Katine is a region made up of 66 villages in Eastern Uganda, where 77% of the 25,000 population live on less than $1 a day.

The Katine project a joint initiative by Barclays, the Guardian Media Group, and AMREF (African Medical and Research Foundation). It is a major socio–economic sustainability project providing improved water, sanitation and hygiene practices, improved health and education services, and sustainable economic development in the region.

AMREF is delivering the project on the ground, and The Guardian is following progress in print and online as well as raising around £1.5million from reader donations. Barclays is donating £1.5m to the project and drawing on its business expertise to increase the social benefits. We are leading a component which includes financial education and the provision of basic savings and loans services to 5,000 people through village banks. Barclays will develop a sustainable model for rural banking that will deliver genuine community and business benefits. The initiative is being driven by Barclays Global Community Investment and Financial Inclusion teams, and Barclays Uganda. This all makes good business sense, enabling Barclays to develop new ways of delivering financial services in remote and rural locations.

At the same time, NGO Farm Africa will improve Katine’s economic development and the livelihoods of local people through better agriculture, use of technology, focus on specific crops and healthcare for animals. It will also support farmers to access new markets. While some already sell their goods in local markets, not enough is being done to encourage them to sell further afield. Selling in towns and cities, such as Kampala and Mbale, will help local farmers achieve better prices for their produce.

The Katine partners have set themselves ambitious targets to achieve in the coming years including better health, clean water and primary school education.

Sustainable health for Katine’s 25,000 residents requires measures such as establishing village health teams to identify danger signs, such as malaria or malnutrition, and refer people to the nearest clinic. Already, 66 community members have been trained and are ready to deliver these essential services to Katine’s residents.

Clean water is critical for survival and for health, but currently more than 8,000 locals have no choice but to drink dirty water. During the first six months, the project brought clean water to more than 2,500 people and the whole population will be covered by the end of the project.

Primary education, a cornerstone for the future of Katine’s youngsters, will be improved. Teachers will be trained to deliver quality education in more comfortable classrooms. Katine has 13 primary schools but only four have safe water and sanitation, and only half of the children have seats. This contributes to a drop–out rate of over 20% of pupils every year. By building 26 new class rooms and providing clean water and sanitation in schools the project aims to halve the drop–out rate.

To manage the project’s environmental impact, solar panels are being installed at the office in Katine. More may be installed at local health centres and schools. Ways to help local people protect the environment and increase their livelihoods through carbon credit schemes will also be explored.

 

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