Uganda: IPOA Orphans and Widows Association

General Background
Unlike most of the other projects, IPOA is a non-profit, communally owned and beneficiaries’ labour effort – based association. Foundedand registered as Community Based Organisation (CBO), it has been operationalmaintaining its legal personality back since 2008.

Before it came in to the attention of PBF, the normal functioning of the association was solely dependent on small amount of funds and material support contributed by the Catholic Church of the area and from the personal pockets of the members which has left in question of its operational continuity and effectiveness.

It was later in the same year 2008 that the founders of the Association have got a chance to meet Peter Bachmann and share with him of their justifiable aim of forming the Association. Since then, PBF has been supporting the Association financially and materially as a key empowering partner to keep it’s persistent service to the target beneficiaries.
Target beneficiaries of the Association
The main targets of the association are orphan children and widows. What makes it more effective is the strategy the association employed. That is it doesn’t merely provide financial or material support to the beneficiaries rather it creates training and skill development programs and emancipate them to maintain themselves out of their own effort since the income generated from their work will be redistributed among the group.

Apart from the direct beneficiaries, the community in general is also benefiting mainly through the water supply projects to the village. the community is also benefiting from the cheap and easily accessible products produced by the association.
Objectives and main activities
The association is striving to work on realising the following objective:Train orphans and widows in a variety of skills to help them solve
their individual and community challenges. By doing this, it creates unity and team spirit in their fight against starvation. It is also ambitious of establishing platform for the orphans and widows in the avenues ofcommunity building, hence restoring their hope, improving health, hygiene, sanitation for a better living, restore their traditional values and attitudes towards life, moralsvalues and general cultural understanding of a disciplined society.

Aiming to put this objective practically on the ground, the association has been active organising the member beneficiaries to work on hand craft using the locally available materials, offer trainings and then let the group work on the preparation and processing of traditional herbal medicine, making homemade soap and ointments, facilitate awareness creation seminars and workshops on HIV and other transmitted diseases, nutrition, natural birth control and provide financial support for the very needy.
PBF Contribution to the betterment of the works of the Association
Since late 2008, PBF has been providing financial and material support to the various projects proposed by the foundation. To mention some of the major projects: sponsoring orphan students to attend University, funding for the proposed trainings and workshops, funding projects for the construction of offices and training center, funding the village water supply projects of constructing water pipe and tapping, medical support, financing the widows in subsistence farming and the like projects.
Effectiveness of the Association
Currently, the association is offering the services expanding its coverage of selecting target beneficiaries in to three counties and this is a very good success as its activities were restricted only in one county for a while since its establishment.