Amani envisions a peaceful and prosperous people living in dignity enjoying equal opportunities. Amani's mission is to empower vulnerable and at-risk individuals and groups to access justice and enjoy their human rights and dignity. This is achieved through a combination of strategies including through;
- Action oriented research,
- Legislative and Policy advocacy,
- Capacity building & Training
- Stakeholders engagement
- Civic education, career guidance and mentorship
Amani current projects includes:
Justice Initiative (JI): Our JI seeks to improve access to justice for children in conflict with the law, conflict affected communities, and survivors of gross human rights violations through legal redress, research and advocacy on appropriate justice mechanisms
Resource Governance Initiative (RGI): Our RGI documents resource related conflicts and campaign for extractive industries transparency in a bid to promote corporate-social responsibility, conflict sensitivity, and equitable resource usage.
Climate Change Initiatives (CCI): Our CCI promotes local adaption to climate change through environmental protection, preservation, research and building local capacity to understand and respond to climate change.
Youth Empowerment Initiative (YEI): Our YEI seeks to skill young people; reduce youth unemployment, offer career guidance and mentor young people.
Key programme areas are: Rights, Peace, Justice and Development
Over the last two years of its existence, AIU has pioneered creative community led environmental protection and climate change adaption initiatives through its 'One thousand tree campaign'. Amani successfully recycled 1000 used sachets to raise tree seedlings, which have all been planted by selected community members. Amani has also trained 10 Local Councillors in agro-forestry management including tree planting and maintenance.
AIU supported Gulu District Local Council to enact an Ordnance to Control and Regulate Alcohol Consumption and Sale in the district, and to ban sachet consumption by teenagers. This initiative has seen a Gulu District Alcohol Ordnance overwhelmingly passed by the District Council with wide approvals and this has now been submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, and the Ministry of Local Government for approval.
AIU successfully coordinated and facilitated a visit by Humanity United in Gulu District, northern Uganda to assess local peacebuilding organisation and issues for future funding support.
Amani’s research team are currently conducting a baseline survey in the newly created Omoro District in Northern Uganda on current and future job creation and economic empowerment opportunity for youths, women, and elderly persons.The research seeks to identify and map out the various economic development and recovery programs launched by the Government of the Republic of Uganda and development partners as part of their contribution to the recently launched Vision 2040 and the Sustainable Development Goal 2030 adopted by the United Nations on 25 September 2015.These include the NAADs, Youth Capital Venture Fund, Operation Wealth Creation, Youth Livelihood Programmes, and Skilling Uganda throughout the country etc.
In post-conflict northern Uganda however many of these programmes have performed dismally, due of high burden occasioned by the over two decades LRA conflict, lack of citizens awareness or conditionality which impeded their access and participation. The Peace, Recovery and Development Programme (PRDP) and a series of Northern Uganda Social Action Funds (NUSAF) I and II - for example, have had little, if any impact on bridging the economic development gap between the north and other parts of the country, or in reducing the income inequality, addressing poverty, and unemployment rates.
In order address this informational gap and contribute to effective implementation of government programme and post-conflict recovery and development initiatives in northern Uganda, Amani Institute Uganda is undertaking a two weeks study designed to identify and map out existing programs, awareness, perceptions, knowledge and accessibility of these programs by youths, women, and elderly persons in newly created Omoro districts, both as part of Gulu previously and going forward as a new district.
The specific objectives of the study are;
- Identity and map out all current and forthcoming job creation, economic empowerment & recovery programme and initiatives accessible to youth, women and elderly persons in the district and the region;
- Identify and map out all the relevant criteria, requirements, procedure and contacts necessary in the access and deliverance of the programme;
- Examine the existing institutional and structural mechanisms for implementation, gaps and opportunities;
- Develop practical recommendations and determine relevant course of action necessary to enable the target groups (youth, women, and elderly) access and benefit from these programmes/initiatives.