My experience as a partner of AFIRD

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My name is Proscovia Nankya, I work with SODI (skills oriented development initiative), located in Nakirebe-Mpigi district.

This exercise brings me great joy, especially because AFIRD still remembers me as their long term friend, and as one of the people that contributed to the start of AFIRD.

 

When I first encountered with AFIRD, I was working with RUCID in Mityana District. We were one of the best organisations promoting organic farming in the country by then. Our work  was being supported by Misereor. Before  we started RUCID, we had worked in Caritas Kampala under the Kampala archdiocese for quite along time. Misereor’s policy was to only support church based organisations. With the experience and passion we had gained, we decided to make a private organisation “RUCID” which we pitched to Misereor and they agreed to support us due to the confidence they already had in us. This was the beginning of a long era of Misereor supporting non church based organisations.

 

RUCID performed well, reaching a magnitude of people, managing the funds well and growing in organic farming, which gave Misereor the confidence to support more private organisations that were willing to do the same work as we were doing. AFIRD was one of the organisation we first recommended for support from Misereor. We were then tasked to mentor them into the system as it was dictated by Misereor. An arrangement was made, for us to train the AFIRD team which was a team of four by then, who were very educated and knowledgeable but what Misereor needed was for them to gain experience from another organisation that had already met their approval. These trainings were being financed by Misereor. For a period of eight months, we trained AFIRD in organic farming, farmer training facilitation, the TOT system, and so much more. These trainings were done 2-3 days per week when we used to come to them, and intensive residential sessions when the team used to come to RUCID for hands on and practical trainings in organic farming and sustainable agriculture.

A lot of effort was put in these trainings from both side, we were glad to have another partner on board to be doing the same work. The AFIRD team indeed went far and beyond our expectations, by the time Miss Veta from Misereor came for supervisory visits, a lot of impressive work was going on, and AFIRD was good enough to pick up on its own. Misereor agreed to offer donor assistance to AFIRD, and we also continued to offer consultancy support from time to time.

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