| Christian AIDS
Network (CAN)
"Remove stigma - Create hope"
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"We seek to network and join in partnership with related organization both local and foreign"
-Christian Based-God First and Then Others (ED)
"We seek to network and join in partnership with related organization both local and foreign" -Christian Based-God First and Then Others (ED) |
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Busoga the Home of Christian AIDS Network Busoga
is a great region in Uganda with a great history spiced up with diverse
lifestyle "Busoga" is a region, which is in the
country Uganda. It is located at the base of Lake Victoria on the South, Lake
Kyoga to the North and River Nile running all along the region on the Western. Busoga comprises of 5 districts now and these
are: Jinja, Iganga, Kamuli, Mayuge and Bugiri. The gospel has along way to go in
these areas with now only one urban Church of Christ with 66 rural Churches.
Pray!!! Busoga Region Brief History of Busoga Busoga is a
great region in Uganda with a great history spiced up with diverse lifestyle.
The Bantu-speaking people mostly dominate the region. It slopes from Mountain
Elgon in Eastern Uganda, to the Victorian Lake basin and the stretching up
stream river Nile from Lake Victoria in the south to the North at Lake Kyoga. Agriculture
continues to be the major economic activity and source of income. The region
comprises of five districts; Iganga, Kamuli. Mayugeand,Bugiri and Jinja. It is
the entry point to Uganda interior from the great Indian Ocean. Jinja that
assumes the capital status of the region was once the industrial town of Uganda. The town
grew into an economic engine of Uganda until Amin’s regime (1972-1979) due to
the coastal trade between the Arabs and local people. The advent of the white
administrators was a catalyst to civilization and industrial revolution in the
region. It produced cotton and coffee on addition to food crops like Maize,
matooke, beans and cassava. The fertile
soils in the region meant high agricultural production that necessitated the
construction of Owen Falls Dam to generate power for the manufacturing and
processing industries in area. Many people
of different origins, who either came to their labor, supply raw materials or as
market ended up setting as permanent resident. The
multi-ethnic communities in Busoga include people of the Asian origin,
Karamojongs , Luo, Banyankole, Banyoro, Bakiga,Batoro, Banyarwanda and Burundi. This
multi-ethnic setting has propelled development of the region t different levels
and is seen as a reach ground for research to the University. CULTURE As already
indicated Busoga is a multi-ethnic region with diverse cultural set up. In
general, Busoga is under one cultural institution known as ‘Obwakyabazinga Bwa
Busoga’ that assumes the cultural role of in the region. The cultural head is
known as ‘Kyabazinga, Isebantu’ which means the ‘father of all the people
in Busoga. Busoga Kingdom as its culturally known covers five districts. The current
Isebantu, H.R.H, O.B.E, Henry Wako Muloki continues the legacy of his ancestors
at Nakabango royal palace. His main role in the community (according the
country’s 1996 constitution) is to keep the region and its people both
culturally and socially united. In this way he has encouraged his subjects to
work hard especially through agriculture and education to develop the area under
his jurisdiction. Like other cultural heads in Uganda like the Kabaka of Buganda,
Omukama of Bunyoro and Tooro, the Kyabazinga supports human resource
development. Therefore he has continued to encourage and advocate for
development education as the basis for sustainable development. He has
mobilized and encouraged the people to sacrifice resources for the development
of Busoga. He has also continued to protect, promote and preserve the cultural
sites in Busoga. These help Basoga with enough source of research and field
work. While on the other hand, these sites generate income for the community
hence providing revenue for the kingdom. Among the exploited sites in Busoga
includes the following; 1.
Source of River Nile in Jinja: This is
famous tourist attraction site in Africa since the arrival of John Speke and
James Grant in 1862. It is the point where the world longest river starts its
long journey to join the Mediterranean Sea at Alexandria in Egypt. 2.
Budhagali rapid Falls and Historical Site: Budhagali
Falls historical ancestral site with great water falls as its cultural role. It
is believed to be the headquarters of all the cultural and spiritual powers in
Busoga. It attracts much festival annually and the traditional priests
congregate to map out their future plans. It is also a coveted site for the
established of the second power station. Today it is cherished tourists campsite
attracting thousands both local and foreign tourist. 3.
Kagulu Ancestral Hill in Kamuli district: This is the
first settlement centre in Busoga of the Nyoro Origin. It has many interesting
features including the rock hill, ancient caves and a unique culture at the
foot. The rare Shoebill bird is a common visitor to this place. 4.
Mpumudde Ancestral Hill: The place
where Omukama Kabalega met his Death after a long return journey from the
colonel exile in Seychelles Island 5.
Bukaleba Defunct palace in Mayuge district and Budhumbula Royal Tombs in Kamuli
district are among other cultural and recreational centres one is sure to
visit while in Busoga, among others. ADMINISTRATION Administratively
Busoga in governed under the decentralized system of governance. This means
Iganga, Jinja, Mayuge, Bugiri and Kamuli have independent democratically elected
political structures. Local Council Five heads these districts. These councils
of each district are chaired by L.C.V Chairpersons. The
Technical Staff known as Civil Servants supports these councils. The head civil
servant is known as Chief Administrative Officer and the government
representative known as the Resident District Commissioner (RDC)
People and Demography Busoga
experienced massive movement of people right from the early period that led to
its construction as a nation. Several factors contributed to the trend of
events. They included mainly factors ranging from famine and security for their
lives and property. Today, these factors continue to affect and define the
population mobility in the kingdom on addition to quest for employment and
social amenities. The
changes in the demographical trends have continued to witness a population
influx in urban and peri-urban areas of Busoga kingdom for the above reasons.
Towns like Jinja, Iganga and their surrounding areas are some of the areas that
continue to face high levels of immigration. Imigrants join town life in search
for jobs, security for their lives and food. Between
the period 1920 and 70s, Jinja, Busoga’s capital city, experienced economic
changes and gained in economic importance. During this period, it transformed
into an industrial town with the stead high cotton production, completion of
Uganda railway and Owen falls dam. These factors elevated Jinja into an
agro-industrial centre pausing with over 46 factories, several cottage
industries and well-developed infrastructure. These developments attracted
people in form of labor from the rural areas of Busoga to work in those
factories, help in house keeping or in doing other urban development related
activities. Externally, many people came from the neighboring areas of Busoga.
Among the new comers was families’ Asian origin that came to do business.
Estates like Mpumudde and Walukuba were developed to accommodate the increasing
population. Other services like piped water, electricity, roads, hospitals and
schools were also extended to serve the population. But
in villages the majority of people, with the assured market in towns,
concentrated on agriculture. They grew both cash and food crops like cotton,
coffee, bananas, potatoes and cassava, fruits and vegetables. Their
standards of living drastically improved and Busoga kingdom raised its revenue
and constructed more infrastructures. It forgot about subsistence system of life
and turned to real economic production even coveted by Europeans. In
the pre-colonial era, people left their traditional lands. State structures
disappeared. A number of clans and states decimated and people migrated into
Busoga in large numbers in this century, carrying with them the traditions and
cultures of other lands. The
most important causes of these movements were Marjory families and epidemics,
which occurred within and the surrounding areas. Slave trade 19th Century
decimated the state and disorganized the development, especially in the colonial
era. In
the 19th Century, one of the principle routes along which Europeans traveled
from the coast to Buganda passed through the Southern pot of Busoga. From John
Speke and James Grant, Sir Gerald Portal, F.D Lugard, J.R. Macdonald, and Bishop
Tucket all noted the country was plentifully supplied with food and was densely
settled as a result. However,
between 1898 - 99 and 1900-1, the first indications of sleeping sickness were
reported. In
1906, orders were issued to evacuate the region. Despite the attempts to clear
the area, the epidemic continued in force until 1910. As a result, most of the
densely populated port of Busoga, the homeland of over 200,000 persons in the
19th Century, was totally cleared of the population in the ten years. Lubas
palace at Bukaleba, also the coveted European fruit mission, collapsed and
relocated to other parts of Busoga. South Busoga constituted about one third of
the land area of Busoga, and, in 1910, South Busoga was vacant. In the 1920s and
1930s, some of the evacuees who survived the epidemic began to return to their
original land. However, in 1940 a new outbreak of sleeping sickness resurfaced
in the area, and it was only in 1956 that resettlement, promoted by the
government began again, but things were not going to be the same again. Few
Basoga returned to their traditional lands. The
consequences of the catastrophe were that the Southern part of Busoga, the area
roughly corresponding to what Johnston, delimited as the most deadly populated
area, was (Governor) virtually uninhabited. Other areas originally affected by
sleeping sickness, including the eastern margins of Bukooli and Busiki counties
were evidently depopulated too. Famines,
too, resulted in substantial population movements, Several areas in north east
Busoga and in the adjacent Bukandi district across the Mpologoma river were
repeatedly struck by famines - 1898 - 1900, 1907, 1908 - 1917 - 1918 and 1944.
Population in these areas reduced, many people, falling victims to the famines
while the survivors moved to other areas for safety. The
effects of these movements were apparent growth in population density in the
central area of Busoga and into the urban and peri-urban areas of Busoga. Many
Basoga left Busoga in the same period, settling in other districts. The
demographic profile of Busoga today is, as a consequence of all these
developments. Today
Busoga is a home of many people 6 of different origins of similar above causes
but with different faces. According to 2002 population census, Busoga has a
population of 2.7 million people. Christian AIDS Network is located on Plot Number
20, Main Street in the middle of Jinja town, the former Industrial area In the
whole country, It Is the only organization of its kind in Uganda that has
passion and tender heart for the people living with HIV/AIDS.
The
Home of Christian AIDS Network (CAN) In front of our building is the Source Cafe, the
Internet cafe and coffee corner and library, which Is more useful to the
community, we seek to serve with social, economical and mostly spiritual
Information services. The library, real portrays our premise to be the source of
resources. Many people In the course of the week flock our premise making use of
our Information services we render to them in his name.
HIV/AIDS
Seminar organized by CAN These activities help bring in people to our
premise and we easily get the opportunity to minister to them. Just behind is
the hall that we use as a Church on Sundays from 10:00 am - 12:00 noon. The
whole area is enclosed behind with a number of rooms. These rooms are used on
various occasion thus; §
Accommodation to our Busoga Bible School
students §
Host seminars/ conference §
Busoga Bible School classes are conducted in
there §
And the video room §
And It Is possible for us to accommodate any
guest §
We have a room used as a counselling center
forcussing on people living with HIV/AIDS. §
Baptism at Jinja Church of christ Christian
AIDS Network, here and after abbreviated as CAN,
is an independent non-profit indigenous church-based charitable organization.
Evangelist Grace Nyanga started the organization in 2003. To try remove the
stigma and create hope to the people living with HIV/AIDS, these two factors
having been the most frequent situations faithful would turn up for counseling
and prayer about. Soon the intended boundaries were found to be outstripped by
demand, as the need for services was growing at a speed so terrific, in an area
so wide than the resources, physical, financial and human, could handle. In
light of this, and in expectation of the future, owing partly to unending spread
of AIDS and partly to increasing abject poverty, Christian
Aids Network was upgraded to a non governmental
organization from a mere community based organization. So from 2003,
CAN is a fully fledged independent organization with headquarters at Main
Street, Main Street, Jinja, Plot 20, a town in near eastern Uganda, about 45
minutes away from Kampala the capital (and only city) of Uganda.
CAN now works in the; v
Provision of formal education
for orphans and vulnerable children, v
Empowering widows financially
and psychosocially, v
Sensitizing communities about
HIV/AIDS, v
Providing mobile palliative care
for people living with AIDS (PLWA), v
Fighting poverty through
pursuing income generating activities, v And finally, spreading the word of a caring God. An
overview of how HIV/AIDS has affected the children and widows we serve. The HIV/AIDS problem
probably just like else where in the world has left a big group of people
affected and these are grouped as orphans, widows, widowers, dependents,
guardians, grand parents of many beyond their abilities, street boys, and many
others as they may be grouped as you can see, these groups involves the both
possibly sick and those who are health, but still in problems.
In Uganda, the number
of children that have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS alone is estimated at 1.2
million children. However, some other
children have been orphaned due to the political turmoil causing war and other
diseases like Ebola, Malaria and accidents, which make up a total of 2 million
orphans. Generally speaking, orphans in
our community live in a very miserable state. When the parents have died of
HIV/AIDS and other diseases like malaria, a child is taken to live with
relatives. These relatives already have large extended families and most of
these families live below the poverty line. We are striving as much as possible to network with
all churches, local and foreign organization and individual good spirit people
to share ideas, experience on development, sex education, HIV/AIDS information
and other related topics with people living with HIV/AIDS and the affected
family members. We identify CAN beneficiaries through local or
community leaders, church leaders, affected family groups and home visiting. "We believe that heart grieves for what the eye
can see”
Betty Achibo in CAN’s
Office: Widow and she is HIV +ve Widows, widowers and orphans… are the direct
beneficiaries of CAN. Churches should express Jesus’ likeness in the above
matter. We welcome you to share with the needy the gift of your heart, mind and
spirit. Or rather to become fundraiser for Christian AIDS Network in your own
country.
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