Barclays in the Community

Investing in the community is an important part of Barclays sustainability strategy. We believe our business will be relevant to the communities where we operate when we contribute to their development and sustainability.

With 51 branches country wide, Barclays Uganda has continued to work under the broad Community Investment initiatives of Health, Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion, Education, supporting people with disabilities and the disadvantaged. This is in line with the group themes that guide sustainable community investment; Banking on Brighter futures, Charity begins at work and looking after local communities.

In Uganda, the Barclays Group is contributing £1.5 million + £250,000 to the innovative Katine Community Development project in Katine, a sub-county of the Soroti district. The four-year development project which is also supported by the Guardian Newspaper in the UK aims to address the major causes of poverty in the community in a targeted way. Katine is a great example of Barclays sustainability and community investment strategy coming together. Through the innovative financial inclusion component, Barclays is using its business skills and expertise to increase access to financial services for the poor.

With CARE International, Barclays is implementing a 'Banking on Change' project, to link the unbanked rural population to the financial services sector.

The Uganda Red Cross is our partner in areas of relief for internally displaced persons in northern Uganda, Pader district, the floods in Teso, eastern Uganda and more recently, the landslide vistims in Bududa, Mbale district.

Over the past five years, Barclays Uganda has worked with Malaria No More in the fight against malaria in Africa supporting a large bed net distribution which helped reach 50% coverage of the country with distribution of a total of 570,000 free nets to children under five and pregnant women in 22 districts in Uganda. We worked in partnership with the President's Malaria Initiative, AFFORD and PSI on the ground. We also worked with UNACOH and AMREF in integrated malaria prevention and control through sustained community empowerment and mobilisation in Masindi and Nakasongola districts in mid north western Uganda.

Barclays has also supported the fight against HIV/AIDS with TASO Uganda, JCRC, Compassion International, AIDS Information Centre, and several hospitals, health Centres around the district. World Vision, Nsambya Babies Home, Daughters of Charity, Nkozi Orphan Care, Sanyu Babies Home and several other orphanages have received our support to cater for orphans that have lost their parents mainly due to the HIV AIDS scourge.

Hospice Uganda, the Cancer Charity foundation, and Bless a Child Foundation, that offer palliative care and rehabilitation for cancer patients have been our beneficiaries.

Barclays Uganda has also worked with several youth development organisations like RYDA, OASIS, Nyaka AIDS Orphan School, Nkonkonjeru Cheshire Providence home, and Daughters of Charity. We also worked with self-help initiatives that promote social and economic empowerment of vulnerable groups through advocacy and community out-reach programs such as the Girl Child Enhancement Program. These initiatives provide basic formal / non-formal education and vocational skills training initiatives for vulnerable children and out-of-school youth in view of building a sustainable community with improved standards of living.

Education is arguably the most powerful tool in empowering the young generation and ICT has been well proven as a vehicle to inspire learning hence our partnership with Digital Links International to spur the growth of ICT in schools across East Africa. The partnership, saw Barclays commit US$ 250,000 over a three year period, aiming to improve access to ICT, which is increasingly playing a multifaceted role in education, business and social arenas.