Ruhiira
The Ruhiira cluster of eight Millennium Villages is set in Uganda’s mountainous southwestern highlands. More than 90 percent of the area’s 40,000 residents are subsistence farmers. Prior to their partnership with the Millennium Villages project, residents faced isolation from markets, low education levels, and lack of opportunity. Ruhiira represented extreme poverty in Uganda, with close to half its inhabitants earning less than one dollar a day. Yet, the project has catalyzed positive change and local people have improved their lives dramatically.
The Ford Program and our partners benefit from having witnessed the inspiring accomplishments of those living and working in Ruhiira since the Millennium Villages project’s inception in 2006. We work with project leadership to apply their best practices and lessons learned to our research and engagement efforts in Uganda.
