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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:
Many of the governments in Sub‑Saharan Africa are among the poorest in the world. The nationals of a great majority of these countries are experiencing the worst effects of the famous vicious cycle of poverty. Some of these people do not have any means of survival. The socio‑economic environment does not offer the much-needed clues on the way in which people must harness their surroundings to enhance their well‑being and create an avenue for their survival and continuity.
The governments are over‑burdened with the many socio‑economic necessities they have to provide for their citizens amidst a present and continuing reality of widespread scarcity. The citizens on the other hand, are so pre‑occupied with their quest for survival that they seem to have lost much of their sense of direction. In short, there is a situation in which the natural sense of “general survival” has lost its meaning to the now infamous sense of “survival for the fittest”. In fact the “unfit” have been left for dead in some instances.
The traditional means of survival used by our ancient ancestors have lost their formal effectiveness. The hunting fields have been gazetted or reduced by many folds due to expansion of the built environment, fish stocks have dwindled due to over‑fishing and swamp reclamation and the ever-advancing desert has engulfed much of the arable land. This means the environment can no longer support man as easily as it used to do in the past. Survival on nature does not seem to make as much sense and satisfaction as it used to do, yet amidst this difficulty life must continue.
The government of Uganda has been trying for a very long time to gradually change the way people live. A lot of revenue has been sunk into various socio‑economic projects to try and improve the lives of all Ugandans. There has been investment in Primary Health Care, Universal Primary Education, Rural Water and Sanitation, privatization of non‑performing assets, extension of electric power transmission and distribution, rural credit schemes, restocking programs, financing the youth, women and people with disabilities’ groups and a lot more. However, the situation is still far from promising. The government’s involvement in most of these ventures has not yet reflected well upon the intended beneficiaries ‑ the rural poor.
In a country such as Uganda where the main stay is agriculture the rural poor should be much better off than many other Ugandans. About 85% of Uganda Is rural and this means 85% of the population are involved in peasant agriculture from which the government derives most of its revenue.
In view of the constraints faced by the governments in most parts of Sub‑Saharan Africa, Non‑Governmental Organizations, Community Based Organizations and Civil Society Organizations have come up to take centre stage and give a helping hand in areas where the poor governments have failed. Indeed the work and subsequent Impact of these organizations cannot be tinder estimated. In many areas, their efforts have gradually paid off and the lives of the people in such project areas have been changed for the better. The work of these non-profit making organizations as well as the generosity of those few kind people who donate towards these organizations are evermore likely to change the world forever.
It is along the above background that Action for Humanity has come into being. The work of NGOs is a noble cause that knows no horizons and which, if well executed, can a profound impact on the wider community. In Uganda, the activities of NGOs have not concentrating on the urban areas and the urban area fringes yet the most needy people are the rural poor.
Action for Humanity would like to concentrate its activities on the peasants ‑those 18.7 million people who are responsible for sustaining all Ugandans through the production of agricultural goods for both export and domestic consumption. Our activities will involve the grassroots beneficiaries whose lives we are most interested in and whose activities we would wish to enhance through devising means and mechanisms that will ensure these peasants of sustainable survival and continuity.
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