COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Schools, clinics and water points.
Community development is the reason the WMA exists. Revenue from wildlife pays for the things the villages need.
A classroom block in a member village.
The dividend of conservation.
Ikona WMA was not created to keep people out. It was created so that the villages around the park could benefit from the wildlife on their land. Revenue from tourism and hunting concessions is returned to the member villages and invested in schools, health care and water.
The association works with the village councils to decide which projects go ahead. The results are visible across the five villages: classrooms, teachers houses, a dispensary and water points.
Education came first.
Ikona has invested in education since it was established. The work ranges from buildings to scholarships, and it is planned with the village councils rather than imposed from outside.
01
Classrooms built and repaired
New classrooms and repairs to existing school buildings across the member villages.
02
Teachers houses
Housing for teachers, so that schools can attract and keep staff.
03
Wildlife, youth and equality programmes
Education programmes that connect students to the wildlife and the land around them.
04
Scholarships
Support for students from the member villages to continue their education.
The doctors house beside the dispensary.
Health care within reach.
A dispensary and a doctors house have been built in the WMA, with doctors and nurses employed and an ambulance purchased. Before the dispensary, patients travelled more than 20 kilometres for medical help.
Outbreaks can now be attended and contained faster. Maternal and child deaths during childbirth have dropped, and health education is provided to the community regularly.
20 km
distance before the dispensary
24/7
service at the dispensary
1
ambulance purchased
Water closer to home.
Wells, pumps and rainwater harvesting have been built in the member villages, at schools and at the dispensary. The work has reduced the long and risky journeys women and children made to fetch water in the rivers, where they often met wild animals.
Clean water and hygiene education have helped contain outbreaks. The association continues to work with the villages and investors on new water points and on maintaining the ones already built.
Water collection in a member village.
Support the next project.
If you want to work with the villages on education, health or water, contact the Ikona WMA office in Mugumu.