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UN WOMEN, DUBAI PARTNER TO IMPROVE SOCIAL SERVICES TOWARDS WOMEN IN ADJUMANI.

By Bazio Doreen.The Crown Prince of Dubai, His Royal Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid AI Maktoum, has pledged to build schools, a specialized hospital, provide tricycles, and promote solar-powered technologies to empower the women, men, and youth in Adjumani District.The pledge was presented by Dr. Jjingo Robinson, a Financial Coordinator at the United Arab Emirates, accompanied by the UN Women Country Representative in Uganda, Ms. Paulina Chiwangu, and Hon. Rosaline Rose Birungi Kamuli, a representative from the Office of the Ugandan President, while meeting district leaders during a courtesy meeting at the district headquarters as part of a monitoring visit organized by UN Women.Concerns raised.Hon. Kaijuka Richard Arthur, the District Vice Chairperson, informed Dr. Jjingo that Adjumani Hospital is currently grappling with the lack of a gynecologist, and thus the district leaders welcome the idea of partnering to construct a specialized hospital and that they shall avail land for this noble cause.Mr. Taban Peter Data, the Resident District Commissioner, thanked UN Women for supporting and empowering women in Adjumani. He also observed that while building schools, especially a university, would be the most appropriate move, it is worth noting that in many schools across the district, there are inadequate teachers and facilities for pupils and students. He also observed that procuring tractors for refugee women groups would encourage many more to embrace commercial agriculture amidst the ever-dwindling food rations.Mr. Abdul Ramathan, who represented the Refugee Desk Officer OPM-Pakele, noted that UN Women has supported women to embrace leadership, adding that 10 out of 19 Refugee Welfare Officer Chairpersons are women. He said that helping women improve their self-esteem and confidence has increased women's participation in refugees’ political elections from 45% in 2016 to 63% in 2023. He, however, noted that these women still face a challenge of transport due to the long distances.Response.In response, Dr. Jjingo tasked the district to come up with a detailed proposal and concept paper on the ideas discussed within a week so that the United Arab Emirates can consolidate the long-term partnership through UN Women. In the meantime, Dr. Jjingo promised that the UAE is willing to provide tricycles and tractors to support farmer groups and motorcycles to ease mobilization by women leaders. He also said skilling refugee youth on solar-powered technologies would create employment opportunities and make them self-reliant.About the project.The trio were in the district to specifically monitor the Leadership Empowerment Access and Protection (LEAP) Project that is being implemented by Overcomers Women Activists/Co-Act, Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative, and Refugee Law Project. The LEAP project has been supporting women in the thematic areas of: leadership skills, women’s rights, psychosocial support, peacebuilding, child protection, teenage pregnancies, agriculture, adult education, and GBV. The LEAP project has so far reached out to 23,493 beneficiaries, mainly women in Ayilo and Nyumanzi Refugee Settlements. The LEAP project has been running since December 2021 and ends in 2025. The UN Women has been operating in Uganda since 2012, mainly focusing on reducing gender inequality.END.

ADJUMANI TO HOST VP ALUPO IN MARCH 2025.

By Bazio Doreen.The Vice President of Uganda, H.E. Major (Rtd) Alupo Jessica, is set to visit Adjumani District in March 2025. Her Excellency will be visiting the district on the invitation of Miss Jewel Michaels, the 2024 Miss Teen Pearl of Africa, to launch the Jewel Michaels Foundation for Education in Adjumani.During the visit, the VP will interact with pupils at Pakele Girls and Ofua Central Primary School as well as patients at Ofua HC III. The VP is also expected to meet with both technical and political leaders from the West Nile region.[[{"fid":"191","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false},"link_text":null,"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"default","alignment":"","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false}},"attributes":{"height":225,"width":225,"class":"media-element file-default","data-delta":"1"}}]]According to Queen Jewel, the main objective of setting up the foundation is to prevent teenage pregnancies and other factors that hinder mainly girls from going to, staying, and completing school. In Adjumani, teenage pregnancy stands at 15.7%. Between 2020 and 2024, Adjumani District reported 1,785 cases of teenage pregnancy and child marriage. According to the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), in the last decade, over 1.2 million children dropped out of school. In Adjumani, the school completion rate is only 48%.Queen Jewel also says her foundation shall, among other causes: create a running scholarship scheme for underprivileged children to go, stay, and complete school; support small-scale household projects of chicken and goat rearing; as well as undertake cross-country study tours for children to learn from Uganda’s development site. Miss Jewel also represented Uganda at the Miss Teen Universe 2024 pageant in Delhi, India, where she was the 2nd runner-up. Miss Jewel, 14, is the daughter of Major General (Rtd), Michael Ondoga, and Lucy Batcher, a sister to VP Alupo. She is also a vocalist, guitarist, and sportswoman.END.

SAVE THE CHILDREN LAUNCHES 4 YEAR URRI PROGRAMME TO SUPPORT 12,347 FARMERS IN ADJUMANI TO ADAPT TO CLIMATE CHANGE.

By Bazio Doreen.A consortium of 7 implementing partners led by Save the Children has launched the Uganda Refugee Resilience Initiative (URRI) project (October 2024–December 2028), replacing the Northern Uganda Resilience Initiative (NURI) project that ended in 2023. The other partners in the consortium are: World Vision, AVSI, YSAT, UGANET, KRC, and RIL.Funded by DANIDA, the URRI project will be running from October 2024 to December 2028, addressing gender inequality, climate change, food shortages, and unsustainable use of environment and forest products, mainly operating in the areas previously supported under NURI. The project targets 7,404 vulnerable refugees as direct beneficiaries and 49,388 as indirect beneficiaries, of whom 60% will be women and youth.Stakeholders’ view.In his welcome remarks, Mr. Edema Richard, the PACAO, who represented the CAO, observed that the project was long overdue because NURI had left so many gaps that needed to be bridged. He also urged the consortium to ensure that there is a visible impact in the targeted communities at the end of the project.Hon. Adrupio Irene Appi, the Secretary for Finance, who represented the District Chairman, while opening the inception meeting thanked Save the Children for the initiative and observed that it will help in complementing the already existing efforts of government towards combating climate change.Mr. Erasto Kivumbi, the Environment Officer UNHCR-Pakele, observed that many beneficiaries find it hard to adapt to climate change coping mechanisms, adding that there is also a risk of pendulum movement of refugees across borders. He thus rallied the implementing partners to also ensure that impact is not just seen at the group level but that individuals’ livelihoods are changed, adding that there are already 7 other NGOs implementing a similar project and some dubious groups may take advantage of this. He also appealed that other implementation areas be considered other than those covered by NURI since many groups disintegrated. On his part, Giyaya Charles, the District Natural Resources Officer, also rallied the implementing partners to develop Settlement Environment management plans and align their implementation with the District Development Plan. He also informed stakeholders that the district was already supporting the Ministry of Environment in implementing a similar project dubbed: the Uganda Climate Smart Agriculture Project. About the project.With a budget of DKK 220 million (Ugx 113,676,640,000/=), URRI aims to create sustainable and durable solutions for Uganda’s refugees and Uganda’s refugee-affected districts where high levels of poverty have exacerbated the impact of refugees and climate change. The project will furthermore support Uganda’s progressive refugee policies under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). It will respond to pillar 3 of the CRRF, i.e., building resilience and self-reliance for refugees and host communities.URRI promotes resilience in the refugee-affected areas through climate-smart agriculture, sustainable management of the environment, and gender equality. It has a strong focus on both refugees and the Ugandan host communities, with women and youth as particular target groups. URRI aims to reach a ratio of 35% refugees and 65% host population. The initiative has a special focus on women empowerment and gender-responsive approaches as well as capacity development of local actors, including the district local governments.URRI will be implemented mainly in the refugee-affected areas of Northern Uganda: Yumbe, Obongi, Moyo, Madi Okollo, Terego, Koboko, Adjumani, and Lamwo. The project will extend to one refugee hosting district in Western Uganda, Kyegegwa, with a possibility of further expansion to more refugee hosting districts in Western Uganda.END.