President Sergio Mattarella visits Italian Cooperation projects in Kenya

The President of the Republic of Italy Sergio Mattarella started his official visit to Kenya on the 14th of march, kicking off a three-day event full of institutional meetings and ceremonies. The President is accompanied by a delegation composed of his daughter and first lady of Italy Ms. Laura Mattarella and the Deputy Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Edmondo Cirielli, among the others.

During the mission, Deputy Ministry Cirielli and Ministry of Treasury of Kenya Njuguna Ndung'u are expected to launch the "Kenya-Italy Sustainable Development Partnership" (Kisdp), a strategic document indicating the line of intervention of the Italian Cooperation with Kenya for the next five years, defining a medium-term indicative programmatic framework for the cooperation between the two countries.

During President Mattarella's mission, two additional agreements between Kenya and Italy are expected to be signed, marking the launch of as many cooperation initiatives: the first, "Professional and Scientific Training for the Development of Cultural Tourism", financed by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (Aics) and realized by the National Museums of Kenya in partnership with La Sapienza University of Rome, concerns the implementation of a three-year training program for young Kenyan students. The second initiative, "Kenya Informal Settlement Redevelopment Programme" (Kirsp), concerns an integrated urban development intervention to improve access to basic services in the informal settlements of Kajiado, Kilifi and Siaya counties.

President Mattarella and the delegation will visit some of the Italian Cooperation's leading projects in the country, such as the St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute financed by the Cooperation in 1994 and managed by AVSI, which trains 800 young Kenyans every year through courses in IT, mechanics, plumbing, carpentry, catering, secretary, electronics, hairdressing, and beauty care. The Cooperation has deeply invested in the growth of the Institute allowing for the construction of the building, the supply of equipment, the start-up and various stages of expansion, allowing the Institute to consolidate and to offer young disadvantaged people adequate training, which would otherwise be inaccessible in most cases. The mission includes a visit to the E4Impact Accelerator founded in 2018 in Nairobi thanks to Aics support and through the Sacro Cuore Catholic University of Milan, which has quickly become a point of reference in Kenya's entrepreneurial ecosystem: it is of a hub offering legal, financial, training and mentoring services to businesses and start-ups, contributing to their growth and creating new synergies with international markets and investors.

"It is a real honour to welcome and follow the visit of President Mattarella and the delegation", says Giovanni Grandi, Head of Aics regional office in Nairobi. "This is an enormous privilege and a key opportunity to boost the consolidated friendship between Italy and Kenya. The launch of the multi-year strategy represents a milestone for Italy's cooperation with one of its priority countries, and the visit to the initiatives through which the Agency invests in business creation, employment, and in training young people are the concrete example of a cooperation that creates partnerships between businesses, universities and institutions and which looks at young people as builders of development of an increasingly resilient Kenya".

"Medium and Small Enterprises are the beating heart of Kenya's economic development," explains Mario Brataj, Program Officer for Economic and Private Sector Development at Aics Nairobi. "They contribute to almost 80% of GDP and represent around 70% of total employment. The young and dynamic entrepreneurial tissue needs support to best express its potential: for this reason, support to employment creation and expansion of small businesses is one of the pillars of our action in the country. At the same time we invest in human capital through the strengthening of vocational training institutes. An example of this approach is the experience of St. Kizito, which was built and consolidated thanks to the support of the Italian Cooperation and today it acts as a bridge between young people and the job market. The Institute collaborates today with 70 companies, carries out school-work alternation and promotes internships. In collaboration with Avsi, Res4Africa and Enel Green Power, Aics is also promoting the installation of a micro-grid that will make the Institute an excellence for training activities on renewable energy in Kenya and East Africa".

Photo of President Mattarella's visit to the St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute, financed by the Italian Cooperation, during the first day of his trip to Kenya. © Quirinale

 

From South Sudan to Uganda in search of protection: a journey beyond borders

We went to Adjumani, a district in Northern Uganda at the border with South Sudan. We have followed the path that refugees take when they enter Uganda, starting from the moment of registration immediately after crossing the border until their arrival in the refugee camps. Where Aics intervenes in support of refugee and host communities

The border

To cross the border between South Sudan and Uganda from the Ugandan district of Amuru, you have to walk on a bridge over a completely dry river, crowded with trucks, motorcycles, animals, sellers of everything, soldiers, dust. From the Ugandan side, we only managed to cover half of it; the South Sudanese military then sent us back.

Every month, hundreds of people cross this bridge fleeing South Sudan, a country still reeling from a 5-year civil war, internal tensions and consecutive years of record floods that have caused one of the most serious humanitarian crises on the continent, with about 2 million internally displaced people and 2.2 million seeking protection in neighbouring countries.

Once passed the strict controls of the military on the bridge, you arrive at the Ugandan border offices. It's hard, even for us, not to feel relieved noticing the huge red sign above the offices: WELCOME TO UGANDA.

Collection Point

Elegu Collection Point is located 300 meters from the bridge. Here, the Ugandan authorities of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the entity managing the refugees’ reception system, together with UNHCR and a medical team register the newly arrived refugees and carry out the first health checks, administering vaccines if necessary, including the one against Covid-19.

Elegu is just one of the access points on the border between Uganda and South Sudan. Francis Kirya from the Ugandan OPM tells us that in Elegu alone they had registered 646 new arrivals in January 2023.

While he’s showing us the identification cards and bracelets to entitle refugees to receive food from the World Food Program (WFP), Francis sees behind us that a South Sudanese family is entering the Center: they walk slowly but decisively. They are nine; seven children, their mother and her brother.

‘How long did you have to travel to get here?’ we ask them, sensing their exhaustion in the burning equatorial heat.

'One month', answers the only boy who speaks English; 'we took a bus that crosses the whole country, we couldn't afford any faster vehicles’.

At the Elegu Center, each family member is registered on a platform through fingerprints. This system serves to identify refugees in a global database, where security checks are carried out by the intelligence services.

In the evening, the family will be taken to the Nyumanzi Reception Centre.

Reception Center and assignment to camps

At the Reception Center, newly registered refugees will spend a few days before being transferred to one of the camps nearby. Each family is assigned temporary housing; there are communal sanitary facilities and WFP daily distributes food aid. There is also an emergency medical center and a small playground for children.

Life in the camps

Uganda is the African country hosting the highest number of refugees: more than 1.5 million according to the 2021 census, of which 65.3% comes from South Sudan. Francis explains that assignments to the different camps are made based on availability and with attention not to mix conflicting tribal groups. Once in the camps, refugees are assigned small plots of land that can be used for subsistence farming.

According to UNHCR data, as of December 2022 Adjumani District alone hosted about 280,000 asylum seekers and refugees, registered in 18 camps. Of those, 86% were women and children. This is precisely the area where the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (Aics) concentrates its activities in support to refugees and hosting communities.

'Through our Civil Society Organizations present on the field and in collaboration with the local authorities, we intervene with training and business creation activities for young people, developing income and livelihood opportunities often through the collaboration between South Sudanese refugees and Ugandan hosting communities. We also promote actions that can facilitate the conditions for an eventual return to the country of origin to help its reconstruction,' explains Giovanni Grandi, head of Aics Office in Nairobi. 'In this way, we support Ugandan policies encouraging the integration of refugees and mitigate possible tensions that may arise between the two cohabiting groups, and which stem mainly from the joint use of the natural resources.'

The adoption of measures to prevent and mitigate tensions between Ugandan and South Sudanese communities is essential where, due to protracted insecurity conditions, the South Sudanese refugee population is gradually settling in Uganda. The story of Grace, 35, is emblematic in this sense: Grace arrived 31 years ago as a refugee in Uganda, and still nowadays she is a resident in Elema camp (Adjumani district). Here, Aics is supporting the realization of infrastructural interventions, including the installation of water supply systems and the renovation of spaces to host community recreational activities. 'These interventions have also helped to reduce conflicts between refugee and host communities,' she says, referring in particular to the well built by Africa Mission - Cooperation and Development (C&S) right behind our backs.

Grace is now a community leader, and she works as a translator at Elema health center, 'because the language barrier often creates problems of understanding between Ugandans and South Sudanese,' she explains. Grace completed primary and secondary education in Uganda. She has five children and has built her own house within the camp. 'The Ugandan refugees’ reception system works, they make refugees feel comfortable. My home, however, remains in South Sudan; my dream is to go back there one day, if there will ever be peace,' she confides to us as she looks far away.

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Aics in Uganda intervenes with an emergency initiative aimed at promoting the integration of displaced, returning and refugee South Sudanese populations. The project intervenes in the refugee camps of Adjumani district through the renovation of community centers for young people and women and the construction of new water supply systems. The initiative also promotes agricultural activities and trade to improve the income of refugee families; some activities specifically target the integration between refugees and host communities to support peaceful coexistence. The initiative started in September 2022 and has an expected duration of 20 months; it is implemented by Africa Mission - Cooperation and Development in consortium with the Jesuit Refugee Service.

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The entrance to the Collection Center in Elegu, Northern Uganda ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

OPM's Francis Kirya explains how the registration process works in the Elegu Center ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

One of the women's community centers renovated by Aics and C&S at Nyumanzi Camp, Adjumani District ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

Refugees at the Reception Centre waiting to receive lunch distributed by WFP ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

A water system financed by Aics at the elementary school of Elema refugee camp, Adjumani district © M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

Grace, 35 years old, has lived in Elema refugee camp for 31 years ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

Grace shows us her home in Elema refugee camp ©M. Watsemba/AICS Nairobi

SEMAKENYA II kicks off: the Italian system of development cooperation to promote agroecology and biofuels in Makueni County

Nairobi, 8th december 2022 – This morning the 'SEMAKENYA II' program financed by the Italian Cooperation was officially launched at the Residence of the Italian Ambassador in Nairobi, H.E. Roberto Natali. The initiative will support the introduction of conservation agriculture practices and 'Climate Smart' technologies in Makueni County, located in one of the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya. The initiative is worth 2 million Euros and will be implemented through the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (CIHEAM Bari) in partnership with the Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization of Kenya (KALRO).

The event counted on the participation of the Governor of Makueni County, H.E. Mutula Kilonzo Jr, the Deputy Director of CIHEAM Bari, Biagio Di Terlizzi and the Managing Director of ENI Kenya, Enrico Tavolini. Among the participants, the Head of the Nairobi Regional Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), Giovanni Grandi, and various representatives of the Italian private sector, local institutions and civil society.

'SEMAKENYA II' will be 'a resilient path towards agroecology in Makueni County’ through the promotion of environment-friendly agricultural practices and the valorisation of drought-tolerant local crops, such as legumes and tropical fruits, which also have a strong potential in terms of commercialization on the international markets. Planned activities include the introduction of a digital platform that will directly connect farmers and buyers, with the aim of ensuring a fairer business for farmers and a quality product for consumers.

'SEMAKENYA II' represents the first implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Eni Kenya and the Nairobi office of AICS in 2021, regarding the involvement of the "Italian System" of development cooperation and the private sector in the implementation of cooperation initiatives. SEMAKENYA II will contribute to the decarbonisation process implemented by ENI in the country through an initiative supporting the introduction of sustainable oil crops, such as castor, and the opening of processing plants for the extraction of industrial oil. The oil will be subsequently exported to Italy for the production of biofuels, opening up new income opportunities for local farmers.

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H.E. Roberto Natali, the Italian Ambassador in Nairobi, has opened the launch ceremony of the SEMAKENYA II project

Participants at the ceremony included representatives from AICS, from the Embassy of Italy to Kenya, from ENI Kenya, CIHEAM Bari, Makueni County e the Ministry of Agriculture of Kenya

Giovanni Grandi, Head of Aics office in Nairobi, together with H.E. Mutula Kilonzo Jr, Governor of Makueni County, where the SEMAKENYA II project will be implemented