UMSC takes relief to drought-hit Karamoja
By Issa Kigongo
The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) has delivered relief food worth Shs130 million to drought-hit communities in Karamoja and pledged to support longer-term projects aimed at helping the region recover from years of hardship.
The relief operation, led by Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubaje and Deputy Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Ali Waiswa, saw more than 1,300 packages of food delivered to vulnerable communities in Kotido and Moroto districts on Friday, September 25.
The supplies included maize and cassava flour, beans, sugar, salt and cooking oil. They were distributed among communities struggling with prolonged drought that has destroyed crops and livestock and left many families without adequate food.
But the UMSC says the intervention should not end with food aid.
Speaking during the distribution in Kotido, Mubaje pledged support for development projects in Karamoja, including boreholes, mosques, classroom blocks and a health centre.
He said the region’s people needed opportunities to rebuild their livelihoods now that security had improved.
“Since there is total stability in Karamoja, the government needs to establish tailored empowerment programmes for the people because the Karamojongs are not lazy. Rather, they are hardworking,” Mubaje said.
He said the resilience of local communities was evident in the way farmers continued to cultivate dry gardens of sorghum despite difficult climatic conditions.
“So, it is our responsibility to stand with them,” he said.
The Mufti’s delegation delivered food to communities in Napumpum and Amoru villages in Panyangara Sub-county, while another UMSC team led by Sheikh Waiswa, accompanied by Second Deputy Mufti Dr. Sheikh Hafiz Muhammad Harunah Bukenya and other Muslim leaders, distributed relief in Moroto.
In Moroto, the delegation was received by Karamoja Muslim District leaders led by Kadhi Sheikh Muhammad Akida Lokure and later met district officials at the local government headquarters.
Moroto Deputy Resident District Commissioner Toku Justine said the food crisis remained serious despite government interventions and called for greater cooperation between government and other institutions.
He particularly welcomed the UMSC’s decision to assist vulnerable people without regard to their religious affiliation.
Toku also credited religious leaders in the region for helping communities respond to insecurity, particularly during government efforts to recover illegal firearms.
The food distribution brought the reality of the crisis into sharper focus. At Kotaruko Village in Nadunget Sub-county, hundreds of residents, including children and elderly people, gathered to receive assistance.
Lokure Deng Denis, the area chief, said some families had gone for days without food and thanked the UMSC for responding to their plight.
Sheikh Waiswa said the relief effort was only a beginning.
“This is the beginning. We shall continue to mobilise for more foodstuffs, and we are also ready to share meaningful ideas towards curbing such natural disasters,” he said.
The UMSC’s intervention comes as Karamoja continues to grapple with the effects of prolonged drought, which has affected both crop production and livestock; key sources of food and livelihoods for many households.
For the Muslim leadership, however, the response is intended to go beyond emergency assistance.
The proposed boreholes, schools, mosques and health facilities would form part of a longer-term effort to address some of the conditions that have left communities vulnerable to recurring crises.
