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NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES PUSH REFUGEE BOYS OUT OF SCHOOL.

 By Bazio Doreen and Anzoo Evaline. Mothers in the refugee settlements of Adjumani District have raised deep concern over persistent cultural practices that continue to negatively affect the education and moral upbringing of their children.The practices, which include the early initiation of boys as young as 14 years into adulthood, are being blamed for promoting immoral behaviors and contributing to school dropouts among young boys.Amer Dhieu Dau, a concerned mothers say that such traditional rituals, which were once valued as a rite of passage in their countries of origin, have now become harmful in the current context of life in the settlement. Many young boys reportedly lose interest in education soon after the initiation ceremonies, perceiving themselves as “men” who no longer need to attend school.“We are worried as mothers because our boys are being forced into adulthood at a very young age. After initiation, they begin to disrespect us, we are really suffering in the hands of these boys, refuse to go to school, and start engaging in immoral activities like drinking and womanizing,” said Dhieu a mother of four living in Ayilo I Refugee Settlement. According to teachers in several refugee settlement schools, the aftermath of these ceremonies is reflected in reduced school attendance and performance among the affected boys. Some students reportedly abandon school completely, claiming they are now “adults” and no longer subject to the authority of teachers or parents.Mr. Aluma Ivuson Richard, the Head Teacher of St. Thereza nursery and primary school in Ayilo I Settlement, noted that cultural practices, though important, should evolve to fit the changing world.“Culture should not destroy the future of our children. We are in an era where education and technology determine survival, not traditional initiation rituals,” he said.The mothers have appealed to cultural leaders and elders to abandon these harmful practices and instead embrace modern values that promote education and positive behaviors among the youth. They emphasized the need for awareness campaigns and dialogue between elders, parents, and the young generation to harmonize culture with the demands of modern life.“As mothers, we are not against culture, but we want our children to be prepared for a better future through education, not through outdated traditions. The world has changed, these days we don’t even need some of this culture thing and we must change with it,” said Mama Alulo, another refugee mother.Alugbwi Albert, the Assistant Settlement Commandant – Ayilo, on his part pledged to engage cultural elders and community leaders to address the issue through community dialogues and sensitization sessions. They believe that combining respect for culture with education and technology will build a more progressive and morally upright generation.“As partners, we are trying our level best to talk to this people about the importance of educating our children before bringing in culture and we shall continue to sensitize them”, said Alugbwi.The initiation ceremonies, often conducted by community elders, involve teaching the boys traditional values and survival skills meant to prepare them for adulthood. However, mothers and education leaders argue that in the modern setting, these practices are outdated and detrimental to the social and academic development of the children.END

ADJUMANI POLICE RESCUE 9 FOREIGN NATIONALS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

 By Bazio Doreen. Police in Adjumani have rescued 9 foreign nationals believed to be victims of human trafficking who were being transported from Kenya through Uganda to Libya with promises of lucrative jobs.According to Police, the victims – four from Kenya, three from Somalia, and two from Eritrea; were intercepted after Adjumani Police Station received information from Gloria indicating that a friend from Kenya, Olupot Joseph, had contacted her. He reported that his brother and several others were being detained at a guest house called IQM, located within Adjumani Town. The information raised suspicion.Acting promptly, police officers, with the assistance of GPS technology, conducted a raid on the guest house. During the operation, nine individuals—one female adult and eight males—were found staying in two separate rooms.During an interview, Fatima Mohamed, 16, an Eritrean, narrated her story, explaining that they had been trafficked by unknown persons who promised them job in Sudan and Libya.“We were going to Juba to work. A young man called Sumani, he told me that he would get me a good job. This young man told me to throw away my phone and keep quiet, and then he would give me work there. We never saw their faces or their numbers. They just put us in a taxi. The taxi came from Uganda. They said they were taking us to collect bottles. I didn’t tell anyone everything. They told us, “Don’t tell anyone the name of the person; it’s a secret.” Now the Ugandan government has found out about these bad people and they have helped us I am so happy,” Fatima explained.Abdu Rashid Ali, 24, Kenyan, also said that the person has used different drivers to transport them across from Nairobi to Kampala and later to Adjumani where they have been rescued by police in one of the hotels called IQM in Oudrueyi village.“We are being travelled by different drivers from Nairobi to where we are. Thanks to the Adjumani police officers who are freed us, and then and they have given us good advices, helped us. And here we are doing well. The police have given us something to eat and a very good place to sleep. I don’t have more information about those people who are traveling us, but the journey was to begin from Nairobi up to Libya to Juba where they have promised us a good life, a good money, and I better job opportunities. It was just through phones and they were not even speaking to us,” said Abdu Ali.He further added that “We were not allowed to communicate. We were not allowed to use our phones and especially our SIM cards like Safaricom and Airtel. They feared maybe one of our parents could track us or give the information to the police. Instructions were following the rules. No more questions. Just follow the rules you were given.”Adjumani District Police Commander (DPC), SP Masembe Herbert, confirmed the incident, noting that the victims are currently under police protection as investigations continue to identify and arrest the perpetrators behind the trafficking network.“I want to be categorically specific. These are victims. They are not suspects in police custody. They are here for safe custody as we process and link them with their relatives to be taken back home. Following our investigation, we so far have one person in custody who was in the process of trafficking them to Southern Sudan until when they were going to be trafficked up to Libya. So, as of now we have one suspect whom we are interrogating but we are also hunting for others who are in that racket. And we want to assure the public that we shall get there and we shall update the public. We are working hand in hand with immigration and then the commissioner in charge of human trafficking for the Uganda police force. To see that they are taken away from here but handed over to the right people who are their relatives and then they are taken back home,” said SP MasembeThe Deputy RDC Adjumani, Emmanuel Okware, warned the public, especially young people, against falling prey to human traffickers who lure victims with false promises of overseas employment.“Human trafficking is against international law. We must ensure that people avoid getting involved in human trafficking. It’s against the rights of the people being trafficked, but they’re behind the scenes there are always people who are benefiting. So, we want to condemn this act. We want to condemn the financiers of this act, and we want to appeal to people to provide information to the institutions charged with responsibility of keeping law and order in the country. So, we want to appeal to the intelligence arm to continue doing a good job they are doing to provide to dig out some of these challenges we have,” Deputy RDC stated.The Police PRO of North West Nile region, SP Asea Collins, in his report urged everyone to be vigilant and report any information that can lead to the arrest of the suspect involve in this trafficking incident.“We urge anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of the suspect involved in this trafficking incident to come forward. The investigation remains ongoing,” said SP Asea police PRO.  Meanwhile, the rescued victims are receiving psychosocial support and basic assistance from relevant authorities and humanitarian agencies as arrangements are being made to repatriate them to their respective countries.The police have vowed to strengthen border surveillance and collaborate with neighbouring countries to combat the growing threat of human trafficking in the region.END.

556 TEENAGE MOTHERS IN ADJUMANI RETURN TO SCHOOL.

 By Bazio Doreen and Anzoo Evaline.Adjumani District has successfully enrolled 556 teenage mothers back to school following the government’s re-entry Policy, which aims to give adolescent mothers a second chance at education.According to the Principal Education Officer, Mr. Akuku Kayakaya Phillip, the 556 teenage mothers include 287 in secondary schools and 269 in primary schools. This is out of the 4,700 girls who dropped out of school after becoming pregnant during the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown from 2020 to 2022.Mr. Akuku revealed that the implementation of the Re-Entry Policy has been one of the key strategies to restore hope and transform the education landscape of the district. He noted that many of the affected girls had lost confidence and faced stigma from both peers and community members, but through continued sensitization and support from implementing partners, progress has been made.“As a result of the lockdown of 2020 to 2021, Uganda had the longest lockdown for education. Thereafter, we got so many challenges. We have over 4,700 girls who drop out due to pregnancy or child marriage,” Akuku said.Akuku added: “Because of those overwhelming number in the community, Ministry of Education and Sports came up with a policy guideline called re-entry giving second chance for dropouts including the child mother and the child father. So, we took it seriously. We started mobilizing community for the last three years we have been moving every January to March we mobilize our out of school adolescents, as I talk now, this year we have mobilized and through partners we were able to bring back 556 child mothers in the various schools. But we realize out of 556 they are 287 are from secondary, 269 are from primary meaning that more girls who are impregnated when then those who start P7 or after P7 because of the policy of re-entry guideline, now we have given the girls the second chance for them to really their school. We have three now in Adjumani Girls primary school they are all babysitting, but they are performing well. One of them even got first grade in mock exams”. He further urged parents and guardians to support the government’s efforts by allowing their daughters to return to school instead of forcing them into early marriages or domestic work.“I want to thank the parents of these girls for allowing them to continue with their education, but we realize it is very minimal in private schools. They are don’t value on them so much. But in government schools, they are really valued so much and we want to thank government for that police issues”, he added. The district, with the help of non-governmental organizations and humanitarian partners, has been conducting community dialogues and awareness campaigns in both host and refugee communities to encourage positive attitudes toward girls returning to school.Education stakeholders in Adjumani have commended the initiative, noting that the return of the teenage mothers to school is a sign of hope for gender equality and the empowerment of young women.The District Secretary for Education, Kaijuka Arthur Richard, noted that a young girl conceiving doesn’t mean they are ready for marriage but rather it’s a mistake and he therefore urged the parents to give a second chance for their children to go to school.“My daughter got pregnant and produced after two years, I had to enroll her back to school and right now, she’s in third year in Mbarara University of Science and Technology. She’s doing Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery the University. If I had to leave this daughter with that man, she’s not going to do that. I challenge you, my dear parents, after Corona, the government has come with a policy of re-entry. Those people who went and got pregnant, got pregnant because they were not a try, they don’t know what they give that person the next chance,” said Kaijuka.Kiden Mary Michael, a South Sudanese refugee mother living in Mungula one Refugee settlement commended the government of Uganda for promoting gender equality that has given opportunity for girls to learn.“In our country South Sudan, we used to educate boys only but reaching to Uganda, we were trained on issues related to gender that’s why we are now educating our girls and the partners told us when our daughters get pregnant, we should marry them off but rather enroll them back to school after producing and that’s what we are doing”, Kiden stated.Monika Tila, a teenage mother, who conceived when in 2023 when she was in S.2 class narrated her story. “I got pregnant when I was in S.2 in 2023 but my parents have brought me back to school after the district leaders have talked to them and right now, I am in S.3 and I want to become a doctor”, Monika stated.  As the district continues to champion inclusive education, the education department has pledged to strengthen follow-up and provide psychosocial support to ensure that the enrolled teenage mothers complete their studies successfully.END.