“Nothing For Them Without Them”
Former GlobeMed partner Kyangwa Moses expands community-driven health projects in Uganda
During his time as the executive director of Uganda Development Health Associates (UDHA), Kyangwa Moses collaborated with students from GlobeMed at Washington University in St. Louis and community health workers to develop initiatives to improve the health of women and children across Eastern Uganda. With a focus on youth empowerment and reproductive rights, Moses and GlobeMed student leaders collaborated to design the Youth Resource Center and the Rural Health Empowerment projects with input from community members. With support from a large network of community volunteers and partnerships with government facilities, these community health projects originally piloted by GlobeMed students have continued to thrive.
Initially started by GlobeMed at WashU’s GROW team, who researched gaps that community members have in feeding their families, the Rural Health Empowerment Program looks at income generation as a way to improve community nutrition and livelihood. With seed funding raised by GlobeMed students, UDHA has provided families with goats and chickens to give families direct access to fresh dairy products and an additional income source.
“This is an ongoing project that I’m really proud of.” Moses shares. “So far, we’ve seen the quality of life in Uganda improve as a result of this intervention and anticipate that it will be carried on for years to come.” This success opened up discussions on the nutritional needs of different groups across the community, including children and nursing or pregnant people. UDHA saw an opportunity to train community health workers on how to manage issues of malnutrition and develop curricula for educating different populations on topics such as healthy eating and food preparation.
In addition to promoting positive nutritional practices, UDHA also worked to expand sexual and reproductive healthcare for young women. They collaborated to set up the Youth Resource Center, a rural health clinic where girls can access family planning resources, STD testing, as well as labor and delivery services. “Our goal is to build a resilient community where people can access comprehensive information on sexual and reproductive health.” Moses says. By selling reduced cost menstrual products while providing sexual and reproductive education to women and girls across the community, UDHA has empowered women with the tools to make informed decisions about their health.
After working at UDHA for eight years and partnering with GlobeMed students, Moses established his own nonprofit, One Village at a Time (OVAAT), which shares a similar vision for improving community nutrition and women’s health. While Moses no longer works directly with GlobeMed students and UDHA, his experience working with GlobeMed students to develop sustainable, community-driven projects for global health has continued to inform his work at OVAAT.
“Our philosophy, one village at a time, one issue at a time is highly influenced by GlobeMed.” Moses shares. “GlobeMed’s approach of building from within communities helped us to come up with our mission statement: nothing for them without them.” Like GlobeMed, OVAAT recognizes local grassroots leaders as experts in the needs of their own communities and aims to leverage existing structures whenever possible.
“Unlike other donors who come with their fixed practices and targets, GlobeMed gives communities the opportunity to propose what they want to do and what will best serve them.” — Kyangwa Moses
This community-led approach to project development guides OVAAT’s mission of expanding maternal and child health education and improving household income across rural Uganda. Through a network of community volunteers and partnerships with governmental organizations and health centers, OVAAT has been able to work directly with neighborhoods who have access to limited healthcare and education services.
“Our goal is to fill the gap in government services.” Moses says. “Listening to different villages suggest different solutions to their own problems has been a big stepping stone in helping us achieve this.” As a result, OVAAT approaches community education at the household level — asking community members to identify homes where the training, which is managed and facilitated by community health workers, can take place. Current focuses include maternal and child health and COVID-19 safety.
OVAAT’s other initiatives include working with district health networks to improve regional health management and care. Currently, Moses and his team are collaborating with the Luuka District local government, Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, the Ministry of Health in Uganda, the Makerere School of Public Health, and the International Livestock Institute-Uganda to create platforms for educating community health workers on best practices for administering medical services while supporting existing healthcare structures.
As OVAAT continues to grow, they will continue to lead community-based projects to improve global health. “GlobeMed’s approach has instilled in us the value of training community leaders and building from within.” Moses says. “We are excited to build more resilient communities one village at a time.”
