ABOUT NWASEA

NWASEA was established in 1992 by a group of twenty women.  It was formally registered as an independent non partisan and not for profit organization in 1996.  The identity of NWASEA lies with its members, who during the year stood at 120 community groups and 10 environmental networks.  Membership is drawn from community groups registered with District Community Development Officer’s Office.  These groups are committed to diverse human rights issues but complementary in terms of areas of focus, ranging from community empowerment, non formal education, lobbying and advocacy for increased enrolment and retention of girls in schools and strengthening the capacity of women and children to access and defend their fundamental human rights and freedoms.

Vision

A competent and credible organization offering gender responsive programmes that enhance its sustainability.

Mission:

To facilitate community groups in Eastern Uganda to develop good governance and capacity to engage in sustainable development through training, advocacy and networking.

Objectives Overall

The National Women association for Social and Educational Advancement has set out to achieve the following objectives

Non formal Education

1. Strengthening the Capacity of community members and groups to participate in FAL for poverty reduction and improved livelihoods.

Formal Education [Girl Child]

2. Improving female education through promotion of enrolment and retention of girls in school.

Human Rights

3. Strengthening the capacity of women and children and other members of the community to understand access and defend their human rights and freedoms.

Good governance

4. Enhancing the Capacity of Communities to demand for Social Services.

Environment

5. Reduced non-point pollution through community driven watershed rehabilitation initiatives.

HIV/AIDS

6. To strengthen capacities of communities to care, support and protect people affected and infected with HIV/AIDS including Orphans and Vulnerable Children [OVCs].

Some of NWASEA Membership

1. Emberi – Ekubamwino HIV/AIDS Group.
2. Busiiro Youth development Group
3. Bawuna Bwire FAL Group
4. Kyebaja toobona Bulanga Group
5. Babigumira Youth Foundation
6. Nabitende Twekalangule FAL class
7. Itakaibolu Community Health Association
8. Nabitende Youth Development Forum
9. Naitandu Pineapple and Matooke growers association
10. Buswiriri Youth Development Group
11. Naitandu Brick Layers Association
12. Bakuseka Majja Banana and Pinaple Growers union
13. Nalitya Farmers group Ivukula
14. Kweberawo Women’s Group
15. Balisanyuka Ivukula farmers group
16. Bugabwe Functional Adult Literacy and HIV/AIDS Group
17. Widows Might Iganga
18. Bakuseka Majja Women’s Group
19. Bukooli Youth development Group
20. Jinja Women Environmental Group.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRPERSON

On behalf of the National Women association for Social and Educational Advancement Board of Directors, We are proud of the work of NWASEA.  Throughout the year, we have provided the organization with leadership that it can rely on as it continues to move forward to cater for the capacity needs of its members to enable them to do their work better, and to participate in different advocacy activities at the sub county and district levels.

NWASEA was visible through 2008 on the local and National scene, as it challenged the local government in Eastern Uganda towards the promotion of community empowerment, advocacy and service delivery, promotion of non-formal Education, protection of human rights and freedoms especially for women.  This was geared towards the promotion of human rights of all Ugandans in all sectors of life.  Staff has participated in national, District and sub county meetings and some presented papers at workshops and conferences.

Empowerment of communities was enhanced in 3 sub counties where the organization imparted skills, knowledge in promotion of poverty resource monitoring.  Using this tool, communities were able to select 1 health center and 2 primary schools and use them as pilot to examine both facilities and use information to lobby leaders to improve on service delivery.

As we move into yet another challenging year for the civil society organizations, I would like to take this opportunity to encourage all members of NWASEA to rise up to the occasion and not be found wanting when called-upon to challenge local government to promote, protect and respect fundamental human rights and freedoms, as well as empowering communities for sustainable development.  I take this opportunity to salute all the members and wish you a fruitful 2008.

Ms. Betty Kitakufe

Chairperson Executive Committee

MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In this year 2008, efforts were invested in assisting local community leaders, civil society groups, and community members to improve their capacity to amplify their voices and wishes in the development arena.

In the area of empowerment and advocacy, together, we ensured that NWASEA pursued further its path of empowering communities to demand for improved service delivery through advocacy and lobbying of those in authority.  In turn these activities helped NWASEA maintain a regional presence through a variety of initiatives which were well received by the members and the public.

Since every organization is the product of how its members and staff think and interact on many occasion sister organization have always endeavored to ask us how we manage to do so much with a small size of staff and a modest budget.  The answer at NWASEA is that we believe in our values of openness, team work and networking.  Collaboration is central to our success of Programme implementation.  We believe in working with others to produce quality work and therefore, we try to tap the relevant human resources around us to accomplish our planned activities, an example is twining up with Iganga District farmers Association (IDFA) to implement the poverty Resource Monitoring project which was done successfully.  Another example is working with Nagongera Youth Development Programme (NAYODEP) in policy analysis and Advocacy.

NWASEA was also able to assist in Advisory services to 5 community based Groups and Consultancy services in Gender mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS.  Although challenges were several, through team work we were able to overcome them.

NWASEA also managed to produce 2 publications.  The English Primer ‘Book two’ for our FAL learners and our very first edition of ‘Human rights policy brief, depicting the right to education, especially for the girl child, for our policy makers and local leaders.

I salute all those who have contributed to our success both in form of human and financial resources. Above all I thank all members of NWASEA for their commitment and understanding they have exhibited throughout 2008. “Bravo” The battle has just begun.

MISS NANTALE ANNE

Executive Director

Introduction

This year’s progress report is as a result of the strategic plan prepared in 2007 indicating the strides that have taken place while implementing what NWASEA set out to do at the beginning in January to December 2008.  Because of the concern and importance that NWASEA attaches on issues which impact on its work, this report is based mainly on key result areas; set out and the indicators that were developed to monitor the effects of the programmes and particularly how the stakeholders benefit.

Before the discussion of the results however, a review of the operating environment in which CSOs in Uganda were operating and a review of NWASEA’s major strategies during the year are discussed.  At the end of the report, there is a section on the major challenges faced so far.  The four major result areas NWASEA set out to achieve are outlined as follows:-

1. Strengthening the Capacity of community members and groups to participate in FAL for poverty reduction and improved livelihoods.

2. Improving female education through promotion of enrolment and retention of girls in school.

3. Strengthening the capacity of women and children to understand access and defend their human rights and freedoms.

4. Enhancing the Capacity of Communities to demand for Social Services

Support programmes include:

(a)    Research and Documentation

(b)   Environmental Protection

(c)    HIV/AIDS.

2.0 The operating environment

The work of NWASEA and the CSO sector during the year being reviewed in the context of an operating environment citing some of the major social economic and political events that had a positive-negative effects bearing on CSO work.

Even the harshest critics of Uganda will agree that the country has made many advances on the political, economic and social arena.  Decentralization has increased potential for people participation while macro economic policies have led to fairly high level economic growth.  Social Development policies have been claimed especially in the efforts of address bottlenecks in education, health, gender and social marginalisation.  ICT facilities are increasing with rural radios providing particularly new strategies for capturing rural people’s voices – at least of those who have access to radios [90%].

However, more is till at stake.  Democratic accountability and transparency problems are as prevalent within local Governments as at the central government.  Despite the PEAP and UPPAP initiatives, there is still a big cry about the unequal benefits of the high economic growth and Uganda still scores very poorly in Cross-country comparisons of Social development indicators even among sub-Saharan countries.

Lastly like in all other developing countries, while ICT provides several opportunities for development this is a new field for most of the development actors, NGOs included.  It is

Continue to redefine their political and development role in the country. 

Management, advocacy and linking up with others to address issues at the local and national levels.

2.1 Political environment

Uganda’s political environment is a mixture of extreme advances indifferences and setbacks and thus poses many opportunities and threats to the work of civil society actors like NWASEA.  Although the Government’s framework for medium term development has good governance and security as one of its 4 pillars, the political scene in Uganda reveals a mixture of maturing system at the local government level and a more constricted political process at the central Government level.

Economic Environment

Macro-economic stability continues to be central in the Government’s national economic planning.  The structural adjustment processes form the core of the expanding economy and the resultant healthy macro-economic environment is responsible for the high economic growth rates that have remained impressively at over 7 percent between 1995-2005.  However, the concern of all development actors is whether macro-economic stability and the high economic growth lead to poverty reduction.  All these have eased the work of NWASEA as well as other CSOs in three important ways:-

• Most Ugandans have recovered from a state of chronic despair of the 1980’s and 90s and are now with confidence refocused.

• Overall liberalization of the economy has strengthened the civil society and increased the realm of public action outside Government

Social Environment

Despite the increasing focus of Government on the major social development components like basic education and health care in resource allocation and policy thrust, Uganda scores very poorly in cross-country comparisons of social development indicators even among sub-Saharan countries.  For example the population living within 5 kilometers of a health center is only 37 percent while accessibility to basic health care services remains at only 56 percent.  Uganda is the worst nation in dependency ratio, fertility rate and adolescent pregnancies in Africa at 108, 6.9 and 43 percent respectively.  Less than 40 percent of Ugandans expect to survive up to the age of 60 years.  The situation is made worse by the AIDS disease that has affected the employment sector and left million orphans.

In terms of gender, engendering development in all aspects remains almost a central preoccupation of policy makers in Government and its development partners in Uganda.  Such concentration has translated into some considerable gains in areas of education at primary and university levels, decision-making positions in local Government, legislatures, and judiciary and the executive and programmes.  However, NWASEA still operates in an environment in which gender, power and balance still requires a lot of interventions.  Men by and large still control and own wealth and property.  The rural woman [whom NWASEA represents] still forms the core of the most socially marginalized people in Uganda and there is a strong feeling that a small number of women.  Affirmative queens- have ridden on the affirmative action ticket for too long and serve their own agenda at the expense of the majority.

Particular focus is also on the delay by Government to pass the domestic relations bill to protect women’s rights at the grass root level, the incorporation of the co-ownership scheme in the land act and the setting up of the equal opportunities commission to redress the other persisting gender imbalances.  For NWASEA, the need to reach higher social development levels especially for the marginalized sectors of Ugandans will dictate strong identification with other dynamic and strategic civil society actors.

 ...............continued on Part II