The Sunday We Tried to Escape and Got Caught by the Headmaster
In the year 2000, I was in Bishop Angelo Negri College School, a catholic boys’ boarding school in Gulu, Uganda. In October that year, pressure was building on us like a storm. We were in Senior Four, preparing for the Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations set by the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB). UCE […]
My Encounters with LGBTQ+ Culture in the Philippines
When I landed in the Philippines in April 2014 to begin my assignment as an Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeper, I anticipated conflict resolution work, community dialogues, and security briefings. I had been assigned to Pikit Municipality in North Cotabato, Mindanao, a region known more for the Moro (Muslim) fight for autonomy and self-rule. But no one […]
Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping in Mindanao, Philippines: My Story
narmed civilian peacekeeping plays a vital role in conflict zones. Most international peacekeepers engaged in this type of work are deployed in countries other than their own. That means they shed light on what’s happening locally. Their presence allows the world to see what’s happening in places affected by conflict through the eyes of someone […]
Political Tolerance in Uganda is Still a Pipe Dream
When you feel that your voice cannot be heard because you have a different sexual orientation, belong to a certain religion, are from a certain tribe, or support a certain political party, what president Yoweri Museveni said about intolerant leaders of the past may not make sense to you. I refer to the article titled […]
UPE still under-valued
At Okol Primary School in Omot sub-county in Pader District, class sessions under trees or tents is common. One of the pupils described it as “very hot.” “Some children come from as far as four kilometers to school because of their desire and willingness to learn but the harsh and unfriendly school environment scares them […]
Food Insecurity in Acholi needs many interventions
Yona Okori, 78, a resident of Padibe sub-county in Kitgum district believes that the current wave of hunger in Acholi sub-region is because the Acholi no longer store food in the granary (dero). He says in the 1970s until the early 1990s, many communities in Acholi produced and stored a lot of food in the […]
Uganda; Government should do more to reduce regional inequality
By Ouma Alex Okello The riots in Kampala following the government’s blocking the Kabaka from visiting Kayunga and the recent youth demonstration against civil servants in Amuru District over what the youth perceived as misuse of government resources have shown the power of a democracy where citizens demand for what they believe are their rights. […]