Victory Outreach steps in as Agago families face hunger

22 October 2026, 10:41

By Odongo James Patrick & Aromorach Scovia

Victory Outreach Ministry has donated food supplies to 250 vulnerable households in four villages in Ademi Parish, Agengo Sub-county, Agago District, providing temporary relief to families struggling with food shortages following crop losses.

The food distribution, conducted on Monday, 19 October 2026, saw each beneficiary household receive 25 kilogrammes of posho and 10 kilogrammes of beans.

The intervention targeted families in communities where some households have reported difficulties maintaining adequate food supplies after crops dried up in their gardens.

Speaking during the distribution exercise in Acuru, Rev. JJ Otim of Victory Outreach Pader said the intervention was motivated by the Christian principle of extending love and support to vulnerable people, regardless of their religious affiliation.

Otim explained that although Victory Outreach Acuru has approximately 50 church members, the ministry felt it would be inappropriate to restrict the food assistance to its congregation when neighbouring communities were also experiencing food shortages.

He urged residents to take advantage of the ongoing light rains by engaging in small-scale farming to improve household food security.

According to Otim, households should consider planting crops that mature quickly and provide food within a short period rather than waiting for the next major planting season.

Victory Outreach Ministry Bishop Johnson Ogema said the intervention followed a request from Rev. Otim after he learnt about the ministry’s earlier food distribution to more than 800 households in the Karamoja sub-region.

Ogema said Otim subsequently appealed for similar assistance to vulnerable communities in Pader and Agago districts, prompting the ministry to mobilise food supplies for the affected households.

He encouraged residents to use the available rainfall to establish gardens, particularly for vegetables and other crops that can provide food within a short period.

He also challenged residents to abandon what he described as laziness and instead work hard to improve their household livelihoods.

Beyond food security, Bishop Ogema encouraged families to improve their living conditions by investing in permanent houses.

He urged residents still living in grass-thatched houses to gradually transition to more durable structures rather than waiting until they had accumulated large sums of money.

“Construct now while on earth and enjoy it,” Ogema said.

He added that improving household welfare requires families to make use of the resources and opportunities available to them rather than relying entirely on external assistance.

Among the beneficiaries was 82-year-old Ajwang Tereza, a widow from Acuru School Village who cares for three grandchildren.

Tereza expressed gratitude for the food assistance, saying the donation had come at a difficult time for her household.

However, she appealed to the government and other well-wishers for additional support, explaining that the crops she had planted had dried up, leaving her household struggling to secure adequate food.

Another beneficiary, Odong Kennedy, expressed appreciation for the support and urged fellow beneficiaries to plant vegetables when the rains come.

Another beneficiary, 83-year-old Akello Marita, a widow from England East Village in Ademi Parish who cares for six children, also welcomed the intervention.

Marita thanked Victory Outreach Ministry for what she described as timely assistance, saying the food supplies would help her family cope with the current shortage.

For elderly caregivers such as Tereza and Marita, the assistance provides immediate food relief as they continue to face the challenges of supporting children and grandchildren with limited household resources.

Agengo Sub-county LCIII Chairperson Oromakecha Simon welcomed the donation, describing it as a contribution to government efforts to support vulnerable communities.

Oromakecha urged beneficiaries to use the food items for their intended purpose and cautioned them against selling the supplies at the expense of their families’ food needs.

He also appealed to Victory Outreach Ministry and other well-wishers to consider extending similar assistance to additional vulnerable households that were not among the 250 beneficiaries.

The donation comes at a time when some households in the affected communities are struggling to maintain adequate food supplies following the drying up of crops in their gardens.

Local leaders and the ministry are encouraging residents to combine emergency food assistance with productive activities, such as farming, to build long-term household resilience.

The ministry’s intervention is expected to provide short-term relief to the 250 households, while the call for residents to plant crops and engage in productive activities aims to address the underlying food security challenges.

For the beneficiaries, however, the immediate priority remains putting food on the table.

As the rains continue, local leaders and Victory Outreach Ministry are urging families not to rely solely on external assistance, but to use the available moisture to plant fast-growing crops that can supplement household food supplies in the coming weeks and months.

Victory Outreach Ministry recently distributed food relief to vulnerable families in Karamoja, where hunger continues to affect communities across the sub-region.

The relief package, delivered to households in Lengen Sub-county, included 10 kilogrammes of rice and 20 kilogrammes of maize flour for each of the 300 beneficiary households.

The beneficiaries included elderly people, persons with disabilities, widows and other vulnerable families facing severe food shortages.

Wilson Otto, the Agago District LC chairperson, reported that more than 18 people had died from malnutrition, while 351 people had been admitted to Health Centre IIIs and IVs across the district. He added that Love One International was supporting 307 malnourished children.

The district estimates that more than 4,000 households headed by older persons are still in urgent need of food support.