i.e. 865900
Pray for HFH Uganda’s work and for more resources to
house low-income families.
MATERIAL
Habitat for Humanity News
OVC Youth carrying a handmade replica of a HFHU built house complete with
a Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) latrine at a house dedication ceremony; with
every US$2,700, HFHU is able to house at least 4 OVC, a crucial step which
unlocks a host of other opportunities for both the OVC and their Care Givers.
EDITOR’S NOTE
HOW YOU TOO CAN BE INVOLVED:
UNIT COST
(UGX)
The Financial Education Project aims at equipping individuals
with money management skills.
To-date, 21 groups have been formed in Habitats Masindi branch
(north western Uganda) with a total of 400 members and 11
groups formed in Luwero (Central Uganda) with 180 members.
All are undergoing training and a formal graduation (pass out)
will be held at the end of February or early March 2010. 580
participants, including some branch staff, will benefit from the
first phase of the project.
Volume 9. Issue 9, 2010
DONE!!...and you, helped make it possible. Thank You!
DOWN.
A total 293 families were served through the Retail and Whole
Sale lending projects.
Financial Education; HFHU held a Training of Trainers (ToT)
course for 6 Uganda and 1 Ivory Coast staff, facilitated by two
Africa and Middle East Area Office (AME AO) staff to kick-start
this relatively new project. Implementation of project activities
started with mobilization of target communities.
Habitat for Humanity Uganda
Cost
dependent on
improvements
MAJOR HOUSE CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL COST BREAK
TIMELY RESCUE: A group pictured in Finance Education training. Many
unscrupulous Microfinance Institutions take advantage of community
ignorance in finance matters to reap them off.
HABITAT NEWS
HFHU IN NUMBERS:
TOTAL
UGX (/=)
USD ($)
60 Bags of Cement
27,000
1,620,000
$853
30 Iron Sheets
24,000
720,000
$379
55 Pieces of Timber
7,200
396,000
$208
08 Iron Bars
18,000
144,000
$76
03 Wooden Door Shutters
100,000
300,000
$158
04 Wooden Window
Shutters
55,000
220,000
$116
01 Skilled Labour
450,000
450,000
$237
Note: Exchange Rate used: UGX 1,900 = $1 – Exchange Rate
is highly flexible.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR VERY FAITHFUL
INTERNAL & EXTERNAL PARTNERS:
MTN Uganda Limited, Stanbic bank, Barclays Bank,
MoneyGram, Citibank, Hima Cement (Lafarge), Tithe
Partners and Individual donors, Youth Programs;
International School of Uganda, Rainbow International
School and Makerere University Campus Chapter.
Plot 7206, Bukasa Close off Muyenga Tank hill Road
P.O Box 9873, Kampala
Tel: +256 414 501 457,
+256 392 760 802,
Fax: +256 414 501 458
Email: [email protected],
Web:www.habitat.ug
Warm greetings from HFH Uganda
and welcome to yet another issue of
Habitat News, Habitat for Humanity
Uganda’s newsletter. In this issue,
we provide an update of our two programs (The Orphans and Vulnerable
Children - OVC and Housing Microfinance - HMF) programs over the first
half of FY10 (July - Dec).
We would like to express our gratitude
to all our partners for making outputs
a reality in our program - those who
offer their resources; time, funds,
expertise ...Your support makes our
presence relevant in Uganda and decent shelter within reach for the Orphan, widow and other low-income
groups in the communities we serve.
WORD FROM HFH UGANDA NATIONAL
DIRECTOR
Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU)
greatly appreciates the support of its
partners and other key stakeholders that
enabled hundreds of low-income and vulnerable families to improve their housing
conditions in FY09. Despite the difficult
economic environment, HFHU registered
the biggest growth (370%) in the Africa and
Middle East (AME) region; families served
rose from 264 in FY08 to 989 in FY09. 114
of the families were served under the Orphans and other Vulnerable children (OVC)
program while 875 families were served by
our Housing Microfinance (HMF) Program.
Put into perspective, those words
are really for you, our partners -
At the start of FY10, HFHU unveiled a new
three year Strategic Plan prepared with
participation from various stakeholders.
With nearly 70% of the country’s 31 million
residents living in substandard housing
and a population of slightly over 2 million
orphans, the Strategic Plan aims at making
HFHU a recognized partner for demand
driven low-cost housing solutions that
empower poor and vulnerable families and
communities. So while our HMF program
goal is to increase access to HMF products and services, the OVC Program aims
at enhancing the capacity in OVC affected
households and communities to respond
to their ongoing psychosocial needs, including access to adequate shelter.
THANK YOU and Nice Reading!
For more information please email;
[email protected]
Opportunities to scale up HMF partnership
with UGAFODE Ltd, as well as develop
new partnerships with other MFIs/
“I have seen organisations come and
leave our community but you (Habitat)
are different. Your work, even a young
child can see and tell that a difference
has been made!!” These words (coming from an elder in his community)
are the fuel that keeps Robert Oculi,
our OVC Community Support
Worker
CONTACT:
in Kumi (Eastern Uganda) going!
SACCOs are being sought. With these
partnerships HFHU will be able to provide
technical assistance as well as seed
capital to enable them lend specifically
for housing improvement. HFHU has also
started working on achieving operational
self sustainability in its HMF Retail Lending
project and attain industry best practice.
For our OVC Program we are engaging
partners that specialize in complimentary
activities so that a wholesome package of
services, including housing, is offered to
the OVC.
Our target is to serve at least 4,500 families
over the next three years. 55 OVC families
have already been assisted to build new
houses and another 376 to improve on
their existing houses through our home
improvement loans (July - December
2010). We are grateful for the financial support we continue to receive from our tithing and corporate partners as well as our
individual donors.
To achieve our three year targets, more
financial and technical support is needed. We shall also need both government
and community support for our housing
improvement initiatives. The latter need
challenges us to increase our sensitization
of the public and government leaders on
the importance of adequate shelter as an
inherent human right and solution to most
household health related problems.
Habitat for Humanity News
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE FOR UGANDA’S ORPHANED
AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN
- Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU) Orphans and Vulnerable
Children (OVC) program update (Quarter I - Quarter II FY10).
“In Communities hard hit by the double hammer of HIV/AIDS and
poverty, there are millions of children who may not be orphans,
but who have been made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS” (OVC
Programming Guidance for US Government in-country staff and
implementing partners. PEPFAR office of the U.S Global Aids
Coordinator – July 2006, Page 3).
BACKGROUND:
HFHU’s OVC Program interventions target families caring for
children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The program
also supports child headed households and families with
children made vulnerable as a result of war and natural causes.
HFHU’s interventions include provision of a house complete
with a Ventilated Improved Pit-latrine (VIP) and a shower stall.
Caregivers and OVC are also trained on HIV/AIDS prevention,
care and support, succession (inheritance rights) planning,
malaria prevention and use of Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets
(ITMNs).
Program Update:
Youth Trained
House Construction;
Houses Built
OVC Sheltered
Year end (FY10) House target
55
306
113
Beneficiary Selection; 59 more families were selected to benefit
from housing in the OVC project sites. House construction is
scheduled to start at the beginning of the third quarter FY10.
Land Tenure; Apart from the training HFHU offers on Inheritance
Rights protection for Orphans and Widows, it also continues
to work with local district (government) administrations in the
different project sites to ensure that land on which it builds
houses are free from any land related wrangles.
Plans are currently underway to provide a water tank for rain
water harvesting as part of the housing package.
BENEFICIARY VERIFICATION BY HFHU STAFF; BENJAMIN (LEFT) AND
ROBERT (WITH PAPERS): About 25% of all Ugandan households have at
least 1 orphan and these households contain 7.4 persons compared with 4.8
persons for other households without orphans. (Source: Uganda National
Strategic Programme Plan of Interventions (NSPPI) 2004
Trainings conducted July – Dec. FY10:
1. Adolescent Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH);
According to the 2004-05 Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero
Behavioural Survey (UHSBS), 6.4 per cent (or slightly over
800,000 people) of adult population in Uganda are infected
with HIV.
Habitat for Humanity News
HFHU’s Sex education aims at combating the spread of Sexually
transmitted diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, among youth (10- 24
years). This age bracket is very vulnerable to Sexually Transmitted
Infections (STIs)/HIV infection. Consideration is given to both
sexes but with awareness that the girl child is more at risk.
Topics Covered
Mayuge, Kumi
Manafwa
Eastern Uganda
Growth/Youth development
(body/emotional changes), youth
challenges and solutions to
problems faced by adolescents
2. Malaria Prevention and Control: Malaria is the leading cause
of morbidity and mortality in Uganda and is responsible for
up to 40% of outpatient visits, 25% of hospital admissions
and 14% of hospital deaths. The burden of malaria is
greatest among children under 5 years of age and pregnant
women.
by Opportunity International, was convened to address some of
the issues raised from an evaluation of the OVC project and find
ways of adopting lessons from the evaluation for future project
implementation.
Overall, the OVC project was found to be a success with most of
the countries (more than nine) in attendance desirous of seeking
further funding for its implementation.
Care Givers
OVC
ITMNs
Project Area/
Trained
Served
Distributed
Site
43
215
69
Bududa
30
214
60
Kumi
24
132
48
Mayuge
97
561
177
Follow-ups; HFHU also puts emphasis on monitoring use of
skills learnt by participants. Field staff continue to make family
and individual follow ups to ensure that lessons learnt are being
put to use by those trained.
Networking/Referrals; Where services, other than those
provided by HFHU are needed by families being served, HFHU
helps connect its beneficiary families to organisations able to or
providing them. In Mayuge, HFHU referred 8 OVC to His Kids
Orphanage, a local Community Based Organisation (CBO) for
scholarships.
HFHU is also in the process of linking its Kumi project
beneficiaries to a local NGO to provide water tanks for rain water
harvesting. This will especially be helpful to the families since
Kumi is prone to draught.
OVC Evaluation Feed Back and Subject Matter Workshop for
USAID/Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR)
Implementing Countries; HFH played host to the aforementioned
workshop for Habitat’s Africa and Middle East (AME) area
implementing countries. The workshop, which was co-hosted
the above services, in addition to the housing, they are better
able to cope with social and economic pressures within their
communities.
Human Resource; Mrs. Penninah Mugume joined HFHU as OVC
program Coordinator. Penninah, with over 12 years experience
in community work, has previously worked with both local and
International NGOs in Uganda both at local and national level.
REACHING RURAL AND PERI-URBAN HOUSEHOLDS
WITH FLEXIBLE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOANS
– Habitat for Humanity Uganda (HFHU) Housing Microfinance
(HMF) program update (Quarter I – Quarter II FY10).
HFHU, with funding from USAID, continues to train its program
beneficiaries on malaria prevention and control. Insecticide
Treated Mosquito Nets (ITMNs) are also distributed to the
families. Tabulated herein below is training update of the first
half of FY10;
TOTAL
Families contribute locally available construction materials for
their house construction while HFHU (with funding from partners)
provides industrial construction materials and skilled labour as
a grant. The program is currently being implemented in Jinja,
Mayuge, Kumi, Bududa and Manafwa in Eastern Uganda.
A CHILD PICTURED WITH HER GRAND FATHER “The most straight forward
way to meet the needs of vulnerable children is to keep their parents alive and
well and thus prevent the children from becoming orphans” (USAID).
147
Project Site(s)
BACKGROUND:
HFHU’s Housing Microfinance Program was started to meet the
widespread lack of adequate housing for low-income families
with no or limited access to banking sector credit. Premised on
the belief that every family deserves a decent place to call home,
the program’s vision is to be a lead agent for low-cost, demand
driven housing solutions.
MORE THAN HOUSES: Through the Consortium approach to OVC project
Implementation, HFHU seeks to provide OVC support beyond just housing.
Consortium Approach to OVC Program Implementation;
HFHU, in an effort to provide holistic program interventions
targeting OVC, is exploring ways of working with different NGO’s
in Uganda. The need for a consortium approach to program
implementation arose out of the many other needs of OVC, other
than housing, that need to be addressed.
HFHU is in the process of partnering with World Vision (WV)
Uganda, and Baylor Uganda, International NGOs with operations
in Uganda and Uganda Women’s Effort to Save Orphans
(UWESO) – a local NGO and are currently working on a joint
funding proposal to actualise this working arrangement.
Once successful, WV and UWESO interventions will be in
the areas of food and nutrition, economic strengthening,
psychosocial support and education. Baylor Uganda will provide
HIV/AIDS treatment and counselling while HFHU will provide
housing including training on inheritance rights protection.
It’s hoped that with beneficiary families receiving two or more of
Unlike previous interventions where HFHU physically built the
housing units, with families later required to make repayments
on homes built, the HMF program is a credit transaction with
qualifying families meeting their specific housing needs. The
program intervenes through three projects;
The Retail Lending Project; In this project, Home Improvement
Loans (HILs) are offered directly to families. This flexible housing
finance solution is for construction, extension, renovation and
improvement of residential properties - enabling low-income
individuals and families live in decent environments. The
minimum loan amount is UGX. 100,000 (Approx. US $53) while
the maximum is UGX. 3,000,000 (Approx. US $1,579) all payable
over a 2 year period.
The Wholesale lending Project; The long-term objective of this
project, whose implementation is being supported by Habitat
for Humanity International, is to influence the Micro Finance
Industry in Uganda to take on HMF as a viable loan product.
If many Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) are offering housing
loans, it will assist in increasing availability of housing options
for 80% of the countries low-income families, beyond Habitat’s
direct influence. The short-term objective is to assist families
improve their housing conditions using MFIs as implementing
institutions. Our current partnership is with Uganda Agency for
Development (UGAFODE), an MFI working in south-western
Uganda.
The Financial Education Project; This project, funded by Citi
- Foundation, offers free non-financial services to both HFHU
program beneficiaries and other community members. Its aim
is to equip them with money management skills. The training
has three modules; Savings, Budgeting, Financial Negotiation,
Banking Services and Debt Management.
HMF Program Update:
Retail Lending - Home Improvement Loans (HILs); In Q1 - Q2
FY10, 165 families were served with loans enabling them to
make wide-ranging improvements to their homes. The average
loan size given was UGX. 1,520,000 (Approx. US $800).
IS THERE HOPE? For 80% of Uganda’s population, a decent house is only an
illusion. With support from partners, HFHU’s Housing Microfinance program
continues to help many families realise it need not be!
If many Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) are offering housing
loans, it will assist in increasing availability of housing options
for 80% of the countries low-income families, beyond Habitat’s
direct influence.
In the coming period, HFHU through different program strategies
will be working on increasing numbers of families benefitting,
as well as improving its loan portfolio quality (repayments from
families already served) in order to reach its yearend target of
1,000 families served.
Wholesale Lending; Our partner, UGAFODE, reported that the
Flexible House Loan (FHL) product - their brand name for the
Home Improvement Loan (HIL) had the best portfolio quality
Habitat for Humanity News