Every result is a family's story

Last mile community members enhance their families' food security with support from Raising The Village.

Joyce lives with her husband and four children along the shores of Lake Albert in the Great East African Rift Valley. Like many living in last-mile communities, she and her family experienced significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, as government lockdowns caused economic stressors, stressed livelihoods, limited access to markets, and disrupted access to services. Joyce and her husband often struggled to cover their expenses and, on some days, her family was forced to go without food.

Bonny Ocen is Raising The Village’s Agriculture Extension Services Coordinator, and works closely with communities, RTV Implementation team, and Government Extension Workers to maximize agricultural impact. Today, he shares more about his role, and the key considerations on this results-based agriculture approach.

At the peak of the afternoon with the scotching sun shining bright through the kigezi highlands down Honester’s compound. She had spread her beans harvest down on a tarpaulin to dry and had also started shelling some. She is a subsistence farmer living with her husband and seven children in Kamuhoozi village, Rukungiri district.

​​Jovia was at home in her village, Bukerahi, when she felt her labor contractions. Living in a last-mile area where transportation is often challenging, women like Jovia would previously be carried to a health center through hills and crater lakes on a makeshift stretcher. But this time, thanks to Raising The Village’s programs, Jovia was able to use a motorbike ambulance to safely make it to a health center where she delivered her baby. Hear more about her story here.

Community members in Kamuhoozi, a last-mile village, established The Kamuhoozi Youth Raising The Village Group to overcome barriers to the absence of regulated financial services in their community.

Aisha and her family had an ongoing struggle with food security. Although she had the skills to grow and cook food, the family never had the resources. The life of Aisha transformed when Raising The Village engaged all village members with holistic programs that specifically focused on women empowerment which allowed Aisha to secure her family with delicious fresh meals.

Households in Katungi Village in Kahoko Cluster constantly had limited access to clean water that exposed communities to multiple health risks and mortalities. Today, community members can safely use the protected water source constructed by Raising The Village and not worry about the transmission of diseases.

In late 2020, heavy rainfalls hit our partner villages in the Kabukanga Cluster, cutting households off from critical services and increasing the risks of waterborne diseases like cholera and malaria. As the floodwater subsided and the communities started focusing on recovery, it was clear that access to clean water, hygiene, and sanitation were the most urgent priorities. Following another round of community reviews, we modified our project design to respond to these needs. Malaki, the Water Sanitation and Hygiene WASH committee chairperson in one of the partner villages, recently shared updates about the progress in communities following the flooding. Read more below.