Child abuse higher among boys - new report

Child abuse is more prevalent in boys than girls, a new study has revealed.
The report by the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect and Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) , by a child rights advocacy group, conducted in Busoga and Kampala, wakiso districts showed that boys are more vulnerable (81.2 per cent) than girls (68.3 per cent).

“It was revealed that boys are more vulnerable to physical abuse because they are regarded as more stubborn. Also, boys are viewed as threats to mostly step mothers that fear that they are the heirs to the property,” said Save Our Families Africa(SOFA) and Mr Marlon Agaba, the senior programme officer Information and Policy Advocacy at ANPPCAN.

With the exception of sexual abuse which the study observed as under reported, the research also discovered that girls are safer from abuse because of a culture that encourages them to be groomed in a self-protective manner.

“Girls remained more vulnerable to sexual abuse at 90percent. In addition, the vulnerability increased with increase in age of the girls. Also absurd, was that 90 per cent of the disabled and 80per cent orphaned children reported to ever being abused. SOFA also noticed that the main perpetuators of child abuse are biological parents at 41 per cent. These were followed by neighbours at 19 per cent; siblings at 14 per cent step parents at 11per cent and teachers at 9.3 per cent.

“This confirms that most child abuse cases are committed at home,” Mr Kasolo Alton Peter of SOFA said.
The survey also highlighted that abuse is not reported until it becomes extreme. “We encourage everyone to take the responsibility of reporting abuse before it becomes too late.

Man deserts woman for bearing him five pairs of twins

Man deserts woman for bearing him five pairs of twins

Any woman will go to extra lengths to bear at least a child; others even sneak into hospitals and steal babies. But for Sumayiya Nakanwagi her joy has turned into a nightmare after her husband deserted her for bearing a record five sets of twins, saying it was a bad omen.


In 2002 I met my husband, Jamir Batte while I was doing business, buying matooke from Mbarara and selling it in Kampala, Busega and Nateete.

A short while after we met business was not going well for him so I had to take care of us. I bought him a bodaboda so he could earn some money.

In 2003 we agreed to have our first child and the following year I gave birth to twins; Wasswa and Nakato.

We were so excited and our love grew stronger by the day. In 2007 I gave birth again - to a set of twins, Wasswa and Kato.

In 2010 I again gave birth to another set; Wasswa and Nakato. However Nakato left us just as she was making two years.

In 2012 I gave birth to another set of twins; Wasswa and Kato, and so did I in 2014 when I bore Babirye and Kato, though the latter died during labour.

In 2012 though, when I was heavy with the fourth set of twins we started having misunderstandings with my husband who would take whatever little money I earned.

Sumayiya with the man who deserted her after the couple was blessed with five sets of twins

One time my mother fell ill so I travelled to Mbarara and sent a lorry of matooke to my husband to sell so I could get money to treat her.

However that was the last I heard of him. After selling the matooke, he packed all his belongings, sold all the plots of land I had and lied to me that thugs had broken into the home and taken everything.

However neighbours tipped me that he had packed everything and left.

When I demanded from him what he had taken he reacted like a wounded animal. He said the twins were a bad omen and therefore he could no longer stay with me. And that was the last I heard of him; he left me, broken, broke, and later homeless.

Strangely his relatives were in total support of him saying I was a cursed woman who only gave birth to twins, something they had never witnessed in their clan.

I would not have cared about him leaving, but the man stole everything I had; he left me penniless and with no capital to run business.

Strange illness...and the sixth set of twins

Following his departure I developed a strange illness and was told I had to see a traditional healer. I met a man, Charles Ssebusolo, who treated me. He told me that my husband had left me two months pregnant but the pregnancy would not develop because I had been bewitched.

He told me I had to sleep with a man if the pregnancy was to progess, and that he was the only one who would do it. In my desperate state, panic and confusion, I yielded and slept with him.

He however cautioned me that the pregnancy was for my husband and not his. Nine months after he 'treated' me I gave birth to another set of twins, Babirye and Kato. However Kato later died.

Things turned for the worse when Ssebusolo's elder children turned against me and hounded me out of the house he had given me to stay in, so I went back to a life of misery.

Family history

My maternal grandmother, Bitaminsi, also gave birth to a set of four twins. My mother, Babirye Nangoma, is also a twin though she never bore twins. I could have inherited my grandmother's genes therefore I have no regrets about it.

I tell my children apart my coding them for example Wasswa Mukulu, Wasswa Mutono, Wasswa Bbiri, Nakato Mukulu, and Kato Mukulu.

Challenges

Because I am now unemployed I survive by well-wishers who buy me food. I have always had issues with neighbours wherever I have rented. Landlords always complain that we fill up their latrines and always evict me from their premises. Currently I and my children use the public toilets in Wakaliga market.

The only property to my name now is an unfinished house and since I have no income I cannot do much about it. My elder children are in primary three but I have failed to send them back to school because of fees.

I order to protect my children I dress them in similar clothes for easy identification. A woman once tried to steal three of them but she was easily caught because residents recognised their 'uniform'.

Runaway husband tormenting me

Recently there have been instances where people have called using anonymous numbers, claiming they have been sent to bring money for upkeep.

I once went to meet one such person after he called but when I got to the meeting point there was no one and the phone had been switched off.

I suspect my husband is the one behind all this. He once tried to kill me by torching the house after stealing from me. I put all that behind me and moved on; all I want is to raise my children. I do not understand what he wants from me.

Child labour keeps two million out of school

At least two million children aged five to 17 are engaged in child labour, the first Child Labour report released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) reveals.

The report, unveiled recently at Statistics House in Kampala, reveals that the two million child labourers accounted for 16% of the entire children’s population of 11.5 million in Uganda.

According to the report, child labour is among the major causes of child abuse and exploitation. 

The report further faults child labour for slowing down broader national poverty reduction and development efforts. 

It also points to child labour as an obstacle to achieving universal primary education.

“Children who are forced out of school to help supplement their families’ incomes are denied the opportunity to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to aid them get decent employment in future. 

This ties them down in a cycle of poverty,” the report reads

The report defines child labour as work that is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful to children. 

It further includes work activities that interfere with children’s school attendance.

To that end, child labour is when children aged five to 11 years are engaged in work, while children aged from12 to 13 years work beyond 14 hours a week and when children aged between 14 and 17 years work at night or for more than 43 hours a week.

Of the child workers, 52.5% were males while 47.5 were female. 

The report further stated that one in every four working children (26%) carried heavy loads at their respective workplaces.

While presenting the report, Wilson Nyegenye, a principal statistician, at UBOS said children in the rural areas were engaged in child labour more than their urban compatriots.

“Most of the activities that employ child labour, such as agriculture, are in the rural areas,” Nyegenye said. About 42% of children in the rural areas were in employment, compared to the 17% in urban areas. 

At least 51% of the children in the central region and 40% in the western region were in employment indicating that the two regions had the highest level of child employment.

Addressing the media on the report, Andrew Mukulu, the director, population and social statistics said: “Overall, children with both parents dead were more involved in employment than their counterparts in other orphanhood statuses.”

Most of the child labour, Mukulu noted was employed in primary sector encompassing agriculture, forestry and fishing. 

This sector accounts for 93% of the child labour in Uganda.

A young boy cleans fishing net at a landing site like Masese

Kampala city emerged as the most notorious employer of child labour with 79% of city’s child workers engaged in the services industry.

Household chores, the study noted, also formed an integral part of the daily work of a Ugandan child with 65% of children engaged household chores.

However, girls were more likely to perform household chores than boys and more children in rural areas undertook household chores (66%) than their urban peers (58%).

According to Godfrey Nabonyo, the manager communications and public relations UBOS, the report is informed by the National Labour Force and Child Activities Survey 2013, the first national survey of its kind in Uganda.

 

Eastern Uganda Poorest Region in the Country

 Increased poverty levels are attributed to the
after effects of inflation which increased food prices. source: SOFA 2013.

The slow recovery of the economy from the effects of economic challenges suffered about two years ago forced 19 per cent of households in Uganda to slip into poverty, according to research.

This shows that eastern and northern regions of Uganda remain home to poverty. According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) 2011/12 Uganda National Panel Survey report, 19 per cent of households that were in the non-poor bracket in the 2010/11 survey became poor.

The annual study uses the 2005/06 Uganda National Household Survey as the baseline and the findings are based on the household expenditure on food and non-food items. Although the rate represents a 1.2 percentage point drop from 20.2 per cent of the households that become poor in the previous survey, the general picture, however, points to an increase in poverty levels in the country. According to the report, the total number of non-poor households has reduced from 70.7 per cent in the 2010/11 to 67.8 per cent.

Although Mr James Muwonge, the director of socio-economic surveys in Ubos, said the body is yet to compile the general poverty figures, the trends in the economy point to an increase in general poverty levels  in the country

Needy Joyce, a pupil in primary sells sweet bananas
(Bogoya)  around Jinja Town to get School Fees.

This is attributed to the slow recovery of the economy from the after effects of the double-digit inflation that led to increases in commodity prices and commercial bank lending rates, constraining both production and consumption.

While presenting the survey findings yesterday, Mr Stephen Baryahirwa, a principal statistician in Ubos, Told SOFA food accounts for the highest share of household expenditure and thus the high food prices witnessed in the past two years resulted into an increase in household expenditure.

The report indicates that the proportion of incomes people spend on food increased to 52 per cent in 2011/12 from 51 per cent in 2010/11. The survey, which sampled 3,200 households, indicates the central region has the lowest number of chronically poor people at 3.7 per cent, while the western region has 15.8 per cent. While 19 per cent of the households slid into poverty, 35 per cent graduated from the poor to the non-poor bracket.

The rate of graduation was, however, lower than the 44.8 per cent witnessed in the previous year. Sixty-five per cent of households that were poor in 2010/11 remained poor throughout the year. Mr Kahirita Christopher, the chairperson of General Central Organisation of Free Trade Unions in Uganda, said drought could have forced families into poverty since most farmers are not insured as well as high unemployment levels among the youth.

In responce to this report SOFA has come up with project on how people them selves can curb this problem through enterprenuer skill.

SOFA Volunteers and Internship Program 2013 - 2016

Winston Churchill once stated that "Uganda is the pearl of Africa" in reference to the country's striking natural beauty, climate, and variety of rich landscapes. Unfortunately, the country currently ranks as one of the 20 poorest nations in the world and 67% percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

This translates to a lack of basic infrastructure such as running water, electricity, waste management, health care, and education. Since 80 percent of employment is based in agriculture, mild climate changes have devastating effects, forcing many Ugandans deeper into poverty. Further compounding these development issues is HIV/AIDS, which to date infects one million citizens and has created three million orphans.

SOFA runs SOFA Volunteers and Internship Programs that are situated near the north (Jinja) and Far East (Kamuli) shores of Lake Kyoga. Jinja is the capital of the Jinja District (pop. 710,000) and the reputed "source of the Nile." The area is a popular destination for travelers due to its physical beauty and exceptional river rafting. The city itself (80 km from Kampala) is a major commercial and industrial center that is connected by rail to Mombasa, Kenya and the Indian Ocean.

Kamuli is also the regional capital of the Kamuli District (pop. 90,000) and 130 kilometers from Kampala. The town is an agricultural hub and important commercial center for the surrounding rich coffee growing area. Kamuli suffered greatly during the 1979 Civil War that overthrew Idi Amin, Obote later. Scars of the war are visible throughout the region, from destroyed buildings to constant reminders of poverty. However, the growing number of community-based organizations is making significant changes to Kamuli

SOFA works with several community-based establishments in Eastern Uganda to support sustainable development and provide opportunity for interns, volunteers, and donors to make a lasting impact at the community level.

Activities for International Volunteers and Interns

Micro Finance Program

Uganda is generally seen as the country with the most vibrant and successful microfinance industry in Africa. Some microfinance institutions (MFIs) have experienced strong growth and are now reaching a considerable number of clients, with three in particular serving between 25,000 and 45,000 clients. A series of impact studies conducted in Uganda in the past years have demonstrated that the provision of microfinance services contributes to reduced client vulnerability to economic risks; strengthened linkages of clients and their households to the agricultural sector; and the acquisition of highly needed skill sets.

SOFA works with several local organizations to provide training and economic opportunity to communities that lack sufficient resources. Working with interns, volunteers and donors, SOFA engages programs that:

• Supply capacity-building sessions that address budgeting, accounting, microfinance, management, and other small business subjects. Initiatives aim at supporting information sharing and networking between microenterprise leaders and those looking to develop small business skills.
• Establish effective microfinance models that allow local clients to obtain loans for startup businesses, develop business plans, incorporate savings strategies, and invest in long-term enterprise growth.
• Form strategic alliances between organizations that research and implement best practices for microenterprise development. Programs aim at optimally distributing small business expertise and microfinance opportunities throughout local communities.
• Develop microcredit opportunities and provide vocational and/or life skills training for young entrepreneurs in rural communities. Initiatives aim at empowering youth with the tools needed to engage in the local economy.
• Link small-scale producers and micro-service providers with larger organizations to access financial services and business expertise.
• Develop radio programs, talk shows, advertising, and public relation programs that promote pressing health, HIV/AIDS, and community development issues.

Environment Internship Program

Many of Uganda's natural ecosystems are undergoing conversion, degradation, and decline in a totally unplanned and uncontrolled manner. With the country's current population of 35 million set to double by 2020, these pressures may be insurmountable without sustainable action at both the national and community levels.

In response, interns, volunteers, and donors work with SOFA to provide support for programs and initiatives that:-

• Provide community outreach and trainings in farming, crop rotation, livestock rearing, food production, and vocational skills. Programs aim at empowering local farmers and workers while enabling these individuals to generate sustainable incomes.
• Create advocacy campaigns and increase community participation in proper sanitation practices, sustainable utilization of natural resources, and control of malaria and waterborne diseases. Initiatives shift environmental and health practices that affect everyday lives.
• Advocate for policies, bylaws, and programs that enhance sustainable lake resource management (Lake Victoria).
• Research and implement sustainable farming solutions and alternative income-generating activities that reflect environmentally sound principles.
• Introduce environmental approaches to local communities, such as sustainable agriculture, organic demonstration gardens, fuel efficient stoves, water purification systems, and various agribusiness strategies.
• Research ways to alleviate food shortages as well as conserve lake and land resources to enhance living standards and reduce human footprints.

Health & Care Internship Program

Healthcare provision and overall infrastructure in Uganda are chronically underfunded and highly variable in quality. The results are astounding. Uganda's infant mortality rate and life expectancy age are among the worst in the world. More than 50 percent of Ugandans have no access to clean water, while malaria and respiratory illnesses are widespread and are frequent causes of death. AIDS has claimed millions of households throughout Uganda and has reduced the life expectancy from 48 years in 1980 to 43 years in 1995.

SOFA works to address these pressing health issues in a variety of ways throughout the Jinja and Kamuli Districts. Interns, volunteers, and donors work together to:

• Train local community workers and educate communities to raise awareness on common diseases, malaria, prevention, and other health-related issues.
• Conduct village-to-village public health programs that administer basic medical care, tropical disease treatment, counseling, nutrition, and reproductive health care. Programs are run by local health clinics that are unreachable by most villagers.
• Conduct follow-up assessments and research on the efficacy of subsidized mosquito net usage and the local treatment methods of malaria and other common diseases.
• Provide medical treatment, care, and health education to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).
• Coordinate projects that improve hygiene and sanitation in communities through workshop implementation, distribution of hygienic products, and installation of pit latrines in homes.
• Provide extensive technical and social resources to support community-based HIV initiatives for victims and their families.
• Offer a variety of educational programs and counseling, and social support to patients on antiretroviral (ARV) medications and families affected by HIV.
• Develop outreach programs that offer child health workshops in nutrition and preventative health maintenance.

Youths & Education Internship Program

Since Uganda instated Universal Primary Education (UPE) by removing primary school fees in 1996, enrollment has drastically increased, but many classrooms now have 200 pupils in one room with one teacher. Teachers are often forced to hold classes outdoors because of the lack of sufficient facilities, and many observers are skeptical about the relative quality of the education. Furthermore, there is still a large discrepancy in the education received by girls and boys.

In response to youth care and education needs throughout the Jinja and Kamuli Districts, SOFA interns, volunteers, and donors work with local organizations to:

• Teach adult and youth literacy courses focused on vocational skills development and life skills training.
• Engage youth in the creation of dance performances, theater, script writing, and choreography aimed at raising HIV/AIDS awareness and supporting HIV/AIDS-affected youth.
• Facilitate workshops with local youth on reproductive health, effective communication, self-esteem building, and positive decision-making.
• Create sports-related clubs and activities that engage youth in confidence building experiences.
• Provide medical treatment, care, and health education to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).
• Research and network with local organizations to develop best practices for the care and education of orphans and vulnerable children.
• Develop social and academic activities for local youth to reduce at-risk behavior, build self-esteem, and inspire a sense of vocational direction.
• Provide life skills and vocational training, along with credit and savings opportunities for marginalized youth.

Gender and/or Women Empowerment Internship Program

Women of Uganda face a wide range of challenges including discrimination, low social status, lack of economic self sufficiency, and greater risk of HIV/AIDS infection. In Uganda, as in many African countries, gender discrimination means that women must submit to an overall lower social status than men. For many women, this reduces their power to act independently, become educated, avoid poverty, and/or escape reliance upon abusive men.

SOFA joins efforts with several women's empowerment organizations to support local programs and initiatives that:

• Provide training and sensitization for women's groups on management, financing, and enterprise development to increase independence and allow mothers to better support their families.
• Create educational training materials on topics such as reproductive health, alternatives to high-risk behaviors, counseling, vocational skills, and self-esteem building.
• Develop savings and microcredit opportunities to support the economic empowerment of women and discourage them from high-risk behaviors.
• Organize media, theatre, and performing arts activities that promote the importance of good decision-making.
• Offer free medical treatment to marginalized women and their families via field visits and rural clinics.

Women of Uganda face a wide range of challenges including discrimination, low social status, lack of economic self sufficiency, and greater risk of HIV/AIDS infection. In Uganda, as in many African countries, gender discrimination means that women must submit to an overall lower social status than men. For many women, this reduces their power to act independently, become educated, avoid poverty, and/or escape reliance upon abusive men.

Many girls and young women become coerced into sex or can be obliged to trade sex for economic survival. It is common for girls to become sexually active at a much younger age than men, causing the rise of HIV/AIDS to become even more pronounced. Older men are breaking long-established social customs and choosing younger and younger girls to become their sexual partner in order to avoid catching HIV. In doing so, these men are in fact infecting them with HIV. In some districts, HIV prevalence among 13–19 year old girls is at least 10 times higher than in males of the same age.

Much development work in the Jinja and Kamuli Districts is geared towards promoting gender equality and relieving women of the hardships relating to their position in society. Along with these, SOFA trains women of all ages in job skills and microenterprise creation and development. Through these programs, women have the opportunity to acquire micro-loans and build their own business ventures, thus allowing for greater economic independence. Your work in supporting any of our empowerment programs will put you in direct contact with the challenging struggle to secure equality and opportunity for women.

Community Development Internship Program

Creating cohesion and empowerment amongst marginalized communities are essential to the well-being of Uganda. By offering many forms of trainings and opportunities for community engagement, SOFA is able to mobilize resources into local solutions. Working together at the community level throughout Jinja and Kamuli, SOFA supports programs and initiatives that:

• Support the construction of primary schools, water systems, and sewage management. These infrastructure projects reflect community collaboration throughout the planning and building process.
• Create and manage websites for local organizations to support information distribution and awareness building.
• Train community members in areas of technical expertise and capacity building such as income-generating activities, life skills, nutrition, and youth development.
• Expand and enhance workshops, group discussions, and stress relief activities that reduce community conflicts.
• Conduct qualitative and quantitative research, including baseline studies, mid-project research, and impact studies of community-based construction projects.
• Develop radio programs, talk shows, advertising, and public relation programs that promote pressing health, HIV/AIDS, and community development issues.

Small-scale agriculture is by far the most important sector of the Ugandan economy, particularly in rural areas. This creates a trade pattern of exports dominated by agricultural products and imports dominated by manufactured goods. The economy is heavily dependent on coffee, which accounts for around 55 percent of export earnings. Coffee prices, like those of most agricultural commodities, are extremely volatile, and growing coffee is incredibly sensitive to global climate conditions. Thus, many of the gains achieved through painfully negotiated debt relief may be almost wiped out by a fall in export earnings resulting from a decrease in the price of a single commodity or the shift in climate. Because of Uganda's dependence on agricultural commodities and its lack of diversification, the rural economy, not the urban economy, is the most important in terms of national wealth and individual well-being.

Members of the rural economy still rely almost entirely on their own and family labor; they collect water by hand, gather firewood by hand, dig by hand, and harvest by hand. Less than nine percent of the Ugandan population has regular access to electricity, and about 90 percent of Uganda's total energy requirements are met using firewood and charcoal. So much agricultural work carried out at a small scale by unpaid family workers means that a significant sector of the economy is classified as "non-monetary" or "informal." For many Ugandans, the concept of a "market" is a distant one, as their first priority is to meet their own immediate survival needs. The so-called "informal sector" now dominates the Ugandan economy, both in the number of people participating in informal work and the value this informal economic activity adds to the national economy.

Keeping communities’ physically healthy, encouraging resource sharing and building microeconomic opportunities are critical to removing rural poverty traps in Uganda. With HIV robbing Ugandan society of its most productive members, rural communities suffer without solution. The virus has built much superstition and fear into rural cultures, which is a problem that can only be solved by resources and education. SOFA works with development organizations that educate communities about the realities of HIV/AIDS and STDs, offer economic opportunity, and provide counseling to those in need. By offering many types of vocational trainings and gathering places for members to share ideas, SOFA puts interns and volunteers at the heart of communities to listen, learn, and deliver sustainable solutions.