Increasing redress for survivors of conflict-related SGBV in northern Uganda through economic empowerment and social protection

Acceptance of a goat by a WAN member. Photo by JRP
Acceptance of a goat by a WAN member. Photo by JRP

The Livelihood project is a collaborative project between WAN and JRP, with support of Uganda-Fund, which seeks to provide increased redress for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence across northern Uganda through economic empowerment. The project currently supports all 16 WAN groups, reaching over 500 survivors of conflict SGBV in Northern Uganda.

This project is founded upon the premise that the lack of economic empowerment of war-affected women, especially victims of conflict SGBV, continues to be a major hindrance to full and meaningful participation in advocacy for justice, accountability and remedy for female survivors. Specifically, the project aims to address these objectives:

  1. Survivors of conflict SGBV in all WAN groups have increased income to meet their basic needs by end of project life,
  2. Survivors of conflict SGBV in all WAN groups have increased entrepreneurial and financial management skills to improve their livelihoods efforts by end of project life, and
  3. Engendered communities with access to resources, social protection and equal participation in decision making as well as in TJ processes by end of project life.

The project supports WAN groups in selecting an Income Generating Activity (IGA) for the group and building it together into a sustainable and efficient source of income for members. The project provides IGA selection support, project inception meetings, provision of IGA start-up capital, entrepreneurship and livelihood skills/enterprise training, financial management and VSLA training, provision of group revolving loans and saving schemes, dialogues on gender-related themes and, lastly, monitoring, mentorship and support visits to all WAN groups.

The WAN groups across the northern region have selected various different IGAs, from poultry keeping and rearing of goats and cows, to crop husbandry and ox-plough farming. The group revolving loans and saving schemes help victims of SGBV to meet their basic needs and start their own enterprises like farming, goats rearing, retail shops, poultry keeping, tailoring etc.