Obaya Community Association

Lira, Uganda
In partnership with International Refugee Trust

Located in Lira, Uganda, Obaya Community Association is a registered Community Based Organisation engaged in rebuilding the socio-economic and social support networks of the people in Lira district. Through capacity building they set up structures that rebuild confidence, which enhances their return to normal life.

Since the inception of the LRA insurgency in Northern Uganda, Lira district has had the similar hostility problem from the armed conflict the same way other districts in the region have gone through, but since the signing of cessation of hostilities agreement between the Uganda government and the Lord’s Resistance Army in August 2006, Lira district has experienced gradual and relative peace and security.

Unlike in the refugee camps, the returning communities are faced with nothing but old and vandalized protected water systems, collapsed sanitation facilities, very low coverage of public latrines with most of these located in schools, markets and health units and inaccessibility to adequate health services and facilities. Socio-economic and food security in Lira district is alarming leading to inherent abject poverty and conditions of vulnerable children in the form of unmet basic needs are alarming.

The Obaya Community Association aims to support local communities in the district by engaging in the following activities:

Support primary healthcare at the grassroots level
Economic empowerment through Income Generating Activities (IGAs)
Rural roads improvements/construction
Education (pre-primary and primary schools, vocational training)
Agro-forestry
Environmental protection, preservation and education
Improving access to clean and safe water
Improving rural housing
Information dissemination through Information Communication Technology (ICT)
Agro-processing

The organisation’s two key projects are:

Thomas Eliot Early Childhood Development Centre

The organisation aims to establish Pre-primary/Early Childhood Development Centres where children aged 2 to 6 are introduced to learning environment before they are elevated to primary school level. Going forward, Primary Schools are established within these Early Childhood Development Centres and also vocational schools where community members can be trained on various skills to earn a living (carpentry & joinery, tailoring, ICT, basic business skills, etc).

Agro-forestry Project

The Obaya Community Association aims to increase livelihood options and opportunities of local communities by engaging both in Agro-forestry and economic empowerment through Income Generating Activities (IGAs). Agro-forestry includes animal production, crop production, tree planting and bird rearing. The products of which are used for food security and to generate domestic income to support education, healthcare and other basic needs.

To find out more about Obaya Community Association’s amazing work please click here

Fully registered CBO/NGO with Registration Number: LDLG/11/2021

International Refugee Trust

The International Refugee Trust (IRT) is a UK registered charity which focuses generally on small, longer term projects that address the most urgent needs of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) all over the world.

To find out more about the IRT's amazing work please click here

Registered UK Charity No. 802450