Land grant universities place a high priority on community service and outreach. Since 2003 Iowa State University has been collaborating with Ugandan partners to strengthen the capabilities and opportunities of rural people and their institutions in Uganda. This is facilitated through the Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL).
  
In my role as the Henry A. Wallace Chair for Sustainable Agriculture I work closely with the management team that provides guidance to CSRL. We are continually looking for ways to involve Iowa individuals and organizations in strengthening the Uganda program. This could be an opportunity for Rotary!
  
This type of endeavor, funded primarily through a private endowment, enables ISU to broaden the type of educational experiences offered to students. Faculty and staff are able to develop meaningful research, with global collaborators, on problems faced by developing country communities. Real examples from Uganda can expand learning opportunities at home. By adding a global dimension to research, teaching and outreach programs it is sometimes possible to attract new types of funding. For everyone involved in the CSRL there is an opportunity to touch people’s lives in ways that matter.
  
Faculty and students are helping to advance agriculture and natural resource management practices; build community assets; diversify income sources; and improve food security, nutrition and health. This is done through projects that address local people’s concerns. Recent assistance has helped to improve local livestock breeds, and it has engaged school children in the development of a school garden and a poultry production facility.
  
We partner with VEDCO (Volunteer Efforts for Development Concerns), a Ugandan nongovernmental organization, and with Makerere University, a highly respected African institution of higher education.
  
Volunteer farmer ‘teachers’ are trained to work with groups of 20-25 farmers in methods to improve food security, natural resource management, marketing, nutrition and health. This is done using farm visits, multiplication gardens, demonstrations and farmer exchanges. Currently there are 75 volunteer farmer ‘teachers’ who train 70 different groups, or a total of 1430 members, many of which are women.
  
Nine groups are severely disadvantaged people, for example those who are greatly impacted by HIV/AIDS or other disabilities); and is focused on youth.
  
Our work takes place in Kamuli district, about 150 km northeast of the capital city of Kampala. In this district there are 22 sub-counties and a land area of 4,348 sq. km. The population was over 712,000 in 2002, with 2% considered urban and 45% under the age of 14.
  
We collaborate with smallholder farmers, especially women, in three sub-counties (Namasagali, Butansi and Bugulumbya) within Kamuli district. Because we use participatory practices, farmers have a major influence on our goals and activities. We are continually reflecting on what we do so that we can improve our methods.
  
The program is having an impact on household food security. The communities’ definition of food secure includes: cultivating and eating a variety of foods, eating four meals per day (vs. two or less), rarely sick and having a full granary. Since we started, the percentage of households defined as food secure by farmer groups has increased from 8% to 40%.
  
Rotary International has a long and outstanding record of commitment to world service. There are 11 different Rotary organizations in the capital city of Kampala, Uganda. Some of these Rotarians visited Ames last year. Now, how can the Rotary clubs of Iowa, including Ames Morning Rotary, partner with a Uganda Rotary club to enhance the work of ISU’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods in Uganda?

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Newsletter Editor
Ames Morning Rotary Club
P.O. Box 2432
Ames, IA 50010