POLICE RESCUE 15-YEAR OLD FROM GETTING MARRIED
Police on Sunday stormed a wedding party in Butambala district and rescued a minor 'bride' and arrested her parents, causing a scuffle that sent villagers and guests scampering for safety. Police said the groom camouflaged himself when he removed his kanzu and wore a T-shirt and fled. The incident happened at about 5.00Pm at Lugoye village in Butambala when a police patrol vehicle with over 15 police personnel stormed a wedding where parents were giving away a 15-year old girl into marriage.
Detectives said they did not know the groom, Muhammad Mulumba, a peasant farmer from Lubugo village, about two kilometers away and during the confusion he removed a Kanzu and wore a T-shirt, disguised as a villager and took off. The police spokesman for Central West, Phillip Mukasa said about 30 guests had accompanied the groom and were joined with a bigger number of villagers and relatives that attended the wedding. Read more
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/632594-police-rescue-15-year-old-from-getting-married.html
QUACK DOCTOR KILLS WOMAN IN FAKE SURGERY
On March 25 this year, Emily Mandawumi, 36, prepared for what she thought would be a life-changing operation on her abdomen. According to information gathered by police detectives, a man commonly known as 'Doctor' Wilson Gudde had advised Mandawumi that the operation was the only solution to her problem, which he had diagnosed as fibroids. Gudde runs Emin Pasha Medical Centre in Kinawataka, a Kampala suburb, where people call him 'doctor', partly because he usually wears a white gown, the kind doctors don.
Finding Emin Pasha Medical Centre, a run-down clinic in the slummy Kinawataka, is an uphill task. Nobody seems to know it. But on eventually locating it, one wonders how a medical practitioner worth their name and training could operate in such an environment. Shacks and filth surround the 'medical centre'. Dirty water from the neighbouring shacks runs in a gutter on the left-hand side of the facility, mixing with plastic bags, bottles and cups. A used condom is visible right in front of the clinic, whose windows are broken. Inside are two lonely metallic beds. According to the police, it was on one of these beds that Mandawumi lay for her tragic operation. Beside the beds is a jerrycan and bucket. Read more
ABOUT 100 FLEE HOMES AHEAD OF FGM SEASON
At least 140 Pokot girls in Amudat District have abandoned their homes and run to the office of the Resident District Commissioner for fear of undergoing the seasonal genital mutilation, slated for this month. The RDC, Mr Stephen Nsubuga Bewayo, said out of the 140 girls whom he has so far received, 30 are married. Mr Bewayo said he sent all the 140 girls to Kalas Girls' Primary School, in the boarding section, so that they do not go back to their parents, noting that they would be beaten or killed for rejecting their culture.
"My office is overwhelmed and every day I receive more than seven children, which is a good thing because these children are now rejecting bad cultures and are demanding for their right to education," he said. The RDC added that although he has managed to register the children in boarding schools, he has asked school administration to bear with the situation, noting that the major challenge would be providing the children with basic needs such as clothes, books and other necessities. Mr Bewayo said the district council gazetted the school as a temporal rescue home for these girls so that when schools close, the girls will remain in the school until the term reopens, as the district looks for funds to construct a permanent rescue home. Read more
FGM: A WOMAN'S EXPERIENCE AT THE THORNS OF CULTURE
At nine years of age, a few young girls might be experiencing puberty. But the majority are probably not. They are playing with dolls, making new friends and studying in primary four, if they are lucky. About that same age, young girls are picking out hobbies they enjoy and beginning to discover who they really are. But when she was nine, Maria Chepokilipa was preparing to have her clitoris cut.
Chepokilipa belongs to the Pokot tribe. She stays in Amudat District in Karamoja, 20 kilometres away from the border of Kenya and Uganda. She is polite and shy; her eyes are focused on the ground most of the time. When she walks, it is with small, quick and firm steps, determined to get where ever she is going. It says a lot about her character. Beneath that though, is a woman who has undergone pain so cruel, she sometimes wonders whether she will ever forget it. Read more
TOP SEX SLAVE DEALER NABBED
Sad tale of how women are forced into sex trade in Asia
"Heartless" is how Grace* describes Faith Karongo Nasasira, the woman who has allegedly brought untold misery to dozens of unsuspecting Ugandan girls by trafficking them to China, Malaysia and now Turkey. The girls, who are usually below 22 years, only get to know that they have been trafficked to work as prostitutes after touching down in China, where this woman who goes by more than four identities receives them.
According to police, she has several passports bearing different names, including: Karongo Faith, Mulinde Faith, Nnalongo Faith Naturinda and Natukunda Faith. The light-skinned, 42-year-old woman, alongside other suspects, have been on the police list of most-wanted criminals for a while, after numerous complaints were raised by Ugandan girls in Malaysia. Karongo's luck ran out when the police got hold of one of her friends, whom they threatened to arrest if she did not reveal the woman's whereabouts. Karongo, it was believed, was out of the country. Read more
MARRIED K'JONG GIRLS RESCUED, TAKEN TO SCHOOL
Seventy-three children including five girls who had been forced into marriage by their parents in Amudat district have voluntarily accepted to go back to school. The resident district commissioner (RDC), Steven Bewayo said the children were responding to the recent campaign dubbed, 'Go Back to School' that he initiated.
The campaign, funded by UNICEF was initiated in February this year and aimed at mobilizing school-going children and girls who were forced into early marriages, to go to school. Bewayo said the children had been mobilized by religious leaders who were urging them and their parents to understand the value of education instead of grazing animals and looking at girls as a source of wealth by forcing them into early marriages. The five girls went to the RDC's office after running away from their husbands, and three of them are aged 15 years while the two are 13. Read more
http://www.newvision.co.ug/news/632665-married-k-jong-girls-rescued-taken-to-school.html
AFRICAN WOMEN MPS CALL FOR CONTINENT-WIDE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Africa women legislators meeting in Gauteng, South Africa have called for a continent-wide affirmative action to help increase the number of women in political positions. During a Commonwealth Executive Committee meeting, members from different countries reported the mistreatment and unfairness female politicians go through to ascend to leadership. This has therefore made the women legislators to call for a continent wide affirmative move to ring fence positions for women.
Reporting about the situation in Nigeria Ms Fatumbi Olajide Julianah said the male politicians use women to ascend to power and ignore them without allowing them to also take on political positions. "They drop us at their own free will, please come and help us in Nigeria. They do not want this issue of affirmative action," she told the conference. Apart from countries like Uganda, South Africa and Rwanda, most countries do not have ring fenced political positions for women and so, have few women in leadership. To cure the problem, Ms Rosemary Sseninde from Uganda said all countries should copy what Uganda did to ensure that many women are assured of leadership, a proposal which received overwhelming support. Read more
UGANDAN WOMEN CHALLENGE GOVERNMENT ON MATERNAL HEALTH
A group of 50 NGOs have backed a petition calling for the Ugandan government to be charged with failing to prevent the deaths of expectant mothers. More than 16 women a day die due to pregnancy complications. The petition urges the government to boost health services to prevent these deaths and ensure Ugandan women receive their constitutional right to protection. The petition was presented to the constitutional court but was thrown out on 5 June; however, the petitioners plan to appeal. The court argued that by upholding the petition, judges would be forced to enter the political arena and act outside of their jurisdiction. Principal State Attorney Patricia Mutesi, defending for the government, said the petition "was asking the court to do the work of the parliament in reviewing the efficiency of the health sector."
The petitioners said that the court relied on outdated international law in making its decision. Moses Mulumba, executive director of the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD), the group that originally put forward the petition, also felt that the court's decision failed to address the fact that women were being denied rights assured to them by the Ugandan constitution. "I think it was very wrong for the judiciary to rely on very old United States jurisprudence to inform their decisions on clear violations of human rights," said Mulumba. On 14 June, the petitioners filed a notice informing the Supreme Court and the Attorney General's office of their plan to appeal the decision. They have 50 days to finalise and file the appeal. What they are looking for ultimately is that the government invests more in maternal health care, and the health system in general. Read more
http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2012/07/ugandan-women-challenge-government-on-maternal-health/
FAMILY PLANNING FACES HURDLES IN UGANDA
As world leaders prepare for this month's Global Family Planning Summit in London, many developing countries are struggling to control their population growth. Local authorities say they are trying to bring down the birth rate for the sake of the country's future. Last year, Editha Tumwebaze became pregnant with her ninth child. In her village in the western part of Uganda, a country with the world's second highest birth rate, her case is not unusual. The average Ugandan woman will give birth to about seven children during her lifetime. But during the difficult delivery, Tumwebaze developed an obstetric fistula, a tear in the birth passage that has caused her to leak urine ever since.
She says that now she rarely leaves home because of her condition. Tumwebaze says her husband Wilson cannot look for work because he has to take care of her and the new baby. Wilson says women who have many children often develop medical problems. If they had had access to family planning services, he says, they would not have had so many children. This is something the Ugandan Ministry of Health and the United Nations Population Fund are working to change. In the town of Kanungu, hundreds of women and a scattering of men gathered around a health clinic to learn about family planning methods. T" Read more http://www.voanews.com/content/family_planning_faces_hurdles_in_uganda/1363730.html
WOMEN GET TRAINING ON HOW TO START BUSINESSES
Participants were trained on hoWomen councillors in Mubende district have been trained on how to start business and create their own jobs so that they can earn a living. The area Woman MP, Ms Namugwanya Benny Bugembe, organised the training.w to make cooking fuel out of grass, crop residue, ant hill soil and rubbish. They were also taught how to make candles, necklaces and soap. Ms Bugembe said the training on making cooking fuel using other materials instead of trees would contribute to the conservation of the environment. Read more
VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 4 WOMEN IN UGANDA
Renewable Energy Project eSeeker Uganda is in final stages of establishing a training center for renewable energy in Uganda. The target group is youth and women. The training is focusing on one year vocational courses . At the end of the course the students have to be able to work comfortably with renewable energy in one of the following: solar water hear, solar photovoltaic or biogas. http://www.eseekerug.com To be able to make this project a reality, eSeeker has taken two approaches: To create partnerships with international partners (Finland and Sweden) and national partners (Locally in Uganda).
For successful implementation of the project, to brake the target to: Renewable energy training for only women (mainly farmers) in Busoga region in Uganda. Renewable energy training for youth and women (targeting youth who completed high school) in Busoga region Names of local partners and roles: eSeeker Uganda: To establish a consortium of local partners or collaborators for the project, to participate in curriculum and content development to localize content, participate in implementation, monitoring and evaluation process. Busoga University: This is a private university in Eastern Uganda located in Busoga region. It was established in 1998 and now has over 2500 students it has educated. It has agreed to work in partnership with eSeeker Uganda in offering vocational education. Read more
MPS WANT FREE DISTRIBUTION OF CONDOMS IN SCHOOLS
Youth MPs under the body umbrella Uganda Parliamentary Youth Forum have asked government to issue a directive to all universities and hotels to ensure free distribution of condoms to their clients to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids. This follows a recent report by the ministry of health which showed an increase in Uganda's HIV/AIDS prevalence rate from 6.4% in 2005 to 7.3% as of September last year. Led by the national youth female MP, Monicah Amonding, the MPs demanded that the ministry of health develops a policy that will make it mandatory for all Hotels , universities among other public places to ensure that their facilities provide free condoms before they can be licensed .
"We should push government to ensure that there is a policy on free distribution of condoms in public places, china has been doing this and it has worked for them that is why their HIV/AIDS Prevalence rate is low," said Gerald Karuhanga Youth MP western region. Eastern Region Youth MP Peter Ogwang added; "how can someone afford to buy a condom at Sh 8000 when they cannot buy a bread of sh200 government should subsidize on the prices of these condoms so that they are affordable by all Ugandans". They expressed concern that most of the hotels especially those in slum areas like Katanga in wandegeya, Kisenyi frequented by low income earners lack free condoms which has led to unsafe sex among Ugandans. Read more
http://allafrica.com/stories/201207051047.html
ULTRASOUND STATION IN UGANDA TURNING TIDE OF CHILDBIRTH DIFFICULTIES
The Kamuli hospital in Uganda is helping to turn the tide of childbirth difficulties in this African nation. Called Imaging the World, or ITW, the project provides low-cost ultrasound equipment in addition to basic training that allows even the lowest-level health worker to take basic scans. Once the images are taken at Kamuli, they are compressed and distributed by text message or e-mail to district-level health workers. The doctors then examine the images and identify potential problems. Specialists in the United States then provide second opinions. Workers in Uganda can then be informed early enough that a woman facing a difficult birth can be directed to a higher-level health facility. Many of Uganda's health centers cannot anticipate when a pregnant woman will face complications giving birth without an ultrasound.
The paucity of the service is a contributing factor to Uganda's high maternal and child mortality rates. For every 1,000 live births, at least 63 infants die before their first birthday in Uganda. According to the United Nations Children's Fund, many of those deaths come from complications that could have been detected by ultrasound technology. It's estimated that 310 out of every 100,000 women in Uganda die in childbirth. Until two years ago, health workers at the Kamuli Mission Hospital could not even tell a woman if she was carrying twins because without ultrasound machines. Women and their families would not know they needed to be near health facilities that can handle complicated pregnancies when it came time to give birth. Read more
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=46881
SHOULD MUSEVENI WORRY ABOUT KADAGA, MBABAZI'S POPULARITY?
Ugandans who are genuinely keen on the democratic future of this country ought to be consciously concerned with reports in The Washington Post ? of all papers ? that in the NRM party, there is a power struggle, to which one cheeky reader responded: "we hope lives are safe"! I had chosen to ignore this, but there is need to put some of the issues into perspective. First of all, for whatever motives such reports are being spread around, I can't forget that NRM has deliberately nurtured a number of people to take on leadership positions and surely, the popularity of Speaker Rebecca Kadaga, Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi, and a host of other people that are seen as leaders comes from the popularity of the NRM!
Should the genuine supporters of NRM then lose sleep over claims that President Museveni is scared over Kadaga's popularity? Does he have reason to? People forget that the rise of Kadaga to speakership works in the interest of the NRM. Besides, it was the 57 members of opposition in Parliament of Uganda who didn't vote her, what now has become of them? To suggest that Museveni is scared of anyone's popularity is to conveniently forget that the NRM has created a system where the next NRM leader will emerge, not like manna from heaven, but from within its ranks. Through the NRM establishment, both Kadaga and Mbabazi, if they chose to stand, Read more
http://allafrica.com/stories/201207060991.html
'TODDLERS SHOULD STAY OUT OF BOARDING SCHOOLS'
Members of Parliament have tasked the ministry of education and sports to come up with guidelines barring parents from taking very young children to boarding schools. Concerns were raised in Parliament Tuesday by members led by Masaka district woman MP, Freda Kase Mubanda who demanded that the ministry immediately institutes measures to promote safety and security of children at school.
The concerns follow an incident last week where five pupils of Leos Junior Academy at Nyendo Masaka municipality perished in a fire that gutted their dormitories. The woman MP proposed measures including ample walking space in-between beds, emergence exits, fire extinguishers and installing smoke detectors in ceilings. Masaka Municipality MP, Mathias Mpuuga said parents were taking toddlers to boarding schools, something that is unacceptable. The ministry, he said, should come up with guidelines stating as to which age group goes to a boarding school. Read more
http://allafrica.com/stories/201207040558.html
PREGNANT WOMEN ENCOURAGED TO STOP SMOKING
Female smokers have been advised their habit could threaten both maternal and newborn health. According to researchers at Nantes University Hospital, embryos do not develop as quickly if the mother smokes. Dr Thomas Freour, lead researcher and senior embryologist, told BBC News there is typically a two-hour delay for smokers, which he said is a "significant" amount of time.
He has therefore urged women who are expecting a baby or hope to have a child in the future to give up the habit. "You should quit smoking, it couldn't be easier," Dr Freour commented. Read more
http://www.figo.org/news/pregnant-women-encouraged-stop-smoking-0010211
MIRIA MATEMBE: SPEAKING OUT LOUDLY FOR JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS
She advocated for women the right to divorce impotent husbands, crusaded for castration of defilers and held her own against certain vices as Minister of Ethics and Integrity. All these, with passion, energy and a voice as loud as she could master, writes Brian Mugabo
There is a Luganda proverb about voicing grievances to the road instead of the market where one was cheated. Consistently standing up instead of standing by when she feels a situation needs to be corrected, Miria Matembe does not count among the people for whom it was invented. A random example is her remarks during the launch of the Citizens Crusade this year on January 19, at st. Peter's Secondary School, Nsambya. "When I arrived here, I asked Kwesigwa (Professor Pascal), "Do you think you should still be alive? See, the out-of-Egypt generation had to die off before Israel could reach the promised land. Similarly, you who witnessed the first one will not be the ones leading Uganda to achieving the objectives of Independence," she quipped. Read more
INVEST IN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH TO SAVE LIVES
On July 11, Uganda will join the rest of the world to mark the World Population Day under the theme: 'Make Access to Reproductive Health Services a Priority. Address Key Challenges'. The theme for this year' celebrations is very timely given the poor reproductive health indicators.
The maternal mortality ratio remains high despite a reduction from 435 deaths per 100,000 live births to 310 deaths per 100,000 live births, according to the recently released report by WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF and World Bank. This however, is still way above the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of 131 deaths per 100,000 live births to be achieved by 2015. While the decline might be credited to improved socio-economic status, and improved access to services such as antenatal care, family planning and delivery services, the high mortality ratio is related to a low coverage of skilled attendance at birth in the country. Read more
TIGHTEN HEALTH MINISTRY PROCESSES
Latest reports that detectives from the Police Criminal Investigations Directorate are investigating officials at the Ministry of Health over the alleged abuse of funds that were meant for the fight against HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria are disturbing. This, especially after numerous cases of gross abuse of funds has been witnessed at the same ministry in the recent past. Even more disturbing is the scale at which this corruption takes places. The billions that are meant to deal with some of Uganda's most devastating diseases are easily stolen. Malaria and HIV/Aids are among Uganda's major killer diseases and they have had a devastating impact on many families and the economy in general but the abuse makes it appear as though people's lives are not at stake here.
Reports indicate that the money in question includes an estimated Shs78b, meant for Global Fund Round 4 Malaria Phase 2 and Round 7 Malaria Phase 1. Apparently, the internal audit report for 2010/2011 highlighted the abnormal expenditure under the Malaria Control Programme which called for immediate investigations into the alleged abuse of the money. Thankfully, the Ministry's Permanent Secretary Asuman Lukwago directed investigations after audit reports unearthed inaccurate accounts and exaggerated expenditures. Investigations are believed to cover accountabilities, project documents, project bank details, implementation/work plans, requisition and pay vouchers, receipts and progress reports. The new details come a few days after the UK government said Uganda would lose billions of pounds in budget support over the next four years until commitment has been shown towards the fight against corruption and human rights abuses. Read more
NODDING AREAS ARE NOT DISASTER ZONES, SAYS GOVERNMENT
The Minister for Information and National Guidance, Ms Mary Karooro Okurut has said the government will not declare areas affected by the nodding disease a disaster zone as demanded by some opposition politicians, saying the disease is controllable. Ms Okurut said since the patients have started responding to sodium valporate drugs, a drug used for treating the syndrome, it would be illogical to declare the region a disaster region. The Minister, who made the remarks during her visit to Atanga nodding disease centre in Pader District on Friday, noted that government's initiative in handling the patients is already yielding results, leaving a lot of hope for the people.
"There is hope for the children that they will get back to their feet. The government has not folded its hands on the matter; food supplies and medicines have been in supply and improvement of the patients is already visible," she noted. The government has been on pressure from civil society organisations, opposition politicians and other critics to declare the region a disaster zone to attract attention from donors to enable flow in of medicinal and other logistical support for the affected people.
MPs Betty Aol Ochan and Gilbert Olanya of Gulu District and Kilak County respectively, last week said the government's under estimation of the negative impact of the disease to the patients, could be a recipe for more health problems in the region. Read more
EMPLOYERS SHOULD INVEST IN PROPER WORKING CONDITIONS
A good working environment goes beyond just four walls and a ceiling- It should be a place that your team should look forward to returning to every morning. Considering that your employees spend most of their productive time at the work place, they deserve to have a comfortable environment which inspires them to deliver on their roles.
Having the usual basics like chairs, working tables, meeting room or even a reception for that matter, is good, but it also matters how well you put all these together to make up an office. According to Mr Joseph Ajal, the Human Resources Manager of Sanlam Life Insurance (U) Limited, the more conducive the space, the more interested the staff are in working in that environment. They also are better placed psychologically to invest their best energies into their work and to put in more innovative ideas. Read more
MIDWIVES AND NURSES GIVE GOVT ONE MONTH TO REVOKE RECOGNITION AGREEMENT
Government has been given a month to revoke an agreement it signed with Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union and sign one 'with the right union leadership,' or risk a strike by members of a rival faction. The ultimatum comes barely a week after government inked the recognition agreement with UNMU.
The faction led by Ms Jane Obuni want the Ministry of Health to put pressure on its counterpart, the ministries of Labour and Public Service to investigate and without bias make agreements with the lawful leadership of the union. While addressing what was called the annual UNMU stakeholders meeting on Tuesday, Ms Obuni, who says is the rightful president of the UNMU castigated government for failure to consult all nurses and Midwives before reaching a negotiation agreement with a different group from the Union. Read more
LIFE STYLE
"LIFE THREW ME LEMONS, I MADE LEMONADE" - A STORY OF THE GIRL WHO WOULD NOT GIVE UP
She worked as a housemaid. Made bricks. Dug up people's gardens. Begged her way around. Done neigbhour's laundry. All to save up for an education. Now this determined and gutsy 23-year-old's efforts are about to pay off. She will be graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in October from Uganda Christian University, Mukono, writes Stephen Otage
A popular inspirational quote, goes, "The Road to Success is not straight: There is a curve called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, caution lights called family, and you will have flats called jobs". It adds, "But, if you have a spare called determination, an engine called perseverance, insurance called faith, and a driver called God, you will make it to a place called success". This saying sums up 23-year-old Edith Nakawesi's journey from humble beginnings to Uganda Christian University where today she is finalising her Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Born in a family of nine where she is the fourth, Nakawesi's parents used to live in Mukono as squatters. She says the landlord asked the parents to pay for rent but they could not afford it. They decided to return to Masaka. Read more
FEMALE BODA BODA RIDER FINDS HER PLACE AMONG MEN
"Customer, can I take you?" From her boda boda stage in Layibi centre, Gulu, 25-year-old Diana Aber welcomes me with a smile. In the midday hustle and bustle of the town, she stands out from the pack. This mother of not one, but two sets of twins is poised to defy the odds. Aber has been riding a boda boda for the last five years. She says she has no regrets though it was a struggle at first.
Her husband abandoned her when she gave birth to her second set of twins, saying bearing many sets of twins was a curse in their family. So, she began to look for a way to fend for her family single-handedly. "I had no capital and even if I had it, my children were still too young to be left at home alone," she recalls. "That's why I opted for a boda business, whereby I can get some time to get home and check on them." Read more
BALANCING HOME AND WORK
At the beginning, members of the community mocked and ridiculed her. "Fellow women would call me prostitute, not knowing that with all the responsibility I had, I could not sit at home and wait for any man to propose marriage," Aber said. "But time came and they had to swallow their words after they realised that I was in the business so that I can be able to raise my children." Read more
DIARY OF A WORKING MARRIED WOMAN: THE YOUNGER GENERATION
My friend and I are always fretting about the younger generation, the so-called Y generation. These little beings are amusing when they are not annoying. First they want to get everything, house, car, wife, husband, children and whatever else, within the first three years after university. So if they are not hopping from job to job looking for a bigger salary, they are whining and complaining about not being paid enough at their current stage. And it is okay to want to be paid good money. Thing is, you have to do a good job to get the good money – at least a good part of the time.
I did not know whether to be amused or annoyed when a colleague recently told me some juniors were talking about me stressing them because I am stressed myself. I hate to transfer undue stress or anger onto someone else. So I tried to think back to see if indeed I could have been harsh or mean. Read more
Compiled By Sandra Nassali & Esther Namitala
Public Relations & Communications Department
Action For Development
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