ACDI/VOCA Helps Veterans in Uganda Rejoin their Communities

Since 1986 Uganda has marched along the road of democracy and free enterprise, making it one of Africa’s leading success stories. In 1992 the government of Uganda cut its military budget by demobilizing 50,000 Uganda People’s Defense Forces. By the end of 1995, more than 37,000 veterans had been discharged and resettled. A lack of professional skills prevented thousands of these soldiers from earning a living, thereby hindering their successful reintegration into their communities.

The Reintegration of Veterans through Business Skills Training was a $1 million ACDI/VOCA program that supported Uganda’s transformation to civil society through business training programs for demobilized soldiers. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s mission in Uganda, ACDI/VOCA’s program addressed this need by accelerating the pace of social and economic reintegration of veterans and their families. Veterans in 14 districts of the country (where 63 percent of veterans reside) took part in seminars conducted by graduates of ACDI/VOCA Training of Trainers workshops. The objective of the weeklong training was to assist veterans in creating self-employment opportunities and link them to the financial resources to set these activities in motion.

In the first year of the project, ACDI/VOCA volunteer training specialists designed, tested and produced all training materials, established district partnerships with other organizations, and completed Training of Trainers workshops. Some 68 future trainers from local nonprofit organizations attended the three-week training sessions where they developed model business plans, simulated workshops, and studied business and financial management practices. The trainers also discussed adult learning methods and honed their presentation skills.

Partner organizations were chosen according to geographical outreach, experience and capability in training, and skills in small-enterprise development. Appropriate Technology Uganda, World Vision, Africare, the Peace Corps and the Red Cross were just a few of the participating organizations. Most of the nonprofits also operated credit programs through which veterans could obtain loans. In fact, many of the participating trainers were the loan officers for their associations, which facilitated the loan application process for veterans. By the conclusion of the second year of the project in April 1998, the trainers had conducted 54 workshops for veteran participants in their respective districts.

Based on the survey information from the first two pilot veteran training workshops, approximately 7,500 people benefited directly or indirectly from the training. Of those who participated in the business training classes, 73 percent completed their business plans and 51 percent secured loans or grants since the end of the training course. Furthermore, some 60 percent of participants reported increased profits: data indicate that over a four- to six-month period, profits improved by 24.5 percent.