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Africa: Uganda Endowments
Uganda is a country of nearly 24 million people located in East Africa. According to the government of Uganda's statistics, the average annual income is $260, life expectancy is 43.2 years, and the literacy rate is 66.1 percent. Approximately 43 percent of the rural population is poor, compared to 20 percent of the urban population. Since Uganda's population is 85 percent rural, poverty is still widespread and a challenge in need of urgent attention.
Overcoming Obstacles
In Uganda, Heifer has been a key player in promoting increased dairy production. However, increased production is not matched with increased income especially in rural areas. Milk prices in rural areas have remained constant or declined, while prices in urban areas have risen constantly. Milk, being a highly perishable product, is not easily transported to urban markets because of lack of refrigeration. Historically, rural farmers have used traditional methods to preserve milk. These include collecting firewood to boil the milk, which is then churned into butter fat. Of late, some have begun to make sour milk. These methods are not hygienic, environmentally unfriendly and the scale is too small to handle the excess milk that is produced in rural Uganda.
Electricity is not commonly available in most rural areas, and the use of petrol fuel for generators to operate refrigeration units is not cost-effective or environment-friendly. However, one thing that Uganda has in abundance is sun. With the advent of solar-powered icemakers and refrigeration units, Heifer is helping project partners find new methods for the prevention of spoilage. Rural farmers who are currently producing more milk than they can preserve would be able to reach urban markets where the prices for milk are substantially higher. Plus, the ability to store and prolong the life of their dairy products would allow them to diversify their operations and improve their quality of life-to go from subsistent farming to small business ownership that provides improved nutrition and housing for their families. However, this technology is so new that the cost of purchasing solar refrigeration units is not within the grasp of rural farmers. Often with new technology, those whose very lives depend upon it are the ones least able to afford it.
With an endowment for Uganda, you could be providing solutions which could bring an entire region of the world out of the most devastating poverty imaginable. The endowment would continue to help every year in new ways that could bring relief to generations of Ugandans.
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