EPIC-Africa’s growing program partnership with Uganda, co-funded by UN-Habitat and Mbale City, is an exemplary model of the power of collaboration between communities, local governments, and universities that EPIC-N strives to consistently represent. Starting in 1997 when the University of Makerere recognized the pressing need to address development challenges faced by slum dwellers in Mbale city, students became involved in various activities to fill the gaps that a shortage of professional city planners was causing. Whether it was conducting land surveys or citizen outreach efforts, these student-led activities not only helped save costs for the entire city, but also provided students with practical experience and an engaging opportunity to positively impact their surrounding communities.
As the initial project progressed, it gained substantial momentum and in 2008 it attracted the attention of UN-Habitat, an international organization seeking to improve the lives of slum dwellers across various global regions through local project investments. This marked the beginning of serious and continuous work on slum development in Mbale city, later dubbed as “Phase 1” of the project. During this time, students and local government officials collaborated closely, pooling their resources and expertise to perform necessary data collection and stakeholder engagement activities. The result was the creation of detailed neighborhood plans, many of which were the first to ever exist for these particular slums, that were then shared with organizations and the local government to inform decision-making and resource allocation.
