Tine Deschacht, junior assistant for Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium in Uganda, has been working for one year on the Karamoja Livestock Development Project (KLDP). She works with local communities of pastoralists on peacebuilding and conflict management in the north-eastern region of the country, Karamoja, near the Kenyan border.

"I have already been in Moroto for one year, so I think that it’s high time for a report! So much has happened over the past year, and it has been a real challenge on both a professional and personal level. For a start, the town where I have been working is really quite remote, and it’s very much back to basics. Things that we take for granted in Belgium are complicated here and just going to the bank to withdraw money can take several days. Electricity is only available between seven in the evening and midnight, and sometimes there is no running water. I eat whatever is available, there are no huge supermarkets. There is no public transport, and getting to the capital takes 10 hours (and that’s in the dry season, without punctured tyres). But it’s good, I’ve got used to it now, and every day I realise just how spoilt we are in Belgium!

It has also been a professional challenge. Moroto serves as a base for dozens of aid organisations that operate in Karamoja. The area has long been neglected by the Ugandan government. There are scarcely any social facilities and to this day there is no electricity or surfaced roads. When famine broke out in the 1980s, the Karamojong were dependent on the charity of missionaries and humanitarian aid agencies. But thanks to the large number of incidents that occurred toward the end of the 1990s (road ambushes, raids, murder of NGO workers), the majority of NGOs took the decision to leave the area. It was only when the security situation improved in 2007 that they began returning, and now you can see a whole network of NGOs, the entire UN family and a whole host of local organisations. So although the area is very remote, I am not the only Muzungu here. The many years of humanitarian aid have unfortunately created a strong 'dependency syndrome', and the mentality of 'getting something without having to do anything yourself' is very prevalent. Today, Karamoja is continuing to take cautious steps towards sustainable development aid, but it is not evident."

Conflict and cows

"Unfortunately Karamoja isn’t such a peaceful area. Young warriors from one clan launch attacks on other clans in order to steal livestock and other goods. It’s a conflict that also crosses borders, with warriors also coming from South Sudan or Kenya.

Traditionally, the Karamojong have always ‘raided’ in order to expand their livestock herds or to make up for disease or theft. Livestock is the main status symbol for pastoralists. For example, if a man wishes to marry, he must pay a large price for his bride, in cows, camels or goats. Sustained periods of drought have forced livestock herders to migrate in search of grassland and water, and this sometimes brings them into the dangerous territories of other clans and leads to competition for Karamoja’s natural resources. As time goes by, the traditional raids and the conflict itself are becoming increasingly more deadly owing to the large number of small weapons in circulation....

For over half a century, the government has been pursuing disarmament programmes in the area, but so far they have proved largely unsuccessful, even stoking the fire. An uneven disarmament for example, has disturbed the balance of power between the clans, and villages that have just been disarmed have found themselves under attack from warriors who still have weapons. Disarmament has also been accompanied by human rights violations, with innocent citizens raped or murdered and warriors who have surrendered their weapons arrested and tortured. In some cases, the stolen animals have not been returned to their owners. By doing this, the soldiers have been able to compensate themselves for their meagre salaries. This has all caused an increasing level of distrust between the population and the army. The Karamojong have not only had to fear neighbouring clans, but also soldiers. The general sense of insecurity has deepened. As a result, some fertile areas are no longer accessible to the population, and livestock can no longer graze there. It is a complex situation, with conflicts not only between ethnic groups, but also between the Karamojong and the army. On occasion there is even unrest within the same group."

And Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium?

"The health of animals is central to the mission of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium, but only as a means of improving the wellbeing of disadvantaged groups in developing countries. People are the objective and animals are the means. If the herd dies, the whole village is at risk.

In Moroto, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium is chiefly concerned with improving access to veterinary services. Training community animal health workers is just one of the ways in which the NGO is achieving this. These workers are local livestock keepers who receive training in animal health care and animal vaccination, thus allowing them to look after the health of their own herd and that of their village. Owing to the livestock’s dependence on grass and water, the organisation also maintains a department for the management of natural resources in Moroto. This has seen Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium construct catchment basins and wells in a number of villages, thus providing livestock with access to water. The expensive nature of water necessitates a strategic location for these sites, taking into account the concept of 'peacebuilding'. Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium organises meetings between different clans to discuss peace and make agreements on improving access to pasture and water. So animal health must be seen in the same light as conflict in the area, and not as a separate matter."

And me?

"So what should I be doing then? One of my jobs is to take advantage of what Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium is doing to build peace and prevent conflict. I need to analyse the shortcomings and problems and make suggestions for improvement. How can we monitor the impact of our programmes with regard to peace and conflict? I also need to look at improving the capacity of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium in Moroto and make proposals to improve the organisation. Some of the things that I have done so far include:

• Field visits to the communities around Moroto
• Studying the programmes of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium
• Reading about conflicts and problems in the Karamoja region
• A workshop on 'Disaster Risk Reduction': what can communities do themselves to deal with disasters such as drought, livestock raids, disease...
• A workshop on 'Watershed Management': very important as water is a natural resource that is often a cause of conflict
• Monitoring the construction of catchment basins and the rehabilitation of old wells
• Taking part in peace co-ordination meetings and interagency meetings in Moroto

Over the past months I have primarily been involved in organising peace meetings between different clans. Through these meetings we hope to come to agreements on maintaining peace in a certain area so that livestock is able graze with livestock from different clans”.

For further information on the Junior Programme of the Belgian development cooperation being carried out by the Belgian development agency BTC please visit blogcooperation.be