Helping the Ugandan Government to help Fisherfolk
Many international non-profit groups come to Uganda wanting to help in various ways. They create a lot of buzz in the short term, but they rarely stick around. These projects can have a lot of unintended negative consequences for the communities left behind. In the meantime, these organizations divert resources and accountability from the national government.
Health Access Connect (HAC) is committed to operating differently. Instead of creating its own system to meet the health needs in the community, it supports the local Ministry of Health clinics so they can reach more people in fishing communities. HAC contributes through scheduling and organizing transportation of health personnel and supplies to remote locations, problem solving, and communicating health messages to villages.
As an organization that hopes to help people with pressing health needs, it is tempting to branch off independently in order to better control the project and move faster. It is harder and slower to work in partnership, which often means working within the slower systems of the Ministry of Health. However, in the long term such work is vital. When HAC does their job well, the Ministry of Health is strengthened and built up to serve their community for the long haul.
This is one reason why I choose to volunteer my time to work at HAC. Their work is based on sound development principles: working within existing government systems and building local capacity.
Health Access Connect (HAC) is committed to operating differently. Instead of creating its own system to meet the health needs in the community, it supports the local Ministry of Health clinics so they can reach more people in fishing communities. HAC contributes through scheduling and organizing transportation of health personnel and supplies to remote locations, problem solving, and communicating health messages to villages.
As an organization that hopes to help people with pressing health needs, it is tempting to branch off independently in order to better control the project and move faster. It is harder and slower to work in partnership, which often means working within the slower systems of the Ministry of Health. However, in the long term such work is vital. When HAC does their job well, the Ministry of Health is strengthened and built up to serve their community for the long haul.
This is one reason why I choose to volunteer my time to work at HAC. Their work is based on sound development principles: working within existing government systems and building local capacity.
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