District Working Group Enhances Youth Participation in Governance Young people have often had minimal opportunities to engage in governance issues because of various factors such as inadequate capacity and knowledge on governance, lack of facilitation and inadequate platforms for engagement.
In Eastern Uganda, for example, Restless Development Uganda (RDU) initiated, coordinated and facilitated the District Youth Working Group in Jinja District which regularly convenes district leaders, youth and youth-focused CSOs to discuss youth-related issues including their limitations to participate in governance and decision-making processes.
Henry Musana, a District Youth Councillor at Jinja District Local Government Council, contends that before RDU initiated the platform, he encountered difficulties in mobilising the youth to give them feedback from the council and to solicit for their issues for council discussions. “Whenever I would invite the youth to convene, they would ask me for transport facilitation. Since I have no funds to meet this demand, most...
“AYINET helped me to live a productive life again”The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in Northern Uganda that started in 1987 and lasted for almost 20 years affected thousands of people in the region. Many people were forcefully abducted and recruited as fighters, which caused many injuries and in some cases deaths.
Ochaya Bosco, now aged 55 years, is one of the victims of LRA abductions. He was captured in 2006, from Kasasiro Village, Omiya Pacwa sub-county in Agago District - Northern Uganda. Fortunately, he managed to escape a few days after, following a rescue mission by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF). His escape, however, did not mark an instant transition to freedom. A splinter from a bomb shelled in the crossfire during the rescue mission had entered his right arm shoulder and got embedded.
For about 13 years, Ochaya suffered both physical and psychological pain. “I had a lot of pain. I couldn’t stretch my arm and I couldn’t engage in any productive work to support my family,” Ochaya narrates, adding that he...
An Elderly Peasant Farmer’s Land Saved, Thanks to Free Legal SupportOnce a Bishop’s driver, Mr. Kanyaruguru Ivan (62 years old) purchased land from Kambere Dominiko in 1974 at a cost of 500/= Uganda Shillings, in his youthful days to prepare for his retirement.
Bordering Kanyaruguru’s land was another piece of land which belonged to an old man, who had no family. When this old man died, the community decided to give his land to Rwenguhyo Primary School for the construction of a school playground, thus the school became Kanyaruguru’s neighbour. In 1978, the school approached Mr. Kanyaruguru with an intention to buy part of his land that was close to the playground and they agreed that the school pays him 1000/= Uganda Shillings. However, the school did not honour the agreement and so Kanyaruguru retained his land and he grew a banana plantation.
Later Rwenguhyo primary school trespassed on Kanyaruguru’s land and started harvesting his bananas. Kanyaruguru then reported the school to the Local Council (LC1 which summoned the two parties mediated the...
Community Based Monitors Prompt Namutumba District Leadership to Revamp a Health FacilityThe structure that houses Kaiti Health Centre in Magada Health Centre- Namutumba District stands firm and beautiful today. It is a far cry from the previous structure that had cracked walls and floors and had proved to be a danger to surrounding communities that regularly came to access health services.
In June 2014, before this development, residents of the sub county were using the health facility irrespective of the risk that the structure posed to their lives. During this period, Community Based Monitors trained by Uganda Debt Network, a DGF partner conducted routine monitoring visits to the sub county. This was when the residents drew their attention to the challenge they were facing. In response, UDN in close collaboration with the Health Unit Management Committee facilitated an engagement meeting on health service delivery in the district. The meeting drew the participation of the District Health Officer (DHO), who was tasked to prioritise the health centre in the district...
NCHRD-U’s Training on Security Management Helps HRDs in Lango Sub-region to Counter RisksHuman rights defenders (HRDs) in Uganda encounter various security risks such as intimidation and violent attacks in the course of duty. To counter these challenges, the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Uganda (NCHRD-U), with support from the DGF, implements interventions to enhance the security of HRDs in the country. In October 2019, NCHRD-U conducted a tailored training for HRDs from Lango subregion in Northern Uganda to equip them with knowledge and skills in managing personal and organisational security. The training was pertinent and timely as they were encountering serious security risks in their work, which largely focuses on transitional justice and human rights concerns in the region. HRDs testify that the training has inspired changes in the way they handle security issues at both individual and organisational levels.
Rashida Odong, the Executive Director at Women Peace initiative in Lira District, narrates that during the training, NCHRD-U took them through...
GRA Grooms Richard Tusiime into a Promising Youth LeaderSince 2018, the Global Rights Alerts (GRA) has been implementing a project: “Promoting Community Interest in the Extractive Sector”. For effective implementation, GRA established a structure of community-based monitors (CBMs) to support timely monitoring and reporting of issues from communities, especially on land evictions and compensations, in relation to developments in the extractives industry. GRA then built their capacities on understanding rights and responsibilities, engaging with communities and leaders, and documenting and reporting issues from the communities.
Richard Tusiime is one of the CBMs who were recruited by GRA in 2018. At that time Tusiime was a member of the youth committee at Kiziranfumbi sub-county in the then Hoima District. “When I was recruited, GRA went on to build my capacity on how to reach out to my leaders within my community, and how to build and maintain a good relationship with them,” he says. With strengthened capacity, Tusiime advocated for oil and...
“World Voices Uganda helped us to regain our land”This story recounts a struggle that lasted several years and ended in 2019 when Isingoma (not his real name) accepted to surrender a piece of land he had grabbed from his orphaned nieces - Grace Kowari, Janerose Businge, and Beatrice Kugonza, now in their 20s – following the intervention of World Voices Uganda (WVU). It all began when the trio lost their father, Mikairi Balisanyuka, in 2001. Grace says that at the time their father died, they were minors. They therefore remained under the care of their uncle, Isingoma, who took over a piece of land and building materials their father had left behind in Kicwanyindo Village, Kagadi District in Western Uganda. Over time, Isingoma sold part of the land, purportedly to pay school fees and medical care for the girls. He used the building materials to put up another house in a nearby village. With time, life became tough for the three orphans. They dropped out of school, and later on, Isingoma told them to start fending for themselves.
This...
FIDA Helps Dislodged Mother of Six to Regain Her LandMarried in 1999 to Mr. Sodo Francis Samuel, a police officer by profession, Juliet’s dreams of a blissful marriage ended prematurely and could not follow the ‘till death do us apart’ doctrine.
Leaving behind his family of a wife and six very young children, Sodo moved on to lead a life of a police officer deployed in a distant district. Soon he forgot and deserted his young family without any form of support apart from a piece of land from which together with her children, Juliet derived a livelihood. However with time the husband denied her access to property and even mortgaged this same piece of land. In addition, every time he returned home Sodo subjected Juliet to repeated beatings and asking her to vacate his land and home together with the children.
When the beatings became unbearable, she consulted the clan members, and the local council leadership for help, but all was in vain. This forced her to painfully leave her marital home together with her children and took refuge in...
Training on Gender Inspires Change in Radio Programming and Policy There has been a rise in the number of media houses in Uganda since the early 1990s. This growth has increased the media footprint and evolved its traditional role of informing, educating and entertaining to include mobilising and influencing personal and public opinions on several issues such as gender relations.
A report by the Uganda Media Women’s Association in 2014 on “Gender Dimensions in Uganda’s Print Media: A Case for Engendering Practitioners” shows that, compared to men, women’s participation in the print media is still low particularly in terms of staffing and news coverage.
To promote gender equality in media operations, the Uganda Media Women’s Association has spearheaded efforts to strengthen media gender lenses regarding reporting and programming. In this effort, the association has conducted a series of training on gender-sensitive reporting targeting media editors, managers, and owners and women leaders.
Ms Laila Baale, the Head of News at Spice FM in Hoima District...
Healed from Psychosocial Trauma, Hellen Aloi Finds Life Meaningful AgainThe Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebellion in Northern Uganda started in 1987 and lasted for almost 20 years. Thousands of people, including girls and women, were abducted by the rebels. Hellen Aloi was among the victims of LRA abductions when, at just 13 years old, she was captured together with other children by a unit of LRA rebels, from a primary school in Gulu District in 1998.
Aloi’s horrific experience in captivity involved beatings, rape and witnessing killings of other captives by the rebels. “In one horror incident, a lady who was standing in front of me was strangled to death as I watched … the rebels also killed my brothers and a sister and they forced me to sit on their bodies and eat food. It was so painful…,” she recalls.
Fortunately, Aloi managed to escape from rebel captivity during one of the battles with government soldiers in Kitgum District in 2005. Her escape, however, did not mark an instant transition to freedom. She got married to an abusive man who treated...
"Although my eye sight is poor, I voted with the help of my grandchild"Eight miles through unwinding forests and plantations of sugarcane, the DGF team met 60-year old Nyakaisiki Mary at Kisuga Trading Centre in Masindi District. She was relaxing with her two favourite friends, 31 years old Dolica Nyakiri and 51 years old Margaret Birembio at the trading Centre. The trio are not ordinary friends. Mary has poor eyesight, Dolica is dumb, and Margaret is illiterate. Despite their disabilities, they recently exercised their civic rights by voting in the last national elections, for the leaders they desired.
It all began when Masindi District NGO Forum (MDNF) began sensitising communities on their electoral and civic rights. They did so, on radio Kitara FM and held face to face sessions in Miracle Church where the trio prays. MDNF Voter Educators (VEs) particularly invigorated the people with various disabilities to ensure they exercised their voter rights. The VEs encouraged them to seek for help from minors in their homes to be able to reach their polling...
Empowered Woman Enables Uwokot Village in Pallisa District to get its First BoreholeMargaret Agwang from Owukot village, Gogonyo subcounty in Pallisa district understands her rights and responsibilities as a citizen of Uganda. She was privileged like many women in her village to be sensitised by the Pallisa Civil Society Network (PACONET) on her civic rights. She received sensitisation severally, both at the sub-county as well as the district. These sessions educated her on her right to water and health services and because of this, she was able change her attitude and her way of living. For as long as Margaret remembers, Uwukot village had never got a water source although it had been planned for by the district on more than three occasions.
Each time the village got an allocation from the district, the boreholes were immediately relocated to other communities. On one occasion in 2015, the Pallisa district planner informed the community of a water source that had been planned for them. Unfortunately, this borehole was also relocated to a nearby school. Margaret...
“MYJ helped me to become a better farmer”Mandeleo Ya Jamii (MYJ) is implementing a project titled “Elevating Local Priorities in Uganda’s Petroleum Development”.At the beginning of the project, MYJ conducted research to understand how local communities were benefitting from the oil and gas industry in their areas, and how they related with oil companies and local leaders. The research revealed minimal local economic development for communities as one of the areas that should be addressed to increase benefits from the industry. To address this, the Hoima Oil and Gas Community Association (HOGACA) was formed and registered in 2018 as a community-based organisation on the advice and support of MYJ. This would enable them to engage various stakeholders on their concerns with a collective voice.
After its formation, HOGACA identified three enterprises - horticulture, fish farming and beekeeping - that would enable communities to benefit from the market opportunities in the oil and gas industry. Through multi-stakeholder forums,...
Inspired by Fellow Women to Lead, Apili Became a Councillor at Kamuli District Local...In 2016, Women in Democracy Group (WDG) reported that participation of women in Uganda’s politics is still limited.
The report further noted that while the legal framework on political participation does not discriminate against women and men, women face some peculiar challenges, due to the social, economic and cultural construction of Ugandan society. These include: limited access to resources than their male counterparts; gender roles which at times prevent them from participating in politics; religious and cultural obstacles; and domestic violence among others.
Faced with the same challenges, Apili Victoria, from Kamuli district, decided she would beat all odds and contest for the seat of District Local Council. Although Apili had the motivation, she was not an eloquent speaker and lacked some public address skills to campaign her way through to victory.
Opportunity gleamed at her when Uganda Women’s Network (UWONET) invited her and other women who were contesting for various...
CDFU's Rock Point 256 Empowers Youth to Become ProductiveMany young people in Uganda face economic hardships and lack of opportunities. This video shows how civic education and life skills training for the youth provided by Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU) through the Rock Point 256 Radio Programmer, helps several youth to find solutions to their problmems and lead productives lives. Concy Appacho, 22 years old, from Northern Uganda, is a typical example of many young people in Uganda who have faced economic hardships in life. Her fortunes changed because of the empowerment and peer education she acquired through a behavioral change radio serial drama, the Rock Point 256.
Widow Regains Control from Male in-laws to Buy Land For many women in Uganda, making decisions over land transactions is still linked to the influence and control of men.
This story recounts how Olivia Nuwagaba, a resident of Byanjiri Village, in Lwengo District was supported by FIDA to overcome the control and interference by her male in-laws, when she decided to buy a piece of land for her daughter, Florence Nagawa.
When Nuwagaba’s husband, Vincent Ssegawa passed on in March 2017, his land was distributed among his children. Nuwagaba, who had one daughter with the deceased, received a small piece of land on behalf of her daughter. Because the land was small, Nuwagaba decided to sell it and buy a bigger one near her home. After protracted negotiations, the inlaws bought the land from her at UGX 2 million.
When the transaction was concluded, the inlaws linked up with Mr. Muda Tumwine, who was selling a piece of land near Nuwagaba’s Village and tried to influence her to buy it. However, she declined to buy it because it was very small...
Tinfayo Change Agents Transform Communities’ Livelihoods through Civic AwarenessIn 2015, Kabarole Research Center (KRC) organized specialized training for Change Agents in the 21 sub-counties of the Rwenzori Region.
The trainings were inspired by Tinfayo; a satirical story that is meant to make citizens understand the need for an active role in holding their leaders accountable rather than the passive role which has left them as beggars ripped of their own rights. The trainings embedded reflective questions and challenged participants to play their roles and responsibilities as citizens.
The change agents of Komangani in Kakabara sub county vowed to start Tinfayo clubs with a purpose of fighting poverty, sensitizing community members on their civic rights, embracing government programs, and demanding accountability from their leaders at all levels. Working together with other change agents from Komangani Parish, they formed Tinfayo drama groups that composed Tinfayo songs which were used to sensitize citizens in public places such as churches, markets and saving...
A Uganda where citizens are empowered to engage in democratic governance and the state upholds citizens’ rights
The Democratic Governance Facility (DGF) is funded by seven of Uganda’s International Development Partners (Austria, Denmark, European Union, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden) to provide harmonized and coordinated support to state and non-state partners to strengthen democracy, protect human rights, improve access to justice, and enhance accountability in Uganda.
