Discipline, Childhood and Parenting Lessons from an Acholi Mother in Uganda
Afew nights ago, over dinner with a workmate, we found ourselves lost in a conversation about parenting. We compared the way we raise children today with the way we were raised, and we both agreed that our generation of parents is much softer. We laughed at how we once survived tougher rules, the sticks, and […]
An Open Letter to Kilak North MP Anthony Akol and Bardege-Layibi MP Ojara Martin Mapenduzi
Dear Honorable Akol and Mapenduzi, I write to you not only as members of Parliament but as sons of Acholi, a region that has endured significant poverty and underdevelopment under the current regime. Recent news reports have suggested that you both have defected to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. However, some of your critics […]
Surviving the Rules of the Gun: Lessons on Power and Resilience from South Sudan
orking in South Sudan taught me lessons about power, authority, and survival that I’ll never forget. Some moments were uncomfortable, others eye-opening, but all were crucial in helping me understand working in the context of conflict. Growing up in Uganda in the 1990s, my view of soldiers was shaped by fear. Soldiers were figures of […]
NRM is not helping poor Ugandans
NRM’s loss in the hotly contested Jinja East constituency by election to Forum for Democratic Change’s Paul Mwiru, Kyadondo East Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda reportedly referred to the NRM as “a dead government that needed a successor”. Kahinda Otafiire, a prominent NRM party member, also Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs reportedly said […]
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 […]