August 15, 2012
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation,
Pb 8034 Dep. 0030 Oslo,
Norway
Dear Sir / Maddam,
Re: Request for Support
Divine Mercy Initiative respectfully submits its proposal to The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation for $ 1.078M to support its Community Based Programs for young people especially those marginalized as a result of the 2011 Mud Slides in Bududa – Eastern Uganda and those who continue to suffer the impact of the 20 year old Kony led conflict in Northern Uganda. We also undertake to care for other teenagers deemed by the project to be desperate for help.
Divine Mercy Initiative is an innovative program that seeks to bridge the socio-economic gap that is largely prevalent in the East and Northern Uganda due to several catastrophes especially the 21 year old Kony led Insurgency and the most recent mud slides that continue to render thousands of families homeless. We plan to offer a variety of programs that will serve community members of every age with much emphasis being put on children upon who are key for the next generation. This particular proposal seeks funding for one of our most important programs: the primary, secondary and tertiary education programs. This program is the cornerstone of our organization and our strategy is to invest in quality education for the hopeless children and teenagers who did not choose to be poor, disadvantaged or helpless.
To reach our mission, Divine Mercy Initiative seeks to launch a strategic and long term partnership with The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation consisting of funding and soliciting volunteers to work with the program. We look forward to exploring the possibilities with you. Thank you for considering our request. Please contact the undersigned if you need additional information.
Sincerely,
Bulafu Issa
Managing Director
Our Vision
To restore Hope by helping marginalized children and youths to help others.
Our Mission
To bring Hope and joy to the young people in the East and Northern Uganda through establishment and maintenance of long term partnerships with the victims of natural and civil calamities in Eastern and the Northern Uganda.
Executive Summary
Divine Mercy Initiative seeks $1.078M to fund Innovative Community Based Programs for young people in East and Northern Uganda. It is envisaged that the program will initially serve 1500 children and teenagers annually, teaching low-income young people to take advantage of the educational and economic tools and opportunities presented by both class room and hands on skills.
Rationale
More than 300 people died as a result of the March 8, 2010 mud slide in Eastern Uganda (Bududa). Over 5,000 homes were destroyed in three villages of Nametsi, Kubehwo, and Namashet in Manjiya County, Bududa District while around 8500 were displaced either voluntarily or by Government action. Acres of crops, goats, cattle and chickens were buried under the sea of thick soil.
Bududa is a new district carved out of the original Mbale district. It lies on the slopes of Mt. Elgon on the Uganda-Kenya border. Elgon is the fourth highest mountain in Eastern Africa formed as result of an extinct volcano which erupted more than 24 million years ago.
Below: The search for missing dear ones continued
Above: Survivors carry remains of the exhumed relative found dead under the mud
H.E. President Museveni made courtesy visit to scene of the fateful mud-slides
Since 1986, Joseph Kony has held the north in a grip of terror and fear. His methods are brute force, terrifying violence and the power of myth and his invincibility
· 40,000 children have been abducted and enlisted through brainwashing and the threat of violence into the LRA. (The figures used can vary from 25,000 to 66,000)
· Some 30,000 people have been killed as direct action of the LRA. A total of 100,000 died due to direct and indirect actions of the LRA.
· Thousands have been maimed physically with lips, ears, mouths and limbs being cut off since they were seen as traitors or informers. Betraying the cause of Joseph Kony.
· 2 Million People were displaced either voluntarily or through Government action into camps where life was simply hell on earth.
· Countless of children are unaccounted for, dying in combat, or from diseases such as malaria. Many children escaped, 24,000 ex-LRA members have been granted amnesty in Uganda.
· 40,000 children became Night Commuters, leaving their villages at night and staying in towns such as Gulu at centers, hospitals, storefronts, verandas. Many of them would be abused during their nightly stay.
· Villages were burned, crops destroyed, livestock taken.
· More schools were closed than remained open during the time of the war causing children never to learn. Schools in camps did not have the resources to do a proper job of teaching children.
· Relief supply convoys were regularly attacked by the LRA curtailing food supplies for the camps and the region in general.
In July of 2006, the LRA and the Ugandan Government signed a cessation of hostilities agreement while peace negotiations were going on between the LRA and Uganda in Juba, South Sudan. The peace agreement has never been signed and peace-talk negotiations ceased in 2008. However, since the summer of 2006 peace has been back inside of Uganda. Unfortunately, Joseph Kony simply moved his army terror into South Sudan, then the Democratic Republic of Congo, also excursions into the Central African Republic where he uses the same tactics that were used in Uganda.
It is against this background, that Divine Mercy Initiative seeks the support of The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation to work together in mitigating the said dangers which have been afflicted on innocent people more so the youths.
A. Overview
Divine Mercy Initiative 's mission is to restore hope and joy though adoption, rehabilitation and training of orphaned children in East and Northern Uganda. Located at less than 10 kilometers from the heart of Mbale Municipality, Buwalasi alongside the entire East and Northern Uganda is an ethnically diverse low-income community that has largely lagged behind on the socio-economic front mainly due to prolonged rebel activities and other natural calamities that have befallen the region over the past 20 years of significant economic and social boom that has transformed neighboring communities in Uganda. Divine Mercy Initiative offers a broad range of community based humanitarian programs that aim to allow all people especially children in the said community to take advantage of the educational and economic opportunities created by class room and hands on training programs in areas such as farming, tailoring, Electrical installation, motor engineering, Metal Fabrication as well as other entrepreneurial programs to be undertaken.
Thanks to Mzei Juma Bulafu, who has offered our program more than 50 hectares of land on lease basis to house most of our programs free of charge. The said land is valued at USD 1,500,000 with access to Hydro Electricity Power, piped water – courtesy of RUWASA, as well as reliable road network that cannot be rendered impassable because of heavy rain fall. Out of the 10 kilometers drive from the heart of Mbale Municipality, only 3 Kilometers of the said Road has no tarmac but filled with good quality marrum and on the Local Government routine maintenance plan.
Funds permitting, Divine Mercy Initiative intends also extend Vocational training Scholarships or interest free loans to young people in our area of operation whose performance will be above average to attain Vocational Skills and pay back when they are in gainful employment. This model will in the long run become self-sustaining as the returned loans will again be extended to other students in need even without further support from development partners.
Another area we intent to explore is that of medical rehabilitation for the young people who have been victims of the war in Northern Uganda but are to join our program. Key activities on this front will include reconstructive surgery to restore deformed body parts which remain a permanent source of psychological torment and degradation if not repaired. We have indeed managed to conduct free reconstructive surgeries in liaison with our local and international volunteer medical specialists who are still willing to offer their professional expertise if other logistics are available. In specific terms, the said logistics would include theatre fees, drugs and sundries as well hospitalization fees in a hospital setting during the recuperation process. Our partner private Hospitals are readily available to offer highly discounted quotations in case required.
Project sustainability
In order to ensure sustainability of the Project, the proprietors of Divine Mercy Initiative have come up with the following strategies to augment the donor funds in the long run:
a) commercialize hands-on projects completed by the enrolled Needy Youths and generate more funds for the project;
b) The academic programs may jointly enroll well to do youths who can pay tuition fees to subsidize on the cost of running especially the academic programs;
c) Needy Youths who are engaged in charitable programs will be required to participate in agricultural / farming activities on weekends and holidays with the view to produce agro-products for both subsistence and commercial purposes;
d) If pioneer Needy Youths live up to the proposed oath of at least helping one other orphan in future when they are in gainful employment, this would be one way of ensuring sustainability of the program even without the intervention of the development partners.
Ability to embark and successfully implement the said program:
The success of Divine Mercy Initiative is largely dependent upon its proprietary brains. In specific terms:
The Founder and Director of Divine Mercy Initiative (33) commands a lot of experience in implementing several humanitarian programs right from his university time when he pursued a Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution up to the current date when the said Director has successfully led a multi-billion and multi-specialist Health Facility at the heart of Uganda’s Capital city in the position of the General Manager. His Healthcare background and contacts puts him even in a much better position to coordinate the planned medical activities under the program.
Our Director of Finance has served in various institutions including the Uganda Revenue Authority as a Senior Tax Specialist and later as Finance Manager in several Institutions. He holds a Bachelors degree in Commerce and an active member of the British ACCA as he holds up to date membership with the Certified Public Accountants of uganda.
There is a lot of good will and moral support for the program right from the grass roots in villages were the project is positioned to concentrate its activities.
B. Description of Programs
Divine Mercy Initiative works to restore hope through adoption, training and education of disadvantaged young people from the East and Northern Uganda
Education:
Divine Mercy Initiative has is will construct a total of 10 classrooms in the year 2012 in preparation to house pupil / students from primary one to primary five and senior one to senior three. We intend to offer both art and science subjects on top of hands-on training programs in areas of Agriculture, tailoring, electrical and motor mechanics and computer among others. All the said programs are to be housed on the available donated land.
Hand-on Skills:
With the initial Vision of helping disadvantaged children attain education, Divine Mercy Initiative is inspired to evolve into a series of incubated entrepreneurial activities aimed at equipping the program beneficiaries with skills to stand alone as men and women as well as generate subsidies to augment the program’s budget for example through food production as they undertake agricultural learning programs. We trust that children who are enrolled to our program will greatly benefit from attained skills and utilize the same even when they return home in holidays.
Psychotherapy:
Divine Mercy Initiative will from time to time seek the indulgence of renown voluntary psychiatrists and counselors to engage the target audience at a one on one basis, through groups and via mass media like the local radio stations that can reach even the wider audience who because of limited financing we may have not managed to directly enroll into our programs.
Specialist Medical Camps:
With the support of our medical volunteers already on board, we intend to hold periodic medical camps on key specialties of need like plastic surgery to repair traumatizing deformities afflicted on the said victims by the warriors. Sample pictures of some of the few reconstructive surgical cases are attached for your contemplation. These images were taken a charity medical camp we recently participated in with the volunteer doctors and one of the private health facilities in Kampala.
Scholarships and Interest-free loans
Youths who excel in their performance shall be awarded either scholarships or interest-free loans to attain University education and in case of interest free loans, the money is then paid back when such students are finally in gainful employment so that the same funds are extended to other youths in utmost need.
Eligibility:
All young people who have had limited access to education and other training programs as a result of being orphaned by the war activities and other natural calamities that befell the East and Northern Uganda like the recent Bududa mudslides will benefit from our program. We will also take up children of the needy especially around the Bugisu Region.
Immediate needs:
While some of the activities may comprise our long term programs, preparatory works such identification and selection of most deserving victims, need to construct at least 10 class rooms, and a hostel are among the urgent works that need funding and implementation.
C. Population Groups Served
Divine Mercy Initiative will for now serve young people of all ages and backgrounds in East and Northern Uganda. Our community is approximately 40% Bagisu – a community that has never had a chance to hold any key Government position in Uganda with a per capita income of less than a dollar, hence low advocacy when sharing the national Cake. 40% of the beneficiaries will come from Northern Uganda that has for more than 20 years suffered the brutality of the Kony led insurgency, 30% will be selected from the Bududa Mud-slide victims’ camps, while 30% Percent of the children will be selected on a case by case basis guided by Divine Mercy Initiative’s enrollment worthiness criteria. In total, we intend to work with approximately 1500 Youths per annum - 90% of whom are to be children and teenagers.