ENJOY A STORY

Lumago ISAAC Success story

My journey began in 2015 on arrival to Uganda when I was allocated the 30 square meters plot of land. With this size of land, my farming was basically vegetable production around the house”, Lumango Isaac (50) explains. The household counted ten mouths to feed, and Isaac struggled to make ends meet.

 

Six years later, Isaac (50) stands outside his house and shares the story of his success as a farmer. By his legs, his goats are the visible results of his farming skills. Further, away three well-fed sheep and four chicken are underlining his increased wealth.

 

Isaac fled the war in South Sudan and came to Northern Uganda with hardly any belongings. He had to start from scratch providing for his family in a new country as a refugee.

 

From 2017, he joined the Tika United Farmer Groups in Madi-Okollo District, and now he is trusted with the position of chairperson. Through this group, Isaac has acquired technical knowledge and skills in production of cassava and groundnuts.

 

The activities are a part of the Northern Uganda Resilience Initiative (NURI) supporting women and men with skills on farming on small plots of land. Northern Uganda is hosting the biggest number of refugees in Africa in a challenging environment and optimizing each acre of land is paramount.

 

Through membership in NURI groups, refugees build relationships with their Ugandan neighbors. Refugees and Ugandans meet to discuss activities and work together on the land. The NURI programme has established 400 groups during 2020 and expect to double it in 2021.

 

Denmark has supported northern Uganda since the late 1990s, and the NURI programme began in 2018 and supports hosts communities and refugees.

 

Not only has Isaac increased the livestock, but he pays school fees, and the kids can proudly wear the proper uniform on their way to school.  Isaac has bright prospects for the future; “My plan is to open more land for production” he stands upright and speaks with confidence, when he continues; I will establish five acres of cassava and groundnut”