Page 29 - Aidlink Annual Report 2020

Programme Overview – Emergencies
Alex's Story
Initially people were reluctant to engage in the monthly community conversations, particularly the pastoralist community members who have traditionally looked to their political leaders or government officials for solutions to developmental challenges.
However, once local people began to understand the value of discussing the things that mattered to their community, and to re-examine how long held individual and collective opinion has hindered development in relation to the education of their children, the idea took root, real change began to happen.
Endikirr Primary enrolment figures have increased from 300 to 500, and most members of the community recognise the importance of education for girls, actively supporting practical efforts put in place to ensure all children are safe and protected.
Changing attitudes around disability has been more gradual. As always, the first step is to talk openly about the issues and thereby shedding stigma and shame.
More recently, Covid-19 has brought new challenges to
the community. In the early stages, people feared for their health, Covid-19 was not understood and there was much confusion and panic. Our community conversations were not possible, which meant a reliable channel of information and communication was temporarily cut off.
The Ministry for Health did however launch a radio campaign encouraging social distancing, hand washing with soap, and mask wearing to prevent community transmission. But these items were not available to people in the community.
As lockdown continued it became clear that the loss of livelihood presented a new set of challenges at every level in the community, market closures meant families could not sell livestock or subsequently purchase food. As days became months, the food trucks from Uganda to markets in Turkana stopped. Scarcity of staples, like maize, caused prices to rise.
My name is Alex Kisironte and I work as a Community Facilitator (CF) at Endikirr Primary schools. I trained
in 2018 and have been working
in community development and advocacy since then. My main work revolves around an initiative called Community Conversations.
27 | Aidlink Annual Report 2020