ARUA CITY VSLA GROUPS BENEFIT FROM EU-FUNDED REVOLVING FUND

CEFTRA-West Nile staff, Arua City officials and executives of VSLA Groups selected in Pajulu while posing for a group photo on Wednesday July 29, 2026, at CEFTRA-WN offices in Ediofe, Arua City (Photo: Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Community Empowerment for Transformation Action (CEFTRA-West Nile), a youth-led organization, has disbursed a total of 12 million Ugandan Shillings to four Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs) in the former Pajulu sub-county, now part of Ayivu Division in Arua City.

This initiative, part of the Sustainable Urban Integration of Displacement-Affected Communities (SUIDAC) project, is fully funded by the European Union (EU), managed globally by Cities Alliance, and hosted by UNOPS.

Each VSLA group received 3 million UGX, which will be refunded after two years without interest, allowing the funds to be redistributed to other groups, thus creating a sustainable revolving cycle.

CEFTRA-WN Executive Director during the disbursement and rollout event in Ediofe, Arua City (Photo: Onzoma Albert)

Godfrey Dricile, Executive Director of CEFTRA-West Nile, praised the EU and Cities Alliance for their support and urged the beneficiaries to use the funds responsibly and for their intended purposes.

“The money we are giving you today use it very well by investing it into income generating activities so that you are to get profits and the profits should be able to grow, your four groups should now be exemplary to other groups in the city because you people have been supported by making difference in your various communities,” he said.

The primary goal of the fund is to promote financial inclusion, enhance entrepreneurship skills, and provide seed capital for vulnerable women and youth, fostering long-term community development.

Arua City officials during the disbursement and rollout event at CEFTRA-WN offices in Ediofe, Arua City (Photo: Onzoma Albert)

During the disbursement event, Hope Perry Nyadri, Arua City Female Youth Councilor and chief guest, emphasized the importance of responsible fund management, cautioning beneficiaries against diverting resources outside the project guidelines.

“This projects come to particularly come to supplement the government programs because government cannot provide everything, so such projects come to support us to improve on the already little capital we have in your groups, I will be proud of the you people when you follow your various submitted when applying for the funds other than diverting the funds for different activities” she said.

The project aims to increase self-reliance, strengthen social cohesion between refugees and host communities, and promote sustainable livelihoods.

Executives of the four VSLA Groups selected from Pajulu during the disbursement and rollout event in Ediofe, Arua City (Photo: Onzoma Albert)

Iren Ayikoru, Secretary of Mungueconi PWD VSLA group, expressed gratitude for being included as persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the project. She mentioned plans to lend the funds to members with interest rates to be decided collectively.

“We are going to do savings and give out loans to our members with aim of raising interest in return in the two years project duration, the interest we shall realize will then remain in our group as capital” she said.

The initiative involves youth, women, PWDs, and both host communities and refugees, with plans to extend to 30 groups in Arua City before the funds are refunded and reallocated.

CEFTRA-West Nile collaborates with local and international partners such as ACAV, RAID Foundation Uganda, West Nile CARD, and Arua City Council to implement the project.

This activity is part of the larger 30 million euro SUIDAC program operational across nine African cities, with Arua City receiving approximately 1.3 million USD (4.8 billion UGX) to address local displacement and urban growth.