Published by City Farmer, Canada's Office of Urban Agriculture

Victory Community Gardens in Kabale, Uganda

Edward Kanyesigye
victoryccsm@yahoo.co.uk
Executive Director
Victory Community Care Services
P.O. Box 483, Tel: 048626097
KABALE - UGANDA

Executive Overview

The Vision of Victory Community Care Services is to see that above all things, the people residing in Kabale Municipality may prosper and be in health, even as their soul prospers.

Victory Community Care Services is a non profit organisation which hires land for the purposes of setting up Victory Community Gardens which serves as models of what is possible with what is available in local communities. These gardens show that there are benefits for the individuals and the community in working together to alleviate poverty and hunger and increases the capacity of the community to address causes of socio-economic problems. This project is the beginning of the development of sustainable local answers to problems of land fragmentation and subsistence farming. The gardens have been developed to work within the Ugandan Government's economic and ecological policies; such as to encourage market gardening and to protect soil from erosion and degradation.Ê

The Victory Community gardens are run and managed by the people in the community. Coordinators are selected to lead the group of gardeners. The responsibility of the coordinators is to act as the group leader for the gardeners. The coordinators are responsible to maintain health fellowship during gardening. The coordinators guide and lead each gardening group. They report the activities of the gardens to the board of Victory Community Care Services. Who provides support in terms of raising funds to lease land, buy seedlings and agricultural equipment's. The produce is shared by the participants and the surplus is kept for future use.

The aims of Victory Community Gardens are; To provide vegetables and food to the community, to empower the participants with knowledge and skills so that they can increase on their household income in order to reduce poverty, disease and ignorance and to teach and guide the participants with knowledge which can help to overcome social economic beliefs that prevent progress and innovation. Finally, to share the produce with the poor and others who may be in desperate need of food.

The Benefits that are resulting from Victory Community Gardens

Community gardens are helping to create a sense of place and a spirit of community in neighborhoods, where friendship and fellowship can develop. These Gardens promotes a community atmosphere and gives people an opportunity to meet others, share concerns, and solve a few problems together. The gardens have also become an active and experiential learning environment - providing the space, the skills-building, the inspiration, and the support to become eco-literate or ecologically literate. In addition, these gardens are places where people get to know one another, share knowledge, skills and experience and learn how to work together in positive constructive ways.

Economical, Community Gardeners are saving money on their grocery expenses. The community gardeners and their children are healthier due vegetable diets.

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