Client: USAID Food for Peace Activity – Apolou ● 2018 to 2023

What was the issue?

USAID Apolou’s coverage includes areas with poor indicators in the thematic areas covered by the Activity: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN), Governance and Livelihoods.

As part of SBCC programming to improve uptake of interventions to address these challenges, USAID Apolou decided to implement a series of Interpersonal Communication (IPC) initiatives including: Manyatta Wagons (Community Fairs) and small group and one-on-one discussions through peer led networks. The Manyatta Wagons would be conducted in the parishes and sub counties of Moroto, Kotido, Kaabong and Amudat.

The activities were designed to target the most affected population who include adolescents, caregivers of children under 5, women and men of reproductive age.

What did S4P Group do?

To support the rollout of these activities Apolou Activity required the services of an Experiential/ IPC firm to work with Apolou and partners to plan and execute a series of Manyatta Wagons. This would involve community drives, targeted community and small-group activations, tent and skills exhibition sessions, among others. Such a firm would be expected to identify and deploy approaches that were tailored, tested, relevant and appealing to all aspects of Karamojong culture, including language, look and feel.

S4P Group was selected for this task and the team developed and executed the manual and scripts for the Manyatta Wagons in Amudat, Kotido, Kaabong, Karenga and Moroto.

What was different?

S4P Group’s community engagement focused on attitudes, values and norms, and less on knowledge and behaviours. Attitudes, values, and norms are strengthened through dialogue, through a back-and-forth flow of ideas with the objective of making the promoted behaviours fun, easy and popular.

What was the impact?

Improved Performance indicators in the thematic areas of Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Maternal, Child Health and Nutrition (MCHN) as well as Governance and Livelihoods.

The Karamojong are known to resist attempts to interfere with their traditional lifestyle and culture. When asked how the community had incorporated Apolou promoted behaviours in the area of Governance, the Local Council I chairman for Akoule in Amudat district reported that he now delegates roles in the community to women. He also said he encourages their participation in community meetings. The community has realised better quality discussions due to the involvement of women.