Introducing ‘wadwokotwero’ Project

Introducing ‘wadwokotwero’

Lamwo Rock Foundation is planning to launch ‘wadwokotwero’ project in 2014. Wadwokotwero is the Acholi word meaning ‘we are giving back power’.

The aim of the ‘wadwokotwero’ project is to empower communities to develop community-initiated, sustainable, and innovative responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. We shall achieve this by providing training and mentoring to groups within the community.

Wadwokotwero will be implemented by the Lamwo Rock Foundation to develop and expand the project and ensure that it is meeting the needs of local communities. The LRF-CY is a community-based organization working in Lamwo District, one of the regions most affected by the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Uganda. We work with around 20 rural communities, reaching an estimated 1,800 people directly and 84,000 indirectly.

What is the context of the project?

HIV and AIDS have had a devastating effect on families in this region, leaving many children without one or both parents, and grandparents to play the role of caregiver. Communities require support to understand and deal with this loss and to provide the necessary care for people living with HIV (PLHIV) and orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

The elderly, who once had a respected and established role in the community, had become disempowered and were lacking a sense of purpose. Wadwokotwero will provides elderly, mainly female, carers with the knowledge and power to take control of their situation, to have the confidence to reinstate themselves as the head of the community and to spread knowledge about HIV and AIDS. 

What are the project activities?

Wadwokotwero mobilises and empowers these elderly women who have formed a network known as the ‘dayo’ (Acholi word for ‘grandmother’), by providing mentoring and training. The support they will receive will help them build knowledge around HIV and AIDS, develop counseling skills, acquire home-based care qualifications, and get involved in national discussions affecting the elderly.

The Dayo will build strong support networks and meet regularly to plan their work, or eat and sew together.

Wadwokotwero will also provide small-scale farming training to communities. Currently communities are receiving training in goat rearing, permaculture and container gardening techniques (to grow herbs and vegetables). This ensures communities have a sustainable supply of nutritious milk and food, which is particularly important for OVC and PLHIV. Communities are able to pass on this learning to others, making it more sustainable.

What is Wadwokotwero's vision and impact?

The wadwokotwero project is developed and led by the community themselves, therefore it is truly owned at a community level and the activities undertaken are what the community really needs.

An interview with the director of Lamwo Rock Foundation on how Wadwokotwero Project will work

The LRF-CY role is to provide the mentoring, training and guidance to local people to build their capacity to deal with the impact of the AIDS epidemic and empower them to overcome challenges and build a sustainable response. The change envisaged by the project is to avert the spread of HIV and AIDS by building stronger community networks and changing behavior.

The elderly women reached by the Wadwokotwero’ project will be empowered by the training and mentoring they will receive from the Lamwo Rock Foundation and it will greatly improved their confidence levels and their ability to take care of children and young people. In turn this will improve both their health and that of those in their care.