The Kidera Impact &
Sam Owori Projects
Building a Future to Stay at Home!
It all began with a vision
Uganda is one of the poorest countries in Africa with almost half of its population under the age of 15. Despite compulsory schooling, 53 per cent of the 15 million school-age children do not complete primary school. Girls are particularly affected.
The country is characterised by agriculture, and most of the work is done by women under precarious conditions. The climate crisis is exacerbating poverty, and flight is increasingly seen as a solution.
With the ‘Kidera Impact Projects’, first steps could be taken to improve the living situation, together with the people in Kidera, a village in eastern Uganda, through education , creating opportunities and providing infrastructure: Building a Future to Stay at Home.
In honour and upholding Sam and Norah Owori's legacy, without whom these projects would never have been realised, all projects and activities are combined under the name ‘The Sam Owori Projects’.
The aim is to develop and adopt the village Kidera together with the 5,000 residents, as a pilot project, and then to transfer the holistic concept to other villages. This will give young people in Uganda opportunities, training and knowledge to have a secure and prosperous future in their own country.
Timeline
2027 +
Starting in 2027, the plan is to spread the Smart Village Kidera concept to other villages through the residents who have already been trained and local Rotary clubs. Funding will be requested through a large-scale project in collaboration with the Rotary Foundation. To monitor the funding and progress of the large-scale project, the Sam Owori Foundation will be established with members from Austria and Uganda.
2026
By 2026, the Kidera Impact Projects aim to have developed the village of Kidera into a ‘smart village,’ which will then serve as a model for many other villages.
2024 - 2026
Launch of the Global Grant project ‘The Sam Owori Skills Development Centre, Tororo’ with RC Innsbruck Alpin as international partner, RC Kampala as host club and in close cooperation with RC Kitzbühel, Habitat for Humanity Uganda, Start Somewhere, PERI and other partners (see website).
2024 - 2025
With support from the Government of Tyrol, a school farm was established to ensure a sustainable supply of daily school meals. As part of the Global Grant project, this was expanded into a demonstration farm for farmers in the municipality of Kidera (training and equipment).
2023 to date
Doris Steinmüller-Nethl and Judith Köck, together with their Rotary Clubs (RC Innsbruck Alpin and RC Kitzbühel), RC Bonn-Rheinbogen, numerous supporters, donors and partners, have initiated, financed and implemented the Kidera Impact & Sam Owori Projects, described on this website.
2022 - 2025
Implementation of the project and provision of infrastructure (water tanks, latrines, solar lamps, farming equipment, training) with host Rotary Club Gaba and international partners as a basis for further ‘Kidera Impact Projects’.
2022
Fundraising for the Global Grant Project ‘Kidera – Adopt a Village’ started by Doris Steinmüller-Nethl: financial support from District 1920 and its clubs, District 1810 with RC Bonn-Rheinbogen and several partner clubs and private donors. Approval by The Rotary Foundation (TRF) in summer 2022, start in September 2022.
2021
The two sons of Sam Owori († 2017) and Norah Owori († 2021), Stephen and Daniel Owori, follow in their parents' footsteps. They work closely with Doris, Judith and the project team and personally support the activities in Kidera.
2021
Doris Steinmüller-Nethl takes over as International Partner for RC Innsbruck Alpin in the planned Global Grant project, and Judith Köck (RC Kitzbühel) joins as project partner. RC Kampala Sunrise withdraws from the project, and RC Gaba becomes the host club.
2020
Barbara Wolf-Wicha presents the project idea and the search for an international partner and sponsor at the Rotary District 1920 Foundation/Community Service Seminar.
2019
RC Kampala Sunrise and RC Gaba agreed to initiate a Global Grant application at The Rotary Foundation (TRF), and the first needs assessment in Kidera was launched. The search for an international partner began.
2017
It began with an idea from Sam and Norah Owori: a project to empower girls and women in Kidera. Barbara Wolf-Wicha, a close friend of the family, wholeheartedly supported this idea.
The Kidera Impact & Sam Owori Projects
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Education
Access to education helps laying the groundwork needed to feel confident and courageous to master one's own life. However, poverty often means the end of schooling.
Girls in particular are denied access due to household chores, menstruation, a lack of sexual and reproductive education, and forced marriages.
In this part of the project, the foundations were laid for a prosperous, safe, and sustainable future of the boys, girls, teachers and parents. -
Empowerment of Women & Youth
Women are the driving force in Kidera – they take care of their families and work in agriculture. The economic potential of women is huge: promoting women as entrepreneurs and strengthening their position in agriculture can improve both the food and financial situation of their families.
Youth unemployment is very high and vocational training of young people is an additional focus of the project. -
Improving Health Care
The community in Kidera village accesses health services from Panyangasi Health Centre III which is located approximately 5 kilometres from Kidera village. The Health Centre, in particular the maternity ward, does not have adequate facilities/ equipment and needed structures.
In this part of the project, improving health care and access to clean water will be an important focus. -
Modern Agriculture - School Farm - Bicycles - Training
The fact that agriculture is the main source of income for the people of Uganda makes them very vulnerable to food shortages. Climatic uncertainties and the resulting problems are the challenges.
This project aims to provide knowledge, training on how to deal with these climatic challenges, and access to the necessary inputs and seeds in order to sustainably reduce the adverse effects on agricultural production and ensure food security. -
Power & Energy
In Kidera, only a few households have access to electricity which is expensive and unstable.
The planned project to set up a grid-independent solar technology will provide the people in the community, school, health centre and small businesses with a reliable energy supply and thus an opportunity for high-quality health care, education, enhancing safety and security. The topic of ‘clean cooking’ and reducing deforestation will also be a focus. -
Future Plans
All activities of the Sam Owori projects will make Kidera a pilot project of a “smart village” with the aim of fighting poverty and providing new employment avenues.
The entire community will benefit from the improved and more secure Smart Village.
With the help of The Rotary Foundation, a large-scale project is planned for 2026/27, so that the concept of the model village of Kidera can be transferred to other villages in eastern Uganda.