HHA East Africa Wins Prestigious Award

Ockenden International awards four £25k prizes each year for rewarding and recognising innovative work that has promoted self-reliance among refugees, forced migrants and displaced people – the hallmark of Ockenden International since its inception in 1951. We are delighted to share that Hope Health Action is one of four winners of the 2023 Ockenden International Prizes for our work "transforming the lives of South Sudanese refugees with disabilities living in the refugee settlements and hosting communities in Uganda"!

58 countries were represented among the record high 169 submissions, and the four winning projects house operations in Mexico, Myanmar, and Uganda (2).

The one-to-one nature of our work is one of the things that captivated the judges. They remarked, “HHA EA is doing incredible work, often one-to-one in a project led by people with their own experiences of forced displacement." Furthermore, they noted HHA EA’s innovations included the involvement of whole households, teaching skills for running businesses, agricultural self-reliance and evidence of community effectiveness that is commendably community-based and holistic.

"The project’s ultimate goal is that the most vulnerable refugees become more self-reliant," says EA Programme Manager, Isaac. "This is done in part by providing them with the support and assistance that they need to ensure lack of accessibility is not a barrier. This support looks like equipment and services such as mobility aids, wheelchairs, artificial limbs, therapy services (occupational and physiotherapy) and opportunities to learn new skills through our agricultural project. All of this well aligned with the Ockenden goal of advancing self-reliance. Winning this award has given us as a team more energy to press on and work harder as we strive to continue transforming the lives of persons living with disabilities. Seeing our goals become reality and having the resources we need helps us to continue to seek out more vulnerable people that we know we can help."

While the financial award will provide a great boost to East Africa operations, the nomination itself is a great encouragement. Jemina, East Africa Country Director, shared, “For our work to be recognised in this way is a true honour and a celebration of the incredible impact delivered by our passionate team every day." We are so proud of HHA East Africa and hopeful for the future.

For more information about this award and the other winners, visit the official Ockenden website: https://www.ockendenprizes.org/2023-prizes/.