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| RWECO coordinator addressing people |
In the Rwenzori region, Violence against children is rampant
as manifested in the way children are looked at as household tools for economic
empowerment leading to exploitation,
provision of cheap labour in tea estates, and cotton growing and harvesting yet
even the little they earn is taken away from them by their guardians or parents
whereas those at the boarder sides of Kasese are exposed to smuggling practices
and this puts young girls at high risks of acquiring HIV/AIDS, corporal punishments
also common in school, use of abusive language ,exposure to pornography in society
,denial of education ,medical care among others making them to look at a future
that is so bad and so hopeless .
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| RWECO members in the meeting |
Women’s lack of empowerment is a recipe for violence against
children in all its forms leaving the children at the mercy of GOD. The children
in the Rwenzori region are often spotted crying on the streets, indulging in
activities that are harmful exposing them to violence the only monster.
They have no one to turn to; they have no medical care, they have no one to
lean on. The children in the Rwenzori region have no proper guidance, they need
information, and they need time and love.
To give them a
helping hand, Rwenzori Consortium for Civic Competence (RWECO) with support
from the East African Children Fund (EAFC) has come up with a project “community-led
mechanisms to prevent violence against children and adolescents”. The project
aims at curb down the vice through a community-led approach through economic
empowerment of women, strengthening capacity of school management committees
and strengthening the capacity of communities living within the school
environment.
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| Mrs. Marget holds out computers to be given to the RWECO executive dirctors |
The project will be implemented by the
RWECO member organizations of Rwenzori
Information Centres Network (RIC-NET), Karambi Action Life Improvement (KALI), Democracy
Link- Africa (RIDE-AFRICA), Good Hope Foundation for Rural Development (GHFRD)
and Kasese Guide Radio has been brought on board to do all the media activities.
As an approach through which RWECO works, an inception meeting was held on 5th
Nov. 2015 at Virina Gardens Hotel in Kasese Municipality geared at
finding ways on how to implement the project in Kasese district. This pilot
project is targeting eight sub-counties of Karambi, Kitholhu, Nyakiyumbu,
Kisinga, Karusandara, Maliba, Kitswamba and Katwe Kabatooro town council and 16
schools selected from each of these sub-counties in Kasese district.
The project activities were distributed to member
organizations and will be carried out by involving children in assessing their
own problems and identifying critical issues in their lives which makes a major
difference in addressing their problems. RWECO partners will rely on the
baseline findings and informal interactions with the children for learning and
community participation in form of drama innovativeness and household
competitions on the prevention of violence against children.
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| Group photo for RWECO members |
RIC-NET as a partner organization was given the schools of
Kanyatsi, Karambi, Kyabikere and Kamasasa primary schools to operate in, RIDE-AFRICA
to operate in Kyanya SDA, Ngaiga, Kistwamba SDA and Ibuga primary school, GHFRD
to operate in Kiburara, Karusandara SDA, Kenyange primary school and St.
Thereza girls’ secondary school and KALI to operate in Mundongo, St. John’s Bukangara,
Katwe and Katwe quarran primary schools whereas Kasese Guide Radio is carry out
all the media related works in all its forms.
