Related Articles
Airtel team distributing food items from Nakidoka village in Loputuk Sub County
By Timothy Eodu
Airtel Uganda, under their Airtel Cares Program, has Thursday donated food items to over 2,000 households in the Karamoja region, North-eastern Uganda as part of it’s endeavor to support efforts aimed at ending hunger in the region.
While handing over the food items to Moroto District Local government officials on behalf of Airtel Uganda, Mr. David Birungi, the Airtel Uganda Public Relations, and Corporate Communications Manager said the Telecommunication Company is pleased to join other individuals, corporate organizations and public institutions that have made an outreach to more than half a million people who are experiencing hunger in the Karamoja region.
“As a brand that cares for the people in communities where we operate, we are pleased to work with the local leaders in Karamoja to identify the most at-risk 2,000 families, with an average of 5 members for each family, and gave 4kgs of posho and 2kgs of beans, Mr. Birungi said.”
In Moroto, Airtel Uganda extended food items to 700 families (200 within the Municipality and 500 in Loputuk Sub County), reached out to 700 families in Napak, and 600 families in Nabilatuk all targeting areas and people facing severe food shortages.
Birungi further noted that they are aware of the combined efforts by different players in government, the development sector and donors to end this biting severe food shortage.
District officials and Airtel team in a group photo with the beneficiaries in Moroto Municipality
“We shall continue to support such efforts, first, to put relief food on the table and finding lasting solutions to the problem. We have 100% 4G network across the country that can be used by the different players to gather information on different aspects of food security in the region. With the right information food can be sourced from areas of plenty to those most in need. But above all, we are committed to supporting such efforts, he added.”
Mr. David Koriang, the Moroto District Chairperson applauded Airtel Uganda for coming to the rescue of the people of Karamoja insisting that although the food was little, it will save many families and push them for a few more days as other interventions are being concluded.
Speaking at the flag off ceremony from the district headquarters, Mr. Charles Kumakech Oluba the Chief Administrative Officer Moroto welcomed the telecom’s intervention but requested that they invest in the long term interventions that will ensure sustainability in the region.
He called upon more partners to emulate Airtel but put much focus on engaging with the local leadership such that they can help the most in need but also provide seeds to the able bodied to start cultivating crops that would help in the near future.
Meanwhile the Mayor Moroto Municipality Mr. Ismail Muhammed urged Airtel to promote ICT among the people of Karamoja by first equipping the Municipality Library with computers connected to internet so that access to information and dissemination can be made easier.
He also requested that such interventions should be extended to areas of education that will deal with the mindset change aspect in the region. Mr. Ismail insisted that when the Karimojong children are taken to school, they will encourage their parents to engage in agriculture, talk to Karacunas to return guns and as such trigger people’s involvement in developmental practices.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) estimated that about 518,000 people from Karamoja’s poorest families face critical food insecurity resulting from seasons of crop failure. In other areas there was no crop failure and as such, called for the use of technology to improve food production and security.
More support seems to be streaming to south karamoja. Kotido and kaabong are equally doing bad, so there is need for supporting agencies to ‘balance the boat’