In 2013 a total of 243 girls under the age of 18 years dropped out of the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme in Namayingo district after getting pregnant, Majority of the girls were below 13 years old in Primary Five and Six. The girls are enticed with sweets, cakes and sodas. A report by Moses Bikala in New Vision May 29th 2014.
For details read article below
Namayingo-May 29, 2014
DEATH ANNOUNCEMENT
Tumbula Community Empowerment Initiative (TUCEI) with deep sorrow announces the passing on of Sellah Ajiambo.
Sellah was a beloved member of TUCEI. Committed to the noble cause of the vulnerable group especially women, widows and children.
Our most sincere prayers go to her family, Children and friends during the trying moments.
May her soul rest in eternal peace.
P.O Box 64, Bugiri Tel: 0754/0777-057100, 0782301050 Email: tumbulawa@gmail.com Namayingo Town CouncilOut of the five members of Tumbula Community Empowerment Initiative (TUCEI) group who traveled to Kenya, three it was the first time experience of traveling out of Uganda. The experience was an exciting and a unique one, we all looked forward to learning, acquiring new skills and networking.
We were well received and made to feel at home. We were informed that the conferences’ theme was “Show, Grow and Share” with three main areas of focus:
Philline the host helped the group understand the importance of good health, hygiene and economic empowerment for women.
In the conference we were meant to understand that women are the backbone of the family and makers of homes. Women take care of all family members throughout their lives thus, should ensure that they are able to provide these basic duties. In order for women to be able to develop in the society they should be able to help one another through conducting economic activities that can help them to earn a living such as cattle/goat keeping, chicken rearing, own a retail shop, do tailoring, day care services among others. She cited the example of rabbit rearing that Nakumat Nairobi where one rabbit goes for 60,000/-.
She also encouraged women not to undermine work and label some activities as “men’s work” as society dictates. She encouraged women to that on work like brick making and sell to constructors.
For a woman to save on charcoal, gas and fuel it is cheap to use an Eco stove. She encouraged every woman to have an Eco stove in their homes and also help the community, thus be able to provide the basic commodities for the family and have self-respect for oneself and their families.
Health and hygiene is very important within the community as it helps to stop the spread of bacterial infections that affect small children and infants such as cold flu’s, malaria, constipation, Diarrhea, skin infections, tuberculosis(TB) ,typhoid among others. Good health enables one live a more fruitful and productive life.
Safety measures for a health life;-
TUCEI women shared about their organization, women’s roles and importance of knowing one’s HIV & AIDS status.
Women should be respectful and exemplary in the community; she should be the first teacher of her children, then her husband and community. She should ensure that the children have good health, she must be God fearing and ensure that the home always has food thus it is important to have a vegetable garden at home for a well balanced diet.
On health, the couple should now their HIV&AIDS status to avoid passing on the virus to their unborn children and also know how to take care of themselves so that they can live longer. The TUCEI coordinator informed participants that they are planning to start HIV&AIDS awareness raising campaigns around the lakes that is the fishing grounds, Boda-Boda, Barmaids, young people/youth and pregnant mothers.
The ladies of TUCEI shared their life experiences and participants were very touched, many were very surprised that Ugandans could freely talk about their HIV status as for them especially Kenya one could not easily disclose their status as stigma is still very high. The women encouraged each one of them to test, know their status and if positive start treatment as soon as possible.
Violence against women: it was realized that in Africa men are taken to be very superior over women, culture favors them-education they are considered first and many other things they are put first thus as they grow up they tend to under-look women, disrespect them, neglect their family responsibilities, beat their wives especially those who drink alcohol, polygamy thus high rates of HIV&AIDS among others.
It was realized that to overcome violence in society men need to be involved in teachings and campaigns against violence.
Home visits: Farming and animal rearing; participants were meant to understand that even on a small piece of land someone can do much for example; in Kenya people have small pieces of land but can do kitchen gardening for vegetables, plant a few food crops and also rear chicken.
The women were very grateful for the wonderful opportunity given to them by Livingstone Foundation in support of Isis-Women International Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) to travel, learn, acquire skills and share experiences with women and men from Kenya and Netherlands.
Learning
A team of 5 women from Tumbula Community Empowerment Initiative (TUCEI) in Namayingo district-Uganda will join other women in Kakamega, Kenya from 27th – 28th Sept. 2013 to strategise on modalities of livelihood enhancement for women, violence against women and HIV&AIDS.
The group will also have an opportunity to visit, learn and share experiences on various livelihood activities such as animal rearing, tailoring and craft work. The women are looking forward to a great learning, sharing experiences & skills and networking
The women human rights activists of Namaingo District (Tumbula women’s network) join the rest of the world to celebrate 16 Days of Activism. These are the highlights of events they are to participate in:
The women are to match from Lwangosia Sub-County to the district where the major launching of 16 Days of Activism will be held, holding banners and flyers with messages on violence against women.
2. Drama
The women will present a drama with a focus on Preventing Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) as this is one of the most violations women face in the community. The drama will highlight the woman’s agony right from home, community to the health centre and how she copes up when her child is brought into this world.
3. Use of technology
Throughout the campaign the women intend to take control of technology to end violence against women by sending out bulk SMS
Messages;
Targeting men who don’t want their wives to work
“An empowered woman, a health home”
“Working together as a family builds a strong home”
“Husbands, fathers, brothers be responsible protect your mothers, wives and sisters. Let’s work together and create positive change in our society”
“Ona kama lina ohuya omuhasi wawo Ssi wa hechuhisa obwicha bwasolaha yaye? Esyo siswassa”
“Stop beating your wife. Can’t you remember the first love for her? It’s shameful.”
About 16 Days of Activism
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is a global campaign dedicated to ending gender-based violence. 2012 Theme: From Peace in the Home to Peace in the World: Let’s Challenge Militarism and End Violence Against Women!
The Campaign starts on 25th November, International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence to 10th December 2012, International Human Rights Day. These dates were chosen to emphasize that gender-based violence is a violation of human rights. The Campaign is successful because of the activism of millions of women and tens of thousands of organizations worldwide, who are committed to ending gender-based violence.
Last week (August3, 2011), the National Newspaper The Daily Monitor reported that at least 400 female students have dropped out of Universal Secondary Education in Namayingo District to practice prostitution along the shores of Lake Victoria in the past two years.
Mr Mayatsa, the District Resident Commissioner, said that majority of the girls aged below 16 have been lured into the vice to earn quick money from fishermen.
Mr Mayatsa further said that recently he visited some schools in the district and discovered that most of the schools which had about 250 female students dropped to less than 100.
The RDC called for sensitization in the community about the importance of keeping girls in school to ensure they attain a bright future. “Some parents think education is useless. So they encourage girls to make money through prostitution,” he said, adding that more would join if no action is taken.
Mr Mayatsa said majority of the girls aged below 16 have been lured into the vice to earn quick money from fishermen. “When I inquired about their whereabouts, I was told they had gone to make quick money on the islands where they target fishermen,” he said.
Mr Mayatsa said recently he visited some schools in the region and discovered that most of the schools which had about 250 female students dropped to less than 100.
The RDC also said parents need sensitisation about the importance of keeping their daughters in school to ensure they attain a bright future. “Some parents think education is useless. So they encourage girls to make money through prostitution,” he said, adding that more would join if no action is taken.
This is one of the many challenges that women paralegals grapple with in the new district of Namayingo that boarders with Lake Victoria. This remote and fishing community has been marginalized and left out on many development aspects because of their remote locations as evidenced in the previous projects carried out by Isis-WICCE. They have missed out on various economic, social related programmes, and gross human rights violations continue unabated.
Women and girls have continued to face various forms of violations on a daily basis which include; sexual violence,widow in-heritance and property grabbing, prostitution which has led to high rates of HIV and AIDS .
As paralegals, we sensitise people in the community especially women to know their rights, demand and defend their rights. We also workhard to see that stability and good health prevails in familieis. It was on March 15, 2011 at Lubango PArish in Manayingo district and I visited Mr Machala’s family which believed that having many children and the man made sure that his wife who is now over 45years produces as many children as possible.
I talked to them about family planning, and the possible dangers of having many children especially after 40 years. I advised them that producing a few children gives you the opportunity to give proper care by providing health care, education and other basic needs
I am happy to report that at the end of our discussion, the couple was able ot understand the importance of family planning and agreed to use family planning methods which is the Inject plan.
In my opinion, the paralegal work has greatly impacted on the lives of individuals and the community at large. Personally, my life has also changed and I have got new friends and I have received several cases relating to family matters which I have also handled.
Jesca Were recieving an award
On April 7th 2011 Isis-WICCE, the US Embassy in Uganda and CEDA-Uganda held the first Uganda Women of Courage Award. The award aims to recognize the efforts of grassroots women in developing their communities. The event was witnessed by about 100 people, including women’s human rights activists, international development organizations, United Nations representatives, diplomatic missions and the media. Prior to the ceremony, Isis-WICCE documented the work of the seven recipients and the short clips were projected during the event. It was such an emotional moment for most of the women, as they expressed surprise at being nominated for the award.
Jesca and U.S. Ambassador Jerry Lanier after receiving an Award
Jesca Were is a mother mentor at Buyinja health center IV in Namayingo district and the Coordinator, Tumbula Women’s Group. She is is living positively with HIV and AIDS and pays special attention to mothers with HIV, counsels them on how to live positively and also on treatment adherence. She has provided information to women on caring for children with HIV through PMCT outreach groups. A primary school teacher, Jesca also works as a paralegal, moving in various villages helping women
and orphans to access justice. She works a lot on cases of land rights and violence against women. She leads a group of 16 women in eight sub-counties to support families affected by HIV to access justice.
Through the maternal health services outreach, Jesca has managed to get mothers to have deliveries at hospitals in a rural area where most times mothers would rather deliver at home. She has also extended her support to couples encouraging them to get tested and treated.
Jesca giving her appreciation speech
His Excellency the US ambassador to Uganda, other Excellencies, distinguished guests, fellow women of Courage 2011, ladies and gentlemen.
Am speechless………….!!!
Grateful I am to be honored on this day. I thank each of you who are here to witness all this for what I do
Namayingo is a district situated in the Eastern part of Uganda formerly part of Bugiri District.
I have been awarded on the aspect of Health, yet I can neither inject nor combine two drugs to cure any infection or disease as Health workers do.
I am an HIV positive mother who has an HIV negative baby due to accessing Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services. When I was pregnant, I and my husband travelled to Nsambya Hospital six years ago. When we had the test, I was positive and my husband negative. On hearing this, my husband abandoned me and disappeared. I did not even have transport back home in Namaingo I mourned for awhile. I then decided to move on with the support of family and encouraged to access PMTCT services.
I decided to use my experience of PMTCT to support other mothers in my community. So through the programme of mothers to mothers; I always go to Health facility, Buyinja Health Centre IV where I do the Health Education Talk to pregnant mothers. The pregnant mothers are tested for HIV whenever they come to the Health facility as it is a government policy under the ministry of Health for those found HIV positive; I further have a one on one talk with them. Using my experience that I went through to obtain an HIV free baby is the one I share with these mothers in order to encourage them to go through the same and have HIV free babies. When these mothers total to 25(twenty five), I group them into family support groups, where we meet once in a month to share testimonies, drama, test their babies and learn atleast one topic regarding the PMTCT schedule.
I happen to be a coordinator of paralegals with other 18(Eighteen) women who were trained as paralegals too. This training was facilitated by Isis-WICCE after a baseline survey that showed that women and girl’s rights were abused day to day silently:
As a result of paralegals within the 6(six) Sub Counties of Namayingo Districts, a lot of interventions have been realized. This District consists of water bodies and fishing communities, where women, girls suffer from violations while no one to turn to.
Civil Society voices do not exist at all, yet dear listeners (audience) you are here!!!
I send my sincere appreciation to Isis-WICCE who has stretched and put effort to reach us.
I therefore call upon all the civil society with diversity skills to visit Namayingo so as to cause change.
The Award that I have been given today, implies to me that:
I always look at a caterpillar as my mentor because it moves in all circumstances whether hot or cold, nothing stops it. Yes nothing will stand in my way.
God bless thee.
By Onyango Joyce, Oundo Grace, and Suzan Nkinzi
The first ever Busoga Diocesan Mother’s Union day celebration in Lwagonsia Archdeaconry since it became a church in 1945 was held on March 25th, 2011 at Lwangosia Archdeaconry head quarters.
The day’s service was led by the Ven. Rev. Simon Peter Onyango assisted by Ven. Rev. David Kaluya the Archdeacon Bugiri. In the bishop’s sermon he emphasized loving one another and forgiveness in marriage and all aspects of life (Ephesians 4:32).
Mother’s Union members took the initiative to sensitize women in care and handling of children; orphans and those with disabilities, elderly, respect and love for their husbands. The community was also educated on respect for human rights and encouraged to officially get married in churches.
Mother Union members engaged in various competitive activities which included; matooke peeling, bicycle riding, marching, reading of scriptures in Lusoga and Gomes dressing. However, prizes and presents were given to all those who participated as an encouragement to women to participate in such activities.
The achievements cited were:
However there were also some challenges including:
At the end of the day, guests toured around the Lwangosia Archdeaconry premises and appreciated the work well done by the youngest Archdeaconry of 3 years old in Busoga Diocese.
Tumbula Women's Group 