CARE provides training in small economic activities that enable poor people, especially women, to earn money to support their families.

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The crisis in Darfur, Sudan, has rightly captured the world's attention. But another emergency is taking place in Uganda, Sudan's southern neighbor, where a forgotten war has been raging for more than two decades. In camps like Tetugu, in northern Uganda, CARE's work with women is helping to ensure the health and livelihoods of families displaced by conflict.

© 2003 Ami Vitale/CARE
As if reading off a ledger, Anna Okot can rattle off every crop she has planted recently, how much she earned on the harvest and how she spent the income. "When CARE gave us bean seed, I was able to sell the harvest for 50,000 shillings (approximately $30) and buy household items. I also got tomato seeds; that harvest brought me 20,000 shillings and I bought a goat. I sold my cabbage harvest for 15,000 shillings and bought a small radio. I have planted cowpeas, as well; with that money I paid school fees for the children."

This 47-year-old mother of six arrived in Tetugu camp three years ago. "When I came from my home, I had nothing," Anna says. Like millions of others in northern Uganda, Anna and her family fled their home because of fighting between government troops and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). It's a battle that had been raging for nearly 20 years, and the toll of the feud is heaviest on families of poor, rural farmers — families like Anna's. With land their greatest asset, being forced off it leaves these families with scarce opportunities to feed themselves or earn enough cash to buy items such as clothing, soap or school supplies.

Anna certainly felt the burden of meeting her family's needs when she arrived in Tetugu. She was not alone. "When families were displaced by the war, we realized women could not rebuild all by ourselves. We needed to work together to earn some money," says Anna.

Anna helped form and now chairs a 40-member group called Lacan Kwitte, "A Poor Person Struggles." When CARE began working in Tetugu, we sought the support of groups like Anna's; we believed these women had the most to gain from projects to increase food production, and they had clearly demonstrated an interest in working together to improve life for their families. CARE worked with several women's associations in Tetugu to distribute seeds and tools, and cows for plowing fields more efficiently. The women also got training in small-scale savings and loan management and general leadership skills. -- Gretchen Lyons for CARE

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...if you told her that you had a chance to feed hungry children and make a difference in their lives? ...and you could do that by sacrificing just a couple of Starbucks coffees? She would be proud of you!

It just so happens your opportunity to make a difference is right now! CARE provides food for hungry children.   Donate here.

Tell that to Mpolokeng in South Africa:

Tell that to Gatrude in Uganda::

"Her husband died when she was six months pregnant; people told her he died from AIDS, but she didn't understand, and thought he had been poisoned. Before she gave birth, she went in for pre-natal care and tested positive for HIV."  [CARE]

It's not too late to challenge the arbitrary restrictions that current policy places on U.S. funding for HIV prevention. CARE supports recent legislation introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, to strengthen HIV prevention efforts by providing greater flexibility to organizations like CARE that confront the AIDS pandemic every day. Help us build momentum for this important initiative by asking your senators to co-sponsor the HIV Prevention for Youth Act today.