PTA KYABIKERE PRIMARY AND RICNET CONSTRUCTS GIRLS' WASHROOM

Kyabikere primary school is located in Kitholhu Sub County near the Uganda- Congo border and in the mountainous areas which makes it quite difficult to access the school.

The school has one latrine which  is used by both boys and girls and also used by girls to change during their menstrual periods. This exposes girls to poor sanitation and hygiene. The girls also lack privacy. 

The school administration and PTA initiated construction of a two stance latrine but it could not accommodate the number of girls in the school. They  had not put into consideration the element of a  washroom.

During one of our meetings at the school the school administration and PTA requested for support  from RIC-NET to enable them finish the latrine but we challenged them to increase the depth of the latrine and add a washroom so that this can help girls at the school to handle their menstrual periods  well.   
The head teacher said that he believes with the construction of the washroom it will improve girls regular attendance and enable them stay in school. So, the parents agreed and constructed a four stance toilet with a washrooms with funding from RIC-NET .

KARAMBI COMPLETES CONSTRUCTION OF WASHROOM FOR GIRLS.

planning on completion of washroom

Most schools in Rwenzori region do not have washrooms for girl children to use for changing during their menstruation periods. When RIC-NET visited Karambi primary school the case was different. The school had an incomplete washroom though it was not in use. The incomplete washroom was started with support from PTA but was not completed due to lack of funds. 

The school requested for support from RIC-NET which welcomed the idea of finishing the incomplete building to enable girl children at the school to have a proper place for handling their menstrual periods which will enable them attend regularly and stay in school.


This support gave relief to the girls who had always suffered a challenge of lack of privacy,poor sanitation and hygiene during menstruation while at school. The senior woman teacher Miss Eva was heard saying at least her work as senior woman teacher will be eased by completion of the washroom.

     

 completed  washroom

The washroom will be equipped with items to make it a better place for the girls and some of  the items will include ;basins ,jerrycans,pads ,soap ,towel among other items .

                                  completed  washroom

The incomplete washroom 

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN CAN BE REDUCED STARTING RIGHT AT FAMILY LEVEL

"Violence against children can be reduced starting right at the family level."These were words of Mr Paul Mukokoma who was a facilitator at the training of child rights activists in Kitholhu Sub County on 15^th March 2017 at Kitholhu sub county head quarters. He urged the child rights activists to center their work of protecting children’s rights at family level because  change begins at house hold level and if the communities are to change in regard to promoting and protecting children’s rights they should start with the families and the whole community will change. He further urged them to keep the spirit of voluntarism in protecting children’s rights and that they shouldn’t give up even though they face challenges. he said that sometimes sabotage during protection and promotion of children’s rights. 

The training was organized by RIC-NET under the project of Community Driven Approaches to Prevent Violence Against Children and Adolescents in Kasese District aimed at refreshing the activist’s knowledge on the concept of violence against children, understanding common causes of violence against children and equipping them with knowledge about national, regional and international legal frame works governing violence against children which they can use as tools for defending their work.

Participants during a group exercise

The Parish Chief of Kitholhu Mr. Kato Stephen who also attended the training encouraged the activists to work together as a team and always seek guidance from each other and refer complicated cases of child rights violations in their areas to relevant officials like the Police, probation office and the office of the CDO if they are to achieve the aims of their voluntary work of protecting and promoting children’s rights.

one of the participants presenting  group work

Oiling the engine, fireproofing the engine.

I was honoured to attend a meeting last week of community stakeholders, where peace and conflict were discussed at length. The meeting was attended by 26 members, from RIC-NET, Bundibugyo district local government, the intelligence and security services, the OBB and OBR cultural institute, and religious institutions, as well as LCIII's and Foot Peace Ambassadors from various CBOs.

Since the education range in the room was broad, many speakers realized how important it was to express their ideas with clarity. Therefore, the discussion touched on various metaphors to understand approaches to peace-building and conflict management. A warning was made that when ridding fields of a virulent weed, one should not only remove the leaves, not only the stem, but also the roots. A similar argument was made that strategies should address diseases entirely, not merely their symptoms. These are all useful to frame ideas, but do not make long term strategy any clearer. ‘Conflict’, just like ‘peace’ is not an object or a single set of behaviors. It is the outcome of sets of other human behavior. People are not diseases or weeds, and though some parts of their actions might be seen as such, they can’t be poisoned, yanked from the soil, or otherwise without the threat of damage.

Discussions of bottom-up and top-down methods caught my attention, approaching the problem either through political power-centers or the broader population. How can this be expanded to a broader idea that is simple to understand?

One struck me during the meeting: of fire, fuel, and sparks. Violent conflict is fire. Sparks come from friction and collisions between hard materials: stone, wood, metal. These are manifest as instigation by groups and individuals who have specific disputes with other individuals. If the sparks fall on flammable material, all goes up in flames. Yet just like a great machine, Ugandan society is constantly in motion, and increasingly so. Traditional societies are like elegant wooden chairs, or wooden hand-carts. 

The machinery was not complex, the movement limited. Kings ruled ethnic constituencies, people farmed for their livelihoods, government was face-to-face and life generally predictable. The colonial and post-colonial states arrived with their organised economies, highly regulated legal systems, large armies, roads, vehicles, science. They are like their engines and machines, forged of metal, with many moving parts, though unlike real engines, constantly in a process of being built. But still, traditionalism remains in the fringes, and there are more sparks emerging from the machine: electoral politics, cultural institutions, patronage for state integration, and struggles for economic opportunity. These sparks fall on flammable material, and can burst into flames. Of course even the best-tuned engines can catch fire: violence occurs in all sorts of circumstances. Yet here we have two ways of governing life interacting and coexisting, and occasionally burning itself.

What therefore is to be done? Some want the furniture to be kept away from the engine: a separate kingdom state. Some want the furniture gone altogether: full modernisation and integration. The former will leave the furniture without motion. The latter is only possible piece by piece, the slow transformation from a wooden frame to a steel one. It is long term, and any conflagrations only set back the changes: the wooden pieces burn, some metal breaks, and the whole is left damaged.   

This metaphor gives us some key guiding principles for community peace building efforts. First, they should make the components less flammable. Peace narratives, the erosion of ethnic narratives and realisation of the consequences of violence make the people less likely to burst into flames when sparks arrive from above. The ideal goal is a fully fireproofed population, who will not respond violently either to their peers or their leaders. Second, interventions should reduce friction: engine oil is necessary between moving metal parts, and legal, peaceful dispute resolution and dialogue are essential for power holders not to clash. Third, some moving parts may need to be realigned. This is a careful and difficult process, like resetting a cog in motion. Movement in engines, just as interests in politics, is inevitable and desirable. But sometimes a part moves against others, and needs realignment. It will resist shifting back, but once in alignment should stay there, as its own motion will be smoother. It cannot be removed, nor should it. It cannot be stopped, nor should it. But shifting its movement back into alignment is essential for the running of the machine. Troublesome leaders will gain more from legal engagement, but must be allowed to do so, not blocked within legitimate channels. Fourth, neither metal nor wood is ‘wrong’. What is important is their means of interaction. I have often heard the argument that the traditional, magical or cultural elements in the equation should catch up with the 21^st century. But this is a slow process, as I mentioned. One does not tear down a wooden house after placing a generator inside for fear of fire: you still need somewhere to live and sleep. 
BY Patrick Edmound
Student Intern

BUNDIBUGYO LEADERS CONDEMN MIXING CULTURE WITH POLITICS

District leaders of Bundibugyo held an interface/reflection meeting on community action to prevent and manage conflicts and human rights violations in the District. The meeting was conducted by RICNETwith support from Hivos. The meeting was attended by security personnel (DPC, DISO and CO of Kanyamwirima army Barracks); the political leaders led by the District chairperson and members from the CBOs and LCIII chairperson from the project sub counties; 27 members attended this meeting held at the District community hall under community development department.

leaders in the meeting reflection on community driven mechanism.

The meeting was a reflection on the Community Led mechanism to manage conflicts and human rights violation in Rwenzori region, Bundibugyo District in particular. The community based approach look at the bottom up solution to challenges facing the community. During the reflection, leaders from the CBOs shared their experiences from the interventions taken.  Among the interventions were holding community meetings at village level where members were able to analyse the Key players in conflict by identifying those with influence and power, cause of occurrence of incidences and how these cuases can be handled.

According to the DPC, issues that trigger conflicts were clearly seen as lack of knowledge and understanding, land tenure system, revenge on past actions and generalization of issues and above all mixing matters of cultural institution into politics of the land. There are individual persons who stay at the periphery but contribute greatly to the conflicts.

Members of the meeting resolved that there is a need to move from violent means to negotiation. One cannot run away from culture but they have to adapt to other peoples culture and leave peacefully. Cultural leaders have failed to understand the difference between belonging to culture and subscribing to a cultural institution. Bundibugyo does not belong to a single community; there are people who have settled in Bundibugyo but do not subscribe to Obundingya bwa Bwamba and they need to be respected and accommodated in their diversity. It was agreed that there is need to increase internal mobilization for community sensitization meetings, encourage good approach to solve conflicts, support psycho-social counseling for people affected by war trauma, encourage youth to participate in farming, improve internal communication among the leaders of the cultural institutions, rehabilitate the landless/homeless and ensure people understand the basic principles in the laws governing land and belonging to cultural institutions.

BAMBA AND BAKONZO FORM YOUTH GROUP

On 24^th August  2016, the community members of Nyasoro village, in Ntotoro sub county Bundibugyo district held a meeting to share views on their involvement in the post election conflicts and how as a community they can prevent and manage further occurrences. The meeting was attended by 87 community members, the LCI chair person Mr. Friday Alex, the CDO Ms Margret and the LCIII chairperson Mr. Monday Hannington, and the Foot Peace Ambassadors from Yesu Atubalye group of Ntotoro Sub County.

the meeting was held at the compound of Mr. Mukirania Gideon who is  living in hiding after the post election conflict. During the conflict, about 20 houses were burnt down in Nyasoro village alone, over 50 household were displaced, the Bamba moved in the camps set by UNICEF while the Bakonzo moved in the mountains to seek sanctuary, children halted on going to school, some lives were lost. The villages and cocoa gardens have been deserted since then.

The community members shared that, the post election conflicts had there roots in the past scuffles between the tribes. This conflict cannot be blamed on the election results since all the candidates were from NRM. The political situation  was simply a trigger. It was agreed that members who had been displaced should come back to the community and will be welcomed back. Members from all tribes agreed to provide security to each other’s incase of attack. They also agreed that conflicts are results of issues they could not understand themselves and found themselves in the fight. A team of 20 youth formed a youth group to tighten on the securityin the area. they are to guard thecocoa plantation from any burning and destruction. The volunteering group which comprises of both the Bamba and Bakonzo is to work together with the police. The community agreed to put up temporary shelters in the village for the formerly displaced to stay in.

NGOS SUPPORT OVER 120 FAMILIES AFFECTED BY KASESE CLASHES

A month after unrest ravaged Kasese district, the wounds of those directly and indirectly affected are yet to heal. Several families lost loved ones, women were widowed and children orphaned. Efforts are underway to restore peace to the region. 

On 31st December 2016, well wishers and NGOs under Rwenzori Fraternity Associations and  Inter-religious Council of Uganda held prayers with the grieving families and shared with them relief items. 
 

 The packages included: rice, Oil, Salt, Sugar, small buckets and funds to help families of the people who died during  the 25-27 November 2016 Kasese Clashes by some meat to celebrate the New Year 2017.
RIC-NET documented over 120 families that lost the dear ones in this conflict and over 830 Orphans that need further material support, Scholastic material for the children(orphans) as school begins in February 2017.