#SalisburysGotTalent donation

16/09/2022

£10 to £100 to Agriculture Equipment for Refugees

In June the new Bishop of Salisbury, Bishop Stephen, preaching at his inaugeration on the Parable of the Talents, spoke of how togetherness in the diocese can transform lives, and that we can invest what we have for the good of God's Kingdom. Every member of the congregation at was given £10 to invest to transform lives.

CRESS was very privileged to be selected by one member of the congregation to put their £10 (which they had increased to £100) to use for the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda.

Why Help South Sudanese Refugees in Northern Uganda?

Northern Uganda is one of the remaining pockets of global systemic poverty. Most of the community in which we work live under the $2 a day mark and lacks basic infrastructure and resources.

A looming hunger crisis is taking hold among refugee populations in Uganda for the second time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time two concurrent events, the drastic reduction in food relief and a rapid surge in inflation have brought the South Sudanese refugees living in Imvepi Refugee Settlement and other camps close to the brink of starvation, with the World Food Programme’s further reductions in food relief leaving families with little more than a week’s worth of food to last an entire month.

Life in Imvepi refugee settlement

How £100 is helping

CRESS supports 34 agriculture groups and 76 pastors in both Imvepi Refugee Settlement and the bush area around Mijale. They receive training and tools to enable them to generate food and income for their families. With average group size of 25 members and average family size of 8, our project has impacted on over 7400 individuals that can now eat 2 meals a day due to increased food security. Better health means more energy to help their families and increased income to buy medicines and pay school fees.

They are also being shown how to plant and use fruit trees to offer shelter in their gardens as well as provide a high-value crop in future years.

With the changing climate water supply, storage and use is a big concern for these farmers and so the £100 has been used for 20 watering cans for the groups.