Projects in progress: a UK Aid Match team visit to Cambodia, Uganda and Kenya

Late last year, the UK Aid Match team visited four grant holders and their delivery partners across Africa and Southeast Asia – Action Aid and UWS (United World Schools) in Cambodia, ADD International in Uganda, and Save The Children in Kenya.

The visits were an opportunity to connect with grant holders and partners, strengthen our critical relationships, and to deepen our understanding of project progress and challenges. They also create time for troubleshooting ideas and offering tailored support, for example, with technical or financial reporting challenges or with understanding the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO) approach to safeguarding.

Below is a brief summary of the visits:

In four provinces of Cambodia, Action Aid has established Women Champion Networks (WCN) who are equipping their communities with tools, knowledge and resilience to adapt to climate change, manage disaster risk and amplify their voices to advocate for their rights.

During the visit our team met with members of the WCN in Koh Kong and Kampot, seeing first-hand how their efforts have been impacting them and their wider communities. In Koh Kong, Women Champions demonstrated how their innovative coconut husk fertiliser business is generating funds to support the Network’s other activities, creating financial sustainability for the group. The fertiliser is a natural, eco-friendly way to enhance soil health which is vital in their drought-prone region. And in Kampot, Women Champions delivered agro-ecological training activities such as crop selection and rotation, reducing dependence on agro-chemicals and establishing water catchment systems so women-farmers are better prepared for the effects that climate change is having on their livelihoods. 

A key success of the WCN are their mentoring activities, which are providing members with opportunities to build confidence and learn new skills in a safe, supportive community. Women Champions shared how these experiences have had a positive impact on their inter-personal relationships and positions in their households and communities.

Photographs: Coconut husks used to produce fertiliser and generate income for the financial sustainability of WCN; A Women Champion demonstrating the coconut husk fertiliser process

UWS are supporting children to enrol and stay in school in remote regions of Cambodia, while developing education facilities, school management structures and supporting teacher employment and training. This multi-country project also extends to remote areas of Nepal.

Our team and FCDO travelled to Ratanakiri, Kratie and Koh Kong, meeting students, teachers, mothers groups and community leaders across seven schools, deepening understanding of the challenges and progress of the project. The schools are very remote and often in hard-to-reach locations, where support from government and other stakeholders is minimal. The progress so far was evident, with vibrant school buildings and resources, upgraded latrines, running water, and in some cases, electricity. 

The UK Aid Match supported schools have strong enrolment and retention rates compared with non-supported schools, and teachers are receiving training and mentoring support to strengthen child-centred classroom culture and learning standards. School Management Committees and mothers groups are central to the project’s sustainability plans to create inclusive school cultures that nurture student learning and a safe environment for children to flourish, especially for girls.

A key strength of the project is the strong relationship that UWS have developed with local government authorities (education offices) and the positive effect this has on the broader work of UWS to help facilitate innovative educational initiatives.

Photographs: Children learning at the upgraded schools

In Uganda, ADD International are supporting young people with disabilities (YPWD) through kitchen gardening, improving both food and income security for them and their families, and reducing the risk of violence against YPWD.

During the visit our team travelled to Jinja and Luwero districts, where they met with ADD International’s partners  – Buganda Disabled Union (BUDU) and Source of the Nile Union of Persons with Albinism (SNUPA) – who are working with ADD to advocate for YPWD, as well as implement the project. They were able to visit some of the kitchen gardens as well as a market stall selling vegetables that have been grown in the gardens.

The project is also challenging negative perceptions around the productive capacity of YPWD and the team were happy to hear that there has been a positive shift within communities, families and among YPWD themselves. Through the kitchen gardening, YPWD are contributing to household food security and income, and feedback from them and their families have highlighted increased self-confidence, aspiration and pride.

Photographs: Fatuma, a Lead Farmer, at her market stall in Jinja District; Members of the UK Aid Match team with SNUPA, ADD International and project participants in one of the kitchen gardens

In Turkana and Mandera counties, Kenya, Save The Children are improving access to lifesaving prevention and treatment services for childhood illnesses and malnutrition.

During the visits our team travelled to two community outreach sites in Loima Sub-County, Turkana, to meet with implementing partner Turkana Christian Development Mission, Community Health Promoters (CHP) and the Sub-county Health Management Team. The goal was to understand how they work together to improve healthcare access in these areas. As part of the project, CHPs have been trained to successfully identify and provide appropriate treatment for diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia. This training, alongside a social and behaviour change campaign, has improved community awareness around these illnesses. Mothers in particular now have a better understanding of symptoms to look out for when they or their children are sick and can contact the CHPs to seek appropriate treatment.

It was also encouraging to see the strong collaboration between the Save the Children project team and the County Department of Health and Sanitation, with joint monitoring of project outcomes, mentoring of key health personnel and regular quality assurance checks against the Community Health Strategy. These efforts are supporting long-term capacity, ensuring that knowledge, skills and resources are in place to continue successful implementation of healthcare once the project ends next year.

Photographs: A Community Health Promoter advises a mother on how to monitor her child’s nutrition status; UK Aid Match, Save The Children and Turkana Chrisitan Development Mission’s teams with CHPs

A thank you

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the organisations and individuals involved with these visits. We really appreciated all your time and continued hard work.