Citation: Uganda 2011 Governance for Development report. Published by Danida Hugo Uganda.
A thriving democracy not only requires democratically elected leaders, but also active citizens who hold their leadership to account
You have to be in possession of a gun or hold a powerful position to have rights. That is what James Oyaro thought while growing up in war-torn northern Uganda. So it was a revelation when he was taught that every human being has basic human rights and that you are actually born with such rights – whether you carry a gun or not.
James Oyaro is a teacher by profession and former chairman of the Youth Strengthening Strategy (YSS) project in Pader. He is also one of the thousands and thousands of Ugandans who no longer see themselves as passive victims but as active citizens with a right and a responsibility to speak out and take part in shaping a democratic Uganda.
The Pader Youth Group is just one of the numerous active citizens’ groups mushrooming all over Uganda, signaling a still more active civil society, and many of them with indirect or direct support from Danida HUGGO.
James Oyaro was active right from the start of the Youth Strengthening Strategy project in Pader District in 2004, when the whole region still suffered from the LRA conflict and most people had to live in camps away from their homes and their land.
BEYOND DANIDA HUGGO SUPPORT
The Youth Strengthening Strategy project (YSS) was supported by Danida HUGGO from 2002 to 2010. The project operated in the Acholi sub-region, covering the districts of Gulu, Kitgum and Pader.
What has now developed into Pader Youth Forum shall have to survive without external support, and one of the major tasks of the coordinator, John Loktek, is to look for funding and a means of income. John is the only employee; the board members are all volunteers.
“We did not know peace. we never knew when LRA would raid and abduct children, so we always had to carry a blanket or a sweater with us so we could run to the bush without having to go home and collect a blanket to keep warm at night. I have slept in the forest for weeks. That kind of childhood turns youths either passive or violent,” James explains. And he learned it the hard way.
“We were confronted with death and violence much too early. The easy way out was to become part of the conflict by joining one of the parties of the conflict, LRA or the army.”
No to youth brigades
When the Youth Strengthening Strategy project started in Pader in 2004, James and other youths were trained to become youth leaders. It was through this training that James learned that you have rights even if you do not have a gun or a powerful position. They started forming youth groups and now the district boasts several hundred such groups.
In 2008, an entire generation of young people was able to resettle and begin a new life after decades of conflict in the north.
“We prefer broad-based youth groups to party-affiliated youth brigades,” former YSS chairman James Oyaro (left), new chairman James Onenbob, and Pader Youth Project Officer, John Loktek, agree.
“In the past youths were scattered all over and made easy victims for warlords. By bringing youths together in groups it has been possible to change them from being destructive to being constructive, from being tools of conflict to agents of peace and reconstruction,” James explains.
“We have been alerted to troublemakers and have learned how to react to them,” Pader Youth Project officer, John Loktek, adds and gives an example. “The political parties approach youths to make them join their youth brigades. But we say no. Youth brigades have a long history of being misused by their mother parties to instigate conflict and violence and ’deal’ with opponents. We do not want that. We want a peaceful, not a divisive democracy.”
As well as the youth groups, the project has also been instrumental in forming Peace Committees in each of the 27 sub-counties in Pader District.
“Their role is to resolve conflicts – like land disputes – peacefully,” John Loktek says. “Many disputes can be resolved without being taken to court. The committees do not compete with the courts or with local authorities. They cooperate. Often outlying courts and authorities can make use of the local knowledge of the committees. Besides, many people have more trust in the committees than in courts and authorities who often lack the capacity to act fast and efficiently.”
Football for peace
Pader has not only suffered from the LRA conflict. Part of the district borders Karamoja and has suffered from cattle rustling by the Karamojong warriors. This has fuelled traditional animosity against the Karamojong.
“In our tradition we cannot eat from the same source as people from Karamoja. That is just one of so many old traditions to keep us apart and fuel conflicts. But as youths we want peace,” James Oyaro says. “In our culture we are not supposed to object to what the elders say. But we can and we should when appropriate. And we asked what has been achieved through these myths other than conflicts.”
The youths chose a different approach: They made cross-border contacts and now meet regularly with their counterparts in Karamoja.
“We have come to know each other and have exchanged mobile numbers,” says James Onenbob, incoming chairperson of the Pader youths. “When cattle go missing we can call the Karamojong and they will help us recover it.”
The youths have even played football with each other. The match took place after a meeting in Kotido on peaceful co-existence. And the match was peaceful.
“We won, but the Karamojong accepted it and everybody had a great time,” James Onenbob says.
Back to normal
When the Pader NGO Forum was formed in 2002 its role was to coordinate the multitude of fragmented projects implemented by national and international organisations. Now its role is more that of a friendly watchdog over the government.
25 local NGO networks in 51 districts have helped mobilise citizens – here in Koboko– and improved the dialogue between local authorities and civil society.
10 years ago the town of Pader hardly existed. The whole area suffered from the LRA conflict, and Pader hosted a huge camp for internally displaced people and a military camp. The government was not able to roll out basic services like health, education and water supply. This vacuum was filled to some extent by a multitude of national and international organisations, each implementing their own projects in cooperation with local NGOs.
It was out of this fragmentation that the Pader NGO Forum was born in 2002. The present coordinator, George Odong, joined in 2004.
“The local civil society organisations were small and scattered at the time. They could easily be intimidated; they were not really taken seriously by government and lacked the capacity to match the many international organisations that were here. Our role was to coordinate and build capacity and it still is, though much has changed.”
The Pader NGO Forum now has 92 member organisations with a combined membership of around 9,000 people. On top of this come 19,075 people who are members of the 545 youth groups in the district. They each have around 35 members. The population of the area that used to be Pader District – before it was split – is 340,000.
Returning home
Much has changed after the end of the LRA conflict.
“People have returned home from the camps and are busy starting their new lives, and the government is now able to roll out services, unlike in the camps where NGOs provided most services. This is, of course, positive, but many people expected more and feel let down,” George Odong says.
“Even though life was tough in the camps, people there did have access to water etc. Now many are disappointed because of the time it takes government to deliver basic services to their homes. As NGOs, our role is no longer to deliver services, but to advocate for government to do that. This is the right way to go, but it is also a difficult one. Deliver ing services is more visible than changing attitudes. And the change is not always popular with government. They sometimes claim that we make people militant, but we just advocate for basic rights and for politicians to deliver on their promises.”
’’ Delivering services is more visible than changing attitudes.
George Odong does, though, emphasize that the attitude of the local authorities towards civil society organisations is changing for the better.
“We are much more respected now and in many cases cooperate closely with local government, but we have had to struggle to create this space,” he stresses and confirms an observation made by several: while the space for NGOs has narrowed at the national level it has widened at local level.
Just as important, Odong has also noticed a changing attitude among fellow Ugandans.
“People are becoming much more vigilant and no longer hesitate to question political leaders at rallies and on radio programmes. This is exactly what we have been pushing for. We encourage people to demand their rights, so we very much welcome it when political leaders start to dance to the tune of the voters.
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