First Women’s Caucus formed in Oyam District

According to Hon. Jacinta Adong, woman councilor Myene parish, Myene sub-county, Oyam District, it was after attending a training organized by one of UWONET’s member organizations, ACFODE, that a women’s caucus was formed in Myene sub-county. Together with a team of women in Myene sub-county, Adong was in position to visit three primary schools which included Ogali, Amwa Dem and Alworopii Primary School.

During this visit, dialogues with Community Development Officers, male councilors, teachers, School Management Committees (SMCs), Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) representatives, clan and religious leaders were conducted. Adong reiterated that the discussions held with this group focused on three issues which included lack of latrines for teachers and pupils; high school dropout rates of girls; and lack of support from parents towards school feeding programs.

These dialogues, however, yielded positive results which included Myene sub-county leadership allocating funds to construct 4 stances of pit latrines for pupils in their budget, parents agreeing to construct 2 stances of pit latrines for teachers using Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) funds, allocation of UGX 300,000 for procurement of sanitary pads for adolescent girls in the 6 primary schools in the sub county and parents agreeing to contribute the sum of UGX 1,000 per household in addition to what the sub-county had provided to support the children in schools.

In addition to this, the sub county allocated funds to procure items such as mattresses, bed sheets, boxes and pens to motivate pupils and teachers who perform well in PLE as a measure to improve performance in schools.

In regards to the school feeding programs, parents in all the three schools agreed to provide mid-day meals to their children from P.1 up to P.7 with effect from the second school term. The education task force was thereafter given the responsibility of visiting the schools to follow up on the agreed actions. Alcoholism was however identified as the leading cause of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in the sub county.

Adong stated that in a bid to regulate the alcohol intake in the Myene subcounty, the council established designated time periods for alcohol intake starting at 12:00pm and ending at 10:00 pm. She also reiterated that among the other initiatives executed by the women’s council in Oyam district were visits to Amwa Health Centre II to sensitize expectant mothers on family planning methods, motivation of men to accompany their wives for antenatal visits, and visits to women and community groups encouraging them to apply for different development programs such as Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program (UWEP) and Youth Livelihoods Programme (YLP).

Adong concluded by stating that as a women’s council, they have been able to form a Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) for women councilors where every member contributes UGX 10,000 weekly.