University staff and community members trained in Office 365

Office 365 training

University staff and community members trained in Office 365 at Mountains of the Moon University in Fort Portal. The one day training held on 16^th December, 2015 was coordinated by IRD-U and supported by Netsquared. The lead facilitator was Robert Kibaya, the East African Regional Ambassador for Netsquared.

Office 365 training

According to the coordinator of IRD-U and Netsquared local organizer, Fort Portal – Solomon Akugizibwe, “this is the beginning of a much bigger collaboration between netsquared and local non profits in rural Fort Portal area.” 

The training which was also supported by www.TechSoup.Global will assist community based non profits access highly needed softwares from technology giants especially Microscoft Corporation. 

In addition to the Office 365 training, Netsquared regional ambassador also officially launched Netsquared in Fort Portal. The official launch was especially dominated by Mountains of the Moon University Students.

Launching netsquared in Fort Portal with MMU students

Netsquared is an international Nonprofit which uses technology for social good. IRD-U, Netsquared Uganda and Mountains of the Moon University is grateful to Elijah Lucas Van Der Giessen for enabling the success of the training and the official launch of netsquared at Mountains of the Moon University.

More about the office 365, follow the link https://products.office.com/en-us/nonprofit/office-365-nonprofit-plans-and-pricing

IRD – U participates in Policy Dialogue on Promoting Migration and Combatting Xenophobia

The 25th session of the African Union Summit will be held in South Africa on 07-15 June 2015. With the backdrop of the recent xenophobic attacks and responses (outcry) from countries across the continent and globally, including regional mechanisms, Amnesty International and partners will host a high-level parallel event looking into the history of xenophobic attacks in South Africa and the measures that have been put in place to address them. 

This panel discussion is crucial in light of South Africa’s long history of xenophobic attacks against asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. The most widely-known attacks being those in 2008 which left 62 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. However, the violence has continued over the years with little or no action from the government. The recent incidents that started in Isipingo (Durban) in March 2015 have resulted in the deaths of seven people, three of whom are reported to be South African nationals, and the displacement of many others. 

This high-level parallel event, in the form of a panel discussion, will highlight the role that migration has played in the history of South Africa and how South Africa is intricately linked to this history of migration. It will also critically assess South Africa’s responses to ‘managing migration’ and further highlight the urgent need for the government of South Africa to put in place lasting and effective measures to combat xenophobia. The panel will also discuss the role of regional mechanisms in dealing with xenophobia in South Africa and other countries on the continent. 

Initioative for Rural Development - Uganda (IRD - U) participation is a result of a series of events including writing an Open letter to the African Union on the resurgence of xenophobic violence in South Africa presented To HE Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson of theAfrican Union on the occasionof the AU Summit in Sandton, Johannesburg, June 2015

A centre where Uganda youth get friendly health services

I felt touched, shocked and sympathy finding many young pregnant girls and many young people unwell because of suffering caused by STDs like HIV/AIDs which are preventable and manageable although considered a curse in many of our communities. The interesting things were also quite many.

This was during a visit to Naguru Teenage and Information Centre (NTIC) in Kampala, Uganda with other African journalists from countries like Nigeria, Zambia, Uganda, etc on Monday, 19^th May 2015. The Centre is located in an upscale Kampala area of Bugolobi.

African Journalists at Naguru Teenage Centre

However, on the other hand, the visit was interesting and quite surprising because it was new to me since I come from a rural area finding many entertaining activities like games for many young Uganda girls and boys in a health facility.

In many health facilities especially in the rural areas where I come from, many health workers are not friendly and the environment looks intimidating in addition to lack of adequate facilities like drugs which was not the case at NTIC.

The many entertaining activities are aimed at making them feel at home when accessing the health services according to one of the staff we found at the reception.  

We were ushered in the centre by the centre coordinator called Martin Byamugisha who was very friendly. I noticed many interesting things which are youth friendly like a TV screen playing the latest movies, many indoor games like darts, a big hall capable of accommodating between 50 – 70 people at a time.

The centre is also well located in a hideout just behind Kiswa Health Centre III to ensure the privacy of the young people when accessing health services.

Another interesting observation was the many condom boxes which were pinned on the notice board of the centre for the youth accessing the centre to use for free whenever they needed them.

I also found the darts board very interesting because it had all the information about the centre and the services that it offers to the youth meaning that you would ‘kill two birds with one stone’ by playing darts at the same time understanding the many services offered by the centre.

Naguru Hall for Teenagers accessing their services

Also, most of the walls at the centre were covered with posters with great pictures of celebrities like Bobi Wine taking about sexual reproductive health, like HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, condoms, etc.

Amazed by the interesting services offered by the centre, I decided to venture further and had a discussion about the centre with one of the beneficiary who had come to access treatment.

“They have good treatment for many diseases and communicate well with us, besides, I don’t need to pay any money to access services.” Said one of the Teenagers called John, not his real name

John adds, “I fear to tell my parents when suffering some diseases like gonorrhoea because they will think I play sex. However, I don’t fear sharing my problems with the staff at the centre.” 

The trip was supported by Radio Netherlands Training Centre (RNTC) in partnership with Uganda Radio Network (URN), Initiative for Rural Development - Uganda (IRD - U)