The document provides updates on several gender and governance related news stories in Uganda: 1) It discusses community members in Lyantonde district who were unhappy with the distribution of seeds from the NAADS program, saying it favored men over women. 2) It describes a visit by donors to FOWODE projects in Masindi district where they heard from community members about improvements in health centers, schools, and other services from their monitoring and advocacy work. 3) It summarizes several other news articles, including a MP justifying a protest by Acholi women, a profile of a professor growing the women's movement, a court allowing the export of Ugandan doctors, and comments from the Ugandan

1. Uganda@50
20th April to 26th April 2015
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• LYANTONDE COMMUNITY MEMBERS UNHAPPY ABOUT NAADS SEEDS
• DONORS VISIT FOWODE PROJECTS

2. On 16th April 2015 in Lyantonde District, community members were mobilized to receive beans and mango trees distributed under the new
NAADS program.
Most people mainly women woke up very early in the morning but to their surprise the seeds that were to be distributed were very few compared
to the numbers of people who turned up from all villages. This mostly affected women, as it was hard for them to be in the queue with men who
were strong pushing one another to make sure they reached out to the people who were giving out seeds.
Some of the women the FOWODE field officer talked to were quite unhappy about this new NAADS system. Nakawesi Justine from Kyevunikidde
village Kiloowoza parish lamented that, during the other period of the old NAADS program that was replaced by the army, women used to be
treated equally and get equal opportunities with men in accessing the materials that were being distributed even at village level. This time they
invite all of us to come at one point without knowing who needs what and just distribute randomly to people even some who do not have where to
put the seeds get them and after wards sell them off leaving women with the burden of providing food to their families. “I was very unhappy to see
our leaders whom we voted into power were the ones segregating us, they were giving beans first to their family members and friends. This shows
me how I should vote wisely come 2016.” Nakawesi Justine said.
Nakawesi Justine bitterly complaining about the NAADS program.
I will not waste my time to come here next time because it not fair to find that in the whole village that we came from only one woman got 5 kgs of
beans. This one also got because the husband fought hard to access them but for our case we have gone back empty handed and yet we do not have
money to buy beans as a kilogram of beans is sold at shs 3500/=. “I came early we much hope to get beans that I would put in my garden but to my
surprise they instead told me to take mango trees which I do not want because I do not have where to put them. If at least the 5 kgs given to one
person were divided and given to two at least I wouldn’t go empty handed. Kemirembe Federesi lamented.
Nakyanzi Allen (Standing) managed to get 5 kgs of beans
The FOWODE Field officer used this opportunity to share with them about their rights as voters. She talked to them about vote buying and vote
selling. She went asked the women to go and check for their names to ascertain that they appear in the voter’s register as it is through voting when
they select good leaders basing on what they do for them other than voting people because of buying them whom they will not hold accountable
after poor service delivery like the one they experienced. From this sharing, she realized that that most people are not informed about the checking
of the voters register as these ones testified that they did know anything about voter registration updates.
Lyantonde Community Members Unhappy About NAADS Seeds

3. Forum for Women in Democracy doesn’t work alone, thanks to the continuous support of partners. From time to time, these partners visit the field
to see how the work is progressing. This particular visit was in Masindi district one of FOWODE’s focus districts. The field officer welcomed the
donors for visiting the beneficiaries of Bwijanga Sub County and told the VBC members to interact freely with the donors. Flavia the project
Manager welcomed donors and beneficiaries for turning up and gave a background of the work we do as FOWODE and what this particular project
is aimed at and also gave a basis on how our work at the local level has influenced policy at Sub County, District and national level. After her
remarks she asked Chris the Grants Manager at USAID RTI to introduce the team, laying a foundation for VBC members to share success stories
The Program officer giving a brief back ground on the work we do at the District level and how the work links to the national level.
The VBC members were grateful to the donors on how the project has impacted on their communities more so on improving service delivery in
sectors of health and education for instance. As a result of their work there has been Improved service delivery in health centers and schools
monitored. For example health workers in the health centers that were monitored now work on weekends that is Ikoba health center 11,Kichandi
health centre 11 and Kilanyi health centre 11. Kyomuhendo Nicholas one of the participants also added that the monitoring has also led to the
placement of a new mid-wife at Ikoba health centre 11, unlike before when some women would resort to delivering from their homes since there
was only one mid-wife who was overwhelmed with large numbers of delivering mothers.
Notably, there was an increased demand for gender accountability. Byaruhanga Philemon said that their monitoring led to completion of the
latrine for the female teachers at Ikoba boys primary school, since before the female teachers were sharing the latrines with the male teachers after
an interface meeting when it was resolved that the PTA chair person should release the 400,000 for the completion the latrines so doors and
plastering was done
From the previous District Councilors monitoring a number of successes were registered; the District has got funding to construct the entire road
network in Masindi hospital after the councilors raising motion in council on the need for the road to be constructed since it has potholes which put
the lives of the patients at risk and more especially the pregnant mother form the theatre room, the findings forced the committee of works to go for
further investigations on the construction of a staff house at Kimengo health center lll and the solar battery was installed that has improved on
service delivery to the community, unlike before when delivering mothers were using lamps and some mothers were not able to buy paraffin , and
the in-disciplined porter at Ikoba health centre lll in Bwijanga sub county was given a warning letter by the ACAO in charge of social services due
to not performing his duties and not being at the station since it was found out during the monitoring that the maternity ward floor was dirty. After
being issued a warning letter he is always on duty and cleanliness in the maternity ward has
improved performance has improved
Tumukingize Joshua, VBC member, said that their work has led to the completion of the staff quarters at Ikoba health centre 111 after engaging
the duty bearers during the interface meeting on late reporting of some staffs
DONORS
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FOWODE
PROJECTS

4. Women were right to strip, says MP Okumu
The chairperson of Acholi Parliamentary Group has justified the demonstration by Acholi women who
stripped in a protest against what they claimed was an attempt by government to grab their land. Mr Reagan
Okumu, the Aswa County MP, said those condemning the women’s action should stop it. “Whoever is
criticising the women for stripping should put themselves in the shoes of the individuals who were on the
verge of losing the only valuable asset that they own in the hands of uncaring government agents,” Mr Okumu
told journalists at his office in Gulu Town on Tuesday.
See more: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Women---right--strip--MP-Okumu/-
/688334/2695016/-/elye5o/-/index.html
Prof Ahikire: growing the women’s movement
Born five decades ago, Ahikire went to school between wars. She completed her primary education at St Ahikire recalls that
this was the time the women’s movement was taking root at Makerere.The more she read and questioned, the more feminist
consciousness she got. After her degree, she enrolled as a research associate at the Centre for Basic Research (CBR), an
institution started by her lecturers in 1988, leading the gender research project. She would later go for a master’s in
development studies, majoring in gender studies, at the Institute of Social Studies, at The Hague in the Netherlands.“This
helped me to understand the relationship between masculinity and exploitation, among other issues.”On return in 1995, she
joined the then department of Women and Gender Studies as a lecturer, rising through the ranks to head the school 20 years
later. She also became active in the women’s movement, conducting extensive research on gender politics, effective policy
making, advocacy and popular culture. The efforts opened doors for her, leading to her promotion as the executive director at
CBR.
See more: http://observer.ug/education/37398-prof-ahikire-growing-the-women-s-movement
Court okays export of Ugandan doctors
The High Court has rejected the application for a temporary order to block the government from exporting at least 283 medical
specialists to the Caribbean island of Trinidad and Tobago. Justice Elizabeth Musoke, in her ruling on April 10, said she had
not found merit in the petition and suggested it was politically motivated. “I found nothing to convince me that the issues do
not rotate around the political question doctrine. Unless otherwise convinced in the main cause, at this point I am persuaded
that since the decision to export health workers to Trinidad and Tobago was a decision of the executive arm of government, it
remains a political question which would ordinarily have nothing to do with the courts,” she ruled.
See more: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Court-okays-export-of-Ugandan-doctors/-/688334/2696132/-
/5fiwn3/-/index.html
Uganda president gives rare insight into Shabaab attacks in Kenya, Somalia, Kampala - and America’s fail
THE most atrocious, criminal, cowardly and monstrous attacks by Al-Shabaab against soft and innocent
targets such as shoppers in Nairobi’s Westgate Mall in September 2013; young students in northeast Kenya’s
Garissa University on April 2 in which 148 were killed, or football fans watching the World Cup matches at
the Rugby Club in Kampala in July 2010, may look very frightening to those that are not used to war or that are
not well informed. However, those attacks, in fact, prove three things.
See more: http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-04-26-uganda-president-gives-rare-insight-on-al-shabaab-attacks-
in-kenya-somalia-kampala-and-americas-fail#.VT0SMi53uf0.twitter
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