Change Stories

Civic Education Coalition in Uganda (CECU) We Shall Reach

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Elderly woman regains her land inheritance

Maria Nakut, a benefi ciary the probono services

Maria Nakut- at 65 years lives in Nadunget Sub County in Moroto district. She was denied her right to access and possess land which she inherited from her father. A son to her father’s shepherd claimed ownership of the land, arguing that being a woman, Maria had no right to inherit the land. When she learnt about her rights through ULS awareness sessions, Maria reported the matter to Longora Gabriel, the Uganda Law Society (ULS) community paralegal in Nadunget.

School Head Teacher Forced to Return Swindled Solar Lamps

Recovered solar lamps

13 year old Jolly Muhindo, a primary six pupil at Ighomerwa primary school located on the steep hill of Bukonzo sub-county in Bundibugyo district wants to become a nurse. Each day, she walks more than a kilometre up hill to her school. Owing to its location, access to power is a dream far from reach; she uses daylight and the local kerosene candle to revise her books. This is the reason why Save the Children in Uganda donated solar lamps to the school, to provide light for upper-class pupils so they could continue their studies at night with sufficient lighting.

CSOs re-awaken government’s commitment to the protection of human rights in Uganda

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process that involves the review of human rights records of all UN Member States, to assess their compliance with human rights obligations and commitments.The UPR is a state driven process, under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which provides the opportunity to member states to declare the actions they have taken to improve human rights situations in their respective countries, and to fulfi ll human rights obligations. The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15th March 2006 by resolution 60/251. Each country is reviewed every four and a half years.The process reminds member states of their responsibility to respect and uphold all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Stakeholder Dialogue Exposes and Halts Distribution of Expired Tuberculosis Drugs in Masindi District

When communities in Masindi District started complaining of receiving expired tuberculosis (TB) drugs from The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) - Masindi branch, the Masindi District Forum for HIV/AIDs did not take this lightly. In partnership with the National Forum of People Living with HIV/AIDS Networks in Uganda (NAFOPHANU), a DGF partner, it organized a district meeting that exposed several gaps in the district hospital, TASO and the district health centres. These gaps included the distribution of expired TB drugs, misdiagnoses of patients and the use of a non-functional sterilizer at the district hospital.

A Widow’s Dignity Is Restored as Her Demolished House Is Rebuilt

Initially, when the DGF team met her, all she was able to say was that “the organization that helped me wipe away my tears”. 46 year old Zurumina Basitire and mother of 5, was married 130kms away from her family. When her husband died, and sicknesses set in, she decided to return home and seek support and refuge among her brothers. To her utmost disappointment, when she erected a semi-permanent 2 room house on her father’s land to live in with her youngest son, her brother went up in arms and demolished her house.

Community Participatory Budget Clubs Prompt Abim District Local Government to Deliver School Infrastructure

Benson Okello, the Head Teacher of Rackoko Primary School, speaks with excitement and confidence. The long awaited classroom blocks, whose construction had stagnated for the past 8 years, have finally been completed. The school now has 4 more classrooms to accommodate its increasing population. Abim Participatory Budget Club made this happen.Participatory Budget Clubs (PBCs) are a model created by Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), a DGF Partner, to ensure government budgets are community owned and developed inclusively. Since 2013, CSBAG has been working with community structures in Abim, Kibaale, Agago, Kibuku and Sheema districts to ensure efficient and effective pro-poor planning and budgeting that reflects the citizens’ needs.

Tinfayo Stories Changing Communities’ Livelihoods through Civic Awareness

In 2015, Kabarole Research Center (KRC) organized specialized training for Change Agents in the 21 sub-counties of the Rwenzori Region.

The trainings were inspired by Tinfayo; a satirical story that is meant to make citizens understand the need for an active role in holding their leaders accountable rather than the passive role which has left them as beggars ripped of their own rights. The trainings embedded reflective questions and challenged participants to play their roles and responsibilities as citizens.

Tinfayo story awakens communities

For a long time, residents of Muhokya Sub-County in the neighborhood of Queen Elizabeth National Park faced the wrath of elephants that destroyed their crops and in some instances killed people. They did not know how to seek reparation.After attending civic education trainings organized by Kabarole Research Centre (KRC), a DGF Partner that uses the “Tinfayo” satirical story (page 37), the community members reflected on and identified the issue of the wild animals as a major problem in the area. They also shared their frustration because the local government was not doing anything to protect them from wild animals, which had caused insurmountable destruction.

600 Hectare Land Dispute Resolved

300 households against one family over land was definitely a recipe for violence and bloodshed. This was the dilemma that prevailed in Rusoona village, situated in Kiziranfumbi Sub County, approximately 40 kms from Hoima Town. When Civic Response on Environment and Development (CRED), a DGF Partner visited the village in 2014 to sensitize the community on land issues, some of the residents heeded the advice that was given to have their land parcels registered. It was then that a heated conflict that was taking place in the village surfaced. A prominent family headed by one Mzee Kaseregenyi had commenced the process of titling 600 hectares of land, an action that would disenfranchise 300 households in the village.

Youth Drama Group Changes the Face of Mbalambuti Sub County

Established 3 years ago, Kiyunga youth drama group was initially formed to raise funds through entertainment. However, when DGF partner Communication for Development Foundation (CDFU) introduced “Rock point 256”, a radio drama broadcast twice a week on 24 stations that models and reinforces behavioural change, the group started listening to and discussing the episodes every Friday. Prompted by the episodes, the attitudes of the group members on service delivery in their community changed dramatically. They began to identify loopholes that required redress and approaches to tackle them.

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