Tag Archives: Community Mobilisation

Uniting for Peace and Development: West Nile Celebrates Ten Years of Peace

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Sylvia Opinia

IN RECOGNITION the 10th anniversary of signing of the Government of Uganda (GoU)-Uganda National Rescue Front II (UNRF II) peace agreement, Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP)’s community mobilization department joined Yumbe District and MAYANK Development Association and other development actors to celebrate this event. As the people of West Nile and Yumbe District in particular remember this landmark of peaceful achievement, attention is drawn to the fact that the peace process did not end with the signing of the agreement, it remains incumbent on all stakeholders to zealously guard this peace and all efforts must be garnered to consolidate it.

On 24th December 2002, the GoU and UNRF II signed a historical peace agreement that has remained a milestone in the direction of ensuring security and stability in the West Nile region. Under the theme “Bury differences: unite for peace and development” different stakeholders discussed issues of peace, reported on progress made in implementing the commitments in the peace agreement and addressed limitations in the implementation process to celebrate ten years of peace.

Victims exchange and learning visit

JRP facilitated victims’ groups from across the greater north to convene in Yumbe, West Nile, to share, learn and establish connections with each other. Each of the groups presented their road maps containing a brief history of its activities, achievements and challenges. Romogi War Victims Association, for example, presented an educative drama showing the history of the UNRF II conflict, and the events leading towards the peace talks and the eventual signing of the peace agreement. This was followed by panel presentations on the roles played by the different stakeholders such as elders, government, Aringa Obongi Peace Commission (AROPIC) and women, during the peace process.

Following these presentations, the group was treated to an educative tour of Bidi bidi, a historical site for the Yumbe peace process where combatants were assembled and demobilised. This was an opportunity for the victims in other parts of northern Uganda to learn about the history of conflict in West Nile, the Yumbe peace process and the progress made and the challenges faced in implementing the commitments during the peace negotiations.

The elders’ fire place wisdom circle

On the evening before the main event, JRP facilitated an elders’ reflective fireplace dialogue that was graced by Major General Ali Bamuze, the former leader of the defunct UNRF II, the LC V chairman of Yumbe District, generals from the defunct West Nile Bank Front (WNBF), the JRP programme coordinator and elders representing the different parts of West Nile. Traditionally, the fireplace is the place where elders tell stories or share histories of their lives, of the clan and is a symbol of memory and intergenerational sharing. Punctuated by Aringa cultural dances, elders from West Nile, and representatives from Acholi, Lango and Teso shared and reflected on the different traditional practices and mechanisms for resolving conflict and maintaining peace in the community drawing a lot of similarities in these practices across the region.

JRP also participated in many other activities meant to mark the celebrations including the women’s’ forum and the very elaborate main event on 8th December 2012 at Yumbe Boma grounds. Many victims regretted the fact that the Yumbe peace process did not recognize the suffering and sacrifices made by the victims as central and were thus forgotten in the final peace agreement. They urged other consequent peace processes not repeat this mistake but to ensure that victims are part and parcel of any proceedings. They also applauded JRP for facilitating such exchanges to enable them build solidarity with their counterparts across the region. 

Secondary Schools Welcome Transitional Justice Quiz Competition Challenge

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In April 2013, JRP’s Community Mobilisation department team hit the road to West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub regions to disseminate information on and to mobilise selected schools for the second annual Transitional Justice Quiz Competition. In 2012, JRP initiated the Transitional Justice Quiz competition for young people in northern Uganda.

The TJ Quiz is an educational programme designed to connect youth from different parts of northern Uganda to build a critical mass around peace building with a special interest in transitional justice in an effort to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of northern Uganda’s youth in promoting a culture of peace. This initiative arose from the realisation that the intensity and impact of conflict on young people is often looked at from a secondary point of view yet young people in actual sense play very primary roles in either sustaining and/or ending a conflict. We at JRP therefore feel that this is a time for the young people in northern Uganda to start voicing and addressing the underlying impacts of the conflict on the younger generation including cross ethnic dimensions of the conflict as they become community leaders in peace building, reconciliation and post conflict reconstruction.

Under the theme ‘Across Ethnic Boundaries’, the 2013 quiz competitions will target the participation of 40 schools from across West Nile, Acholi, Lango and Teso sub regions. The schools have been selected based on their experiences during the conflict in northern Uganda. During the quiz process, the students across the region will get the opportunity to share the different experiences of young people during the conflict, get updated with ongoing TJ related developments at national level and suggest strategies to incorporate young people in ongoing accountability, reconciliation and healing processes.

The JRP team visited the office of the District Education Officers who helped in the selection of participating schools, made courtesy calls to the office of the Local Council Five chairpersons, district councillors for youth and the secretaries for education in all the districts visited. The head teachers for the respective schools were enthusiastic about the quiz competitions and requested JRP to do more sensitisation on TJ related issues to the school administration and the district officials. As noted by the DEO of Adjumani District and re-echoed by the head teacher of Balla S.S, “We have been hearing about transitional justice from a distance but have never got the chance to really understand what it is.” They urged that resources allowing, JRP should conduct dialogues in all the participating schools in order to bring everyone on board.

All the head teachers appreciated that working with young people requires a multi faceted approach with peace building being a central component and that, teachers alone cannot do it. Some schools like Mungula S.S lamented on how their school before the conflict was one of the giant schools to reckon with in the region but were greatly affected by the conflict as it was displaced and lost many of its students to death and abductions, some of whom are still missing up to date.

“It’s important to keep the youth busy with educative programmes like the TJ quiz competitions to avoid them from getting involved in irrelevant activities such as the now popular sports betting,” noted the hilarious head teacher of Adjumani S.S Mr Nobert Ben Oola. Though he had reservations on running programmes through competitions, he stressed sustainability of keeping the youth engaged and encouraged the JRP to continue with the programme even after the competitions have ended through dissemination of information.

JRP will conduct an orientation workshop for all the participating school patrons who will in turn organise schools dialogues and preparations for their school teams this month of May 2013. Within the second term of the secondary schools calendar, the competitions will kick off with sub regional competitions and the winners at sub regional level will compete for the regional title. The winners of the 2012 quiz competitions; Pope John Paul VI will have the opportunity to defend their title in more exciting competitions this year under the theme ‘Across Ethnic Boundaries’. I wish the participating schools all the best.

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Let the show begin! Training community theater leaders

In the News, Newsroom,

http://grassrootsgroup.org/2013/02/let-the-show-begin-training-community-theater-leaders/

3 Showing People in dispute, dispute resolution and peace (Medium)

By Nicole Söller

Slowly making their way across the crowded room, a dozen of cars try to carefully avoid bumping into one of the others.

Not real cars of course; each car is made up of two people, one person being the driver, the other being the car. With their eyes closed, the cars have to completely trust the drivers who direct them to go straight, left or right. As they switch roles after some time, the facilitators get to put themselves in the position of ‘the others’. As one participant highlighted: “When I was the driver, I was asking myself why the other person (the car) was going so slow. But when we switched positions, I noticed that it was actually a little bit scary.”

 

‘Beep beep!’ Facilitators ‘driving’ each other through the training hall

After a successful pilot with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) with two groups in 2012, our community theater partnership is scaling to work with 10 new groups in 2013. Community theater enables groups to explore conflicts, build empathy, and learn about processes of reconciliation.

Just as in the car trust building activity above, the process of story telling, an important part of the community theater project, requires patience, listening skills, and empathy from other group members towards the person who is sharing his or her experiences with the group.

In this process, people share stories of experiences they made during the conflict and of other issues they are currently facing in their communities. They might be stories which are uncomfortable to narrate, which are unheard, or which are simplified and need a better understanding. They can also be stories of remorse, apology and forgiveness, or stories of hope and strength.

 

Facilitators practice their acting skills in a performance about trauma

For this reason, 22 faciliators from 10 different GRG groups were brought together for a three-day workshop for community theater; each facilitator having been nominated by their group. They were trained in methods of planning and monitoring communty theater sessions, and how to create a performance that gives voice to the stories of the group members and which inspires the audience with visions for the future.

Facilitators learned about story-telling, and how to create a safe environment where group members feel comfortable to also share experiences with one another that are difficult to tell. The facilitators further learned different techniques to facilitate story telling. They drew time lines which chronologically illustrate one person’s experiences within a defined period. This will ultimately enable the different GRG groups to find out about similarities and differences between group members’ stories. Which stories are difficult to listen to? Can participants imagine themselves in the perspective of ‘the other’ (victim, ex-combatant, opposing clan, etc.) and feel empathy?

 

Facilitators learning how to make a timeline, using one of their own stories of conflict

First attempts of role plays and acting were accompanied by great excitement and participation. I must say, there are some true talents among our facilitators!

Other energizers and trust building activities rounded up this diverse workshop. All facilitators now feel able to build trust, motivate and guide group members through the different theater sessions.

 

Energizer and teambuilding activities!

After these intense and fun days, I cannot wait for the groups to start with their community theater sessions. It will be especially interesting to see which experiences and conflicts are shared and how this project will contribute to them growing together as a group.

Land conflict no more! Community theater wows one community

In the News, Media, Newsroom,

http://grassrootsgroup.org/2012/12/land-conflict-no-more-community-theater-wows-one-community/

By Christopher Maclay

In May 2012, we began an exciting partnership with the Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) to pilot an innovative community theater approach which facilitates processes of problem examination and solving, develops empathy among participants, and encourages reconciliation. Two groups – Anga Konya (meaning ‘Who will help me?’) and Atoo Pi Iya (meaning ‘I will die for my stomach’) – were chosen for the pilot, as they had requested support in community theater activities.

 

Group members act out the violence of the LRA conflict, which they saw as the root cause of ongoing land wrangles

This November, the first phase of this pilot came to close, with Anga Konya and Atoo Pi Iya hosting a fantastic day-long event for their community. The groups had spent several months examining their problems through theater and developing their own solutions to these problems. The final community performances gave the groups the opportunity to present their findings and recommendations to their wider community.

 

Community members listen closely to the messages being shared

Both groups decided that their final performances should be on land conflict, and it was chosen that the title of the event should be: ‘My Land, My Heritage: land conflict and the need for reconciliation.’ Groups decided to host the event together, at a central location which the most people could reach. As part of the event, the group invited local politicians, as well as local traditional leaders. The chief guest was Otto Matthew, the Land Minister of the Ker Kwaro Acholi (the traditional cultural institution of northern Uganda).

 

The Local Councillor III presents his thoughts on the theater performances, and land conflict in the region

Each group put on a play that explored how land conflict arose out of the process when people across northern Uganda returned from displaced persons camps to their homes. Many people in northern Uganda lived in camps for up to twenty years during the terrifying Lord’s Resistance Army conflict, and land conflict continues to cause significant unrest in the region. The plays explained how land conflicts can arise, and showed how they can be solved; through mediation, discussion, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

 

Members of Atoo Pi Iya act out efforts to mediate a land conflict

After the performances had been completed, and the speeches made, group members excited the crowd with a follow-up performance of traditional dance and drumming. More pictures to come soon!

The TJ Quiz Final! Winners Announced

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The champions of the 2012 Transitional Justice Quiz - Pope John Paul VI Secondary School

Pope Paul IV Secondary School, which is found in Nwoya District, emerged as the winners of this years’ Transitional Justice (TJ) School Quiz Competition. It was a time of joy and sadness for the winners and those who had not won. The best  female student (Sharon Lakaraber from Awere Secondary School in Gulu District) and the best male student (Simon Okot from Pajule Secondary School in Pader District) were each recognized with a cash price of 50.000/= while the winning school walked away with a cash prize of 500.000/= and the first runner up was Kitgum High School with a cash price of 400.000/= and a trophy handed over by the Chairman of the Justice and Reconciliation Board of Directors Mr. Michael Otim, the Gulu District Speaker and the LCIII Chairman.

The TJ Quiz Competition final was guided by the theme “Everybody Counts: Voices of Young People in Transitional Justice” and it took place in Gulu district at Sir Samuel Baker school on the 20thof September 2012. The Regional Competition had begun with an elimination round with the highest scoring team from all of the District Competitions being exempted from competing in the elimination round and being allowed to automatically proceed to the finals. The remaining four teams selected a number between 1 and 4 from a lottery and faced off in two short competitions consisting of one wild card and one lightning round. The team which emerged with the lowest score of the four was eliminated from the competition.  In general the Quiz was stiff and very competitive which made it hard to tell who the winners would be.

The runners-up, Kitgum High School, hoist their trophy.

In the spirit of competition, the runners-up, Kitgum High School, sent the following warning to their rivals:  ”Next year we are taking the trophy that belongs to the winner and giving ours to Pope Paul IV and we will retain it for as long as the transitional justice school quiz is still a programme.”

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About the TJ Quiz…

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Aware of the challenges that the war affected communities face in the post conflict arena and of the ongoing national debates on transitional justice, the Justice and Reconciliation Project is currently embarking on a brain teaser quiz competition for secondary schools in Acholi sub-region under the theme: “Everybody counts, voices of the youth in Transitional Justice.”

As a Video Communications Intern, I travelled with the Community Mobilization team that organized this competition to film series of exciting events which took place in Pader, Kitgum, Nwoya, Amuru and Gulu districts respectively where four schools from each district battled it out in a bid to win the district competition and qualify for the grand finale in Gulu town at Hotel Free zone. Two teams faced each other in the first rounds before the winners with the highest scores would go in for the play-offs and consequently determine the district winner.

It was very entertaining seeing young people scratch their heads and struggle to answer ten questions within sixty seconds in the lightening round as they would later produce amazing facts on Reparations, Juba Peace agreement, Gender Justice, Criminal prosecution, Traditional justice and media knowledge. They surely did enjoy the spirit of team work as they would supplement each other.

The audience too matched the task of the contestants as they were later fired questions and some experts asked to elaborate on traditional ceremonies such as the ‘Mato Oput’, ‘Gomo tong’, ‘Moyo piny’ and ‘Moyo kum’.

It was a rare form of competition that the contestants confessed it was their first time to participate in such a competition. One of the guests admitted the fact that he used to watch such kind of contests only on televisions and never thought it would come to Acholi that easy. The audiences and the contestants were all pleased with JRP for this initiative.

Judges Dixon, Rosalva and Victoria were kept busy throughout the district competition and I bet they shall be up for the same come 20th September, 2012 at Sir Samuel Baker School, so why don’t you join us and be part of it on this day. Don’t miss out because it is fun, entertaining and educating. Your voice definitely counts.

Read more about the TJ Quiz here.

Transitional Justice Quiz 2012

Special Campaigns,

The Transitional Justice IQ Gauge is a quiz competition for young people designed to connect youth from different parts of northern Uganda to build a critical mass around transitional justice.

Guided by the theme “Every Body counts; Voices of Young People in Transitional Justice”, selected schools within Pader, Kitgum, Nwoya, Amuru and Gulu Districts will be competing to scoop the district title in order to compete for the regional prize. To make the competition interactive, the audience will be expected to contribute questions that will be asked to the competing teams for additional marks.

Regional Competition

Thursday, 20th September 2012 Starting at 09:00 Venue: Sir Samuel Baker School – Gulu

Taking place on the eve of the International Day of Peace, the final event will see the district winners compete for the regional title. The event will be officiated by a celebrated TJ practioner and attended by key stakeholders.

 Participants:

  • Awere S.S. – Gulu
  • Restore Leadership High School – Amuru
  • Pope John Paul VI S.S. – Nwoya
  • Kitgum High School – Kitgum/Lamwo
  • Pajule S.S. – Pader

District Competitions

Pader District

Monday, 10th September 2012
Starting at 09:00
Venue: Pader Girls Secondary School
The following schools will be competing for the District title;
1. Pader Girls S.S
2. Acholi Bur S.S
3. Lagwi Seed S.S
4. Pajule S.S

Kitgum District
Tuesday, 11th September 2012
Starting at 09:00
Venue: Refugee Law Project/National Memory and peace Documentation Centre ((NMPDC)

The following schools will be competing for the District title;
1. Kitgum High School
2. Y.Y Okot Memoril School
3. Padibe S.S
4. Palabek S.S

Nwoya District

Wednesday, 12th September 2012
Starting at 09:00
Venue: Pope Paul VI, Anaka

The following schools will be competing for the District title:
1. Pope Paul VI S.S
2. Koch Goma S.S
3. Alero S.S
4. Purongo Seed S.S

Amuru District
Thursday, 13th September 2012
Starting at 09:00
Venue: Lacor Seminary Sacret Heart School

The following schools will be competing for the District title;
1. Lacor Seminary Sacret Heart School
2. Keyo S.S
3. Restore Leadership School
4. Pabbo S.S

Gulu District

Friday, 14th September 2012
Starting at 09:00
Venue: Sir Samuel Baker School

The following schools will be competing for the District title;
1. Sir Samuel Baker School
2. Sacret Heart S.S
3. Awere S.S
4. Gulu S.S

 

The Right to Know – Missing Persons filming in West Nile

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JRP’s Community Mobilization and Communication Teams recently traveled to Arua in Uganda’s West Nile region to shoot footage for our Missing Person’s documentary. Although I am interning with the Gender Justice department, I am a trained filmmaker, so I joined them for the four hour—sometimes very bumpy—ride to Arua to shoot video footage.

 Our first interviewee was a woman named Norah whose son, Neville, has been missing since September 19, 2002. He was traveling from Kampala to Arua to go shopping for his upcoming studies at Makerere University. The LRA attacked the Nile Coach Bus he was on and for nearly ten years, Norah has been searching for answers to find out the whereabouts of Neville. To this day, she still does not know if her son was killed as he was never identified as dead or abducted.

 Although many victims are seeking compensation from the government for the loss of their family members—something that Norah should be entitled to, especially as she is a widow and Neville was the new breadwinner of the family—Norah told JRP that she only seeks answers about her son.

 JRP also interviewed Emmanuel, one of Norah’s other sons. It was an emotional interview, with Emmanuel crying throughout most of the time he was on camera. Our hearts went out to him as he described how Neville was like a father figure and how he wishes he had gone missing instead. He continued to explain that he had a medical condition that made him ill, and that he cannot help the family financially. After the interview, Emmanuel was still crying, and we assured him that we would tell Neville’s story to the world. 

 We also talked to Scovia, one of Neville’s best friends. She said Neville was a kind person, and watched out for her when a group of teenage boys tried beating up some of the girls at her school. Neville warned them not to hurt Scovia and she fondly remembers how they never did. She recalls Neville’s sweet spirit and protective nature and continues waiting for the day when she can talk with him again.

 A representative from Nile Coach Bus Company also graciously offered to speak to us, recalling the many times that the LRA attacked their busses. They had drivers killed, busses burnt, and friends injured during the attacks. The representative explained how he yearns for answers, too, and how the incidents greatly affected their business and personal lives.

 As we journeyed back to Gulu, I couldn’t stop thinking about Neville, wondering where he is now. The pictures of him are still engrained in my mind—images of a tall, handsome young man, with intelligence and ambition ready to take on the world. People like Neville are the reason JRP continues the important work they are engaged in.

 So we continue to seek justice, ask questions, and lift up the voices of those who need answers. We stand alongside Norah, Emmanuel, Scovia, and the Nile Bus Company, continuing to raise awareness about the situation, searching for answers. As we were leaving, Norah said, “I thank JRP because you are the one letting my voice be heard.” So we lift up her voice to the world, in honor of Neville and the many other people who are missing as a result of the conflict.