Authors posts

My Voice, Our Equal Future

This year’s International Day of the Girl Child was commemorated under the theme, “My Voice, Our Equal Future.” We celebrated the milestones we have realized in making the world a better place for girls to become better leaders, entrepreneurs and change-makers, but also pondered upon the challenges...

PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH ENERGY SAVING STOVES

So far, over 480 households out of the targeted 1,400 households have been trained in making the energy-saving stoves, and they are in use. More and more members of the community are embracing the use of the energy-saving stoves and with more funding, the training can be scaled up to cover Kyaka II...

The Coronavirus Lockdown is Increasing Care Work for Ugandan Women

The current global coronavirus pandemic has put insurmountable pressure on the world economies but invisibly, it has also increased the care workload of women. For women like Stella, the extra burden brought by the coronavirus lockdown is far from what she ever imagined.

A stock-take of COP25: What is in it for poor countries like Uganda?

“It is not climate change; it is climate emergency, we are in a climate crisis.” Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5°C special report shows greater temperature rise and impacts accelerating. The Sahara is increasing its size by 10%, small island states are at the verge of...

A Refugee Settlement is Different from What I Thought

For the first time, I visited a refugee settlement recently. Prior my visit, I was skeptical about which settlement I wanted to see. Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Arua district has been marked one of the largest refugee settlements in the world so I thought it would give me a good understanding of...

The poor get poorer, while the rich get richer; The impacts of unfair land systems in Uganda

When Uganda’s richest 10 percent earned 2.3 times more than its poorest 40 percent in 2009, any concerned person would be curious to understand what drives such a discrepancy and how best to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich. The contributors to such a big gap are mainly land, education...

The role of Strategic Partnerships in the fight against economic inequality through influencing international & domestic tax policy– a case of the Uganda-Netherlands Double Taxation Agreement

Excessive economic inequality is one of the defining issues of our time. Unfortunately, Uganda has experienced a rise in economic inequality over the past twenty years (scoring 0.37 on the Gini coefficient in Financial Year 2016/17) which has reflected into a macroeconomic instability and faltering...

Hear my noise in the storm!

Divorced with four kids, Esther (not real names) battled with a violent partner for several years. Constrained by the belief in the Lugbara culture that domestic violence is a private issue, Esther couldn’t open up about the issue and thus continued to conceal and live with this for the years they...

MEN ARE ALSO WOMEN'S RIGHTS CHAMPIONS

I used to think that all men under-value women, especially their role/contribution in economic development. That was until the day I had a chat with the Chairperson Local council five (LC5) of Packwach District, Mr. Omito Robert Steen, where he said, “Some people might say I have all the reasons to...

Deriving Fulfillment Through Hygiene Promotion -Samuel

Two months after I settled here, I became an Oxfam field-based volunteer. You see, before I fled into Uganda, I worked in the WASH sector in South Sudan. With my background in WASH implementation, I applied for a job which I successfully acquired. Even more exciting is the way this opportunity has...

The power of people against poverty