The northern Ugandan districts of Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader remain insecure
and impoverished because of continued attacks by the Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA), a rebel group operating out of bases in southern Sudan.
The LRA is continuing an insurgency against the Government of Uganda
begun in 1986. As many as 460,000 people have been displaced as a result
of rebel incursions, abductions and other atrocities inflicted upon
civilians, and displacement has also been fostered, since 1996, by a
Government policy of concentrating people in "protected villages."
By 1997 the vast majority of household savings-300,000 cattle and most
other livestock-had been killed or stolen from the traditionally pastoral
communities. Tens of thousands of rural houses had been looted and burned.
Cash employment and economic activity had been sharply curtailed. Education
had been disrupted with school-age children abducted, schools destroyed
and displaced, and teachers killed. Economic infrastructure had been
destroyed and abandoned.
Under the Special Objective for an Improved Foundation for Reintegration
of Targeted Areas of Northern Uganda, approved in 1998, USAID/Uganda
developed an activity to provide an immediate infusion of cash into
the communities of the three districts and to restore critical infrastructure.
A grant was awarded in August 1999 to CARE USA for a Reintegration,
Employment and Income Development for the North (REIN) program to establish
a foundation for the social and economic rehabilitation of Gulu, Kitgum
and Pader. Under the program, community members were not only to receive
cash income for temporary employment on public works, but also to improve
their livelihood security through participation in income generating
and savings mobilization activities, thereby stimulating their local
economies.
As of end September 2001, 7,228 temporary jobs had been created; 40%
of those employed were women. 148 kilometers of community roads had
been rehabilitated. Approximately US$680,000 in cash had been paid out
as wages, to which was added US$85,000 as a reserved savings match.
Business development training was provided for 6,930 people. The roads,
which include environmental protection measures, provide valuable links
with major population and trading centers, access to markets for purchasing
supplies and selling produce, access to schools and health units, and
contribute to improved security. Individuals who worked on the roads
have used their savings to start small businesses. Joseph Oneka, whose
family was left destitute when his home and all of his household property
were destroyed by the LRA, used his money to open a retail grocery in
a local trading center. He has used the profits from this business to
trade in agricultural produce and to purchase domestic livestock. He
is optimistic that his business will continue to grow and credits the
USAID program with giving him the opportunity and resources to change
his life for the better.
Reintegration, Employment and Income Development for the North (REIN)
