LAST week, the state minister for Karamoja, Janet Museveni, commissioned 20 hydraform houses at Nakapalimeni Camp Swahili in Moroto. The houses are part of the Government strategy to provide decent accommodation and transform the living conditions of the Karimojong. The minister called upon the communities to work together to modernise Karamoja.

Karamoja is the poorest district in Uganda and for decades has lagged behind the rest of the country due to its climate, terrain and historical reasons. The only house a typical Karimojong knows is the manyatta which is only an excuse for a house.

The Government’s initiative to turn the Karimojong’s fortunes around is commendable. However, the programme needs to be handled with precision and carried out in phases. The criteria for ownership of the houses need to be clearly spelt out and the beneficiaries need to be sensitised about the maintenance of their new homes.

The project should not focus on building houses and handing them over to individual families.

The Karimojong ought to be assisted to get involved in the project and participate in their own social transformation. This is essential because when you give a man fish, you feed him for a day, but when you teach him how to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime.

In Mexico, for example, Habitat for Humanity has done a wonderful job. The rural poor are given not only building materials, but also the skills to construct their own houses. The community comes together to construct one house which is then given to one family. Then construction of other houses follows. People are not just given houses, but own the project.

Beneficiaries invest hundreds of hours of their own labour helping to build their own houses and those of others. Under the guidance of Habitat, their meagre monthly incomes go into a local rotating fund which enables the construction of new houses.

With wise guidance, Karamoja can come out of the cold.