African philanthropy holds its own unique appeal, only if we strive to find it. By its nature, African philanthropy is rooted in culture; is based on trust; involves everyone; respects local knowledge – the singular moral to all African giving is community as one. African philanthropy at its core does not need regulation, nor does it require taxation and tax receipts, it is simply Africans giving as people, as families, in diverse and various ways, responding to context and needs. Uganda is the same.
Over the last three years of its implementation, the Philanthropy for Development programme implemented by the Uganda National NGO Forum (UNNGOF), with a goal that aims to promote “A society that recognizes, respects and harnesses the power of local philanthropy and domestic resource mobilization to fulfil the development aspirations and interests of citizens and their organizations”, celebrates the identification of the types and nature of giving in Uganda, naming it and giving it its due recognition as a driver of community led development. This is a positive start and a strong foundation for engagements towards development because the mindsets of citizens are being positively influenced.
The argument at the start of the programme was that giving in Uganda does happen, however the specifics of this giving needed to be identified, acknowledged, amplified and geared towards development of the country. Through the work of the pool of community facilitators, and partner organizations in the 14 traditional regions of Uganda as at independence, the programme set out to enhance the capacity of citizens and their organisations to understand the power of their own giving and the dividends in being responsible for their own development. Stories from the regions bear progress towards these ideals.
Juxtaposed against the phenomenon of High Net Worth (HNW) individuals, giving in Uganda is characterized by individuals with lots of heart for community, moving them to give even when they themselves do not have much to give. To coin a term, High Net Heart (HNH) individuals, more and more, stories of philanthropy that work, revolve around these High Net Heart individuals. Relatedly, The Sense- making Policy Paper 2 (The Nexus between CSOs & Philanthropy in Uganda), describes philanthropy and civil society organizations as conjoined twins, held together by the umbilical cord of gift-giving and associated pro-social philanthropic behaviors that society has built over the years. The paper also highlights that the foundational philosophy of civil society is driven by the idea of associating and collectively organizing to respond to societies’ needs. These High Net Heart Individuals are also seen to drive the focus and agenda of these organizations;
“I am proud of the soccer academy, through it, I have seen a reduction in drug use and some youths are back in school. The parents are now supportive of the academy and approach me to talk to their children and enrol them in the academy.” Says Musema.
Musema Vanmaron a male youth in Vurra Subcounty is giving his time and expertise as a coach to train the youth to be productive and get them out of drugs and crime. He uses the soccer academy to engage the youth in other skilling activities like brick laying, quarrying, hair dressing etc.
Fikra Harriet, a social worker by training gives her time and expertise to training women in soap making, handcrafts and others.
“I used to be selfish, yet I am a good trainer. Through WECISNET, I opened-up and started training different people and groups; now, I have gotten exposure to diverse groups including the prostitutes, teenage mothers and others to the level that CSOs and leaders like Members of Parliament reach out to me. I am proud of what I am doing in the communities in Arua.” – Fikra.
Chandiga Hamis was motivated by Hariiet to start training women in baking, a skill she had sat on for long. “After the training, I got motivated and I mobilized my fellow women and trained them in baking. We now bake different items and sell them to support our families, we have formed an association and now support one another. “- Chandiga
Haruna Mutabazi, an elder and resident of Rubanda District is giving towards improving the livelihoods of the Batwa community in his area, sharing his bee keeping skills for commercial honey production to provide income towards improving their livelihoods. “Ever since the government evicted these Batwa, they got stranded, and they are our neighbours. Batwa used to eat honey while in the forests, this is why I decided to train them in commercial beekeeping so they can raise some money by selling honey both locally and beyond” – Haruna Mutabazi.
After the Government relocated the Batwa community, who had long since lived in the equatorial forests of what is now the Mgahinga National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, and Echuya Forest reserve, their life became hard. From once living simple lives, the government edict prescribed that they now find their livelihood and survival in an economy and way of life controlled by money that they were ill prepared to deal with.
In South Western Uganda, Kaboyo Secondary School has benefitted from the largesse of one of their teachers, Peter Kagamba, the Information Technology teacher. Following a government resolution to make computer science compulsory in schools, despite the lack of facilities to do so in some schools, Peter offered his own personal laptop for the use of the school; all soft copy documents of the school were saved on his computer, all school exams were typed and saved on his computer, students did the computer lessons on this one laptop. Consequently, the community rallied by their local organisation, Kabarole NGO and CBOs Association (KANCA) started fundraising towards a functional computer laboratory for the school, giving whatever they have.
In Fort Portal City, Isaac Mugisa, through his Community Based Organization – Humura Vulnerable Children/Youth Support Organization (HUVUCSO), is playing a vital role in mobilizing and inspiring his community to embrace local philanthropy. Isaac’s dream to start a vocational centre was timely and received a warm welcome from the community members. Recognising the benefit to their community, they contributed towards this dream with timber, sewing machines, and others offering their labour. Annet Kansime, a community member consequently offered her labour to freely train women (young mothers) in tailoring.
The challenge now remains as how to amplify the work of these; to recognise that the popular grant making schedules, requirements, and considerations that the civil society sector uphold, would frustrate rather than enhance such actions that directly respond to the development needs of these communities as determined by them.
Mindset change is a difficult battle to win, but not impossible. These stories of resilience as driven by individuals and their communities speak to the endless possibilities, if only communities are supported and allowed to lead their own development. Maybe the mindset change that is required here is not that of the communities, but rather of the ‘outsiders’, read development actors, who seek to prescribe for the communities what their development should look like based on their own idea rather than that of the communities.