The Hunger Project-Uganda's Participation in International Women's Day

March 8, 2007

Reported by: Irene Wasike Muwanguzi, Country Director

(Above) His Excellency The President of the Republic of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni visited The Hunger Project exhibit and was particularly impressed by the intervention of The Hunger Project-Uganda in supporting the rural women by mobilizing them, giving them credit and linking them to experts from institutions of higher learning, such as Makerere University Nutrition Department, to train them on how to process food into juice, jam and sweet wines. Our innovations captured his attention and the attention of the media (Ref: front page, Daily Monitor 9th March 2007).

The Hunger Project-Uganda worked closely with the Ministry of Gender and Social Development, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to make International Women's Day a success. Activities during the week included cleaning the city, women artists performing at Uganda's National Theatre, holding public debates and exhibiting during the national celebrations on 8th March 2007.

1. Public Debate

The Hunger Project-Uganda participated in this debate which attracted over 100 people. It was organized by the partnership of the Uganda National Council of Women and Centre for Domestic Violence (CEDOVIP) on 6th March 2007. Participants came from various NGOs, government, faith based organizations, the media and students from Makerere University. The topic for discussion was: "Domestic Violence as a Hindrance to Economic Development in Uganda".

The Guest of Honour was the Honorable Minister of State for Gender, Labour and Social Development. Presenters and discussants for the day included Senior Lecturers from Makerere University, Members of East African Parliament and women advocates. Concepts explored included domestic violence--causes and consequences, the legal framework of domestic violence in Uganda, and the linkage between gender violence and domestic violence.

2. Exhibitions at the National celebrations to mark the International Women's Day- 8th March 2007

The National celebrations in Uganda were held at Kololo airstrip. Over 5,000 people turned up to celebrate the day.

A total of 200 exhibitors participated in showing the contribution the women of Uganda are making towards the economic development of the country.

The Hunger Project-Uganda participated by exhibiting women's projects from Wakiso Epicenter. These included the following;

Food processing - Fruit concentrate, juice, jam and sweet wines, made by our partners. These products are processed from the fruits which are grown by the women in the epicenters. This improves quality and helps to avoid wastage when the fruits are harvested in large amounts. This project has improved the nutrition of many families, schools, and the people who are suffering from the HIV/AIDS pandemic by accessing them in the communities.

Nutritious porridge - This is an ingredient made and packed by our partners to support school-going children and mothers in terms of improved nutrition.

Briquettes - This is a project for sustaining the environment. They are special balls which provide a substitute for charcoal (fuel) during cooking. These are made from Banana (Matooke) and cassava peelings and soil from the anthills. This is an innovation that the women have taken on in an effort to solve the energy problem by reducing on the high costs of charcoal and depletion of the environment through charcoal burning.

Hand crafts - These included Baskets, mats, tie and die cloth (Bitengi) made by partners to increase household incomes.

During H.E. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni's speech to the nation, he commended the efforts of The Hunger Project-Uganda and urged other organizations and women to emulate The Hunger Project-Uganda and focus on increasing food production and food security and household incomes through such projects and interventions. He particularly directed the Minister of State for Trade and Tourism to give maximum support to our women to ensure that their products are improved further for international markets.

(Ref: The president's speech was recorded and aired by the national televisions during the celebrations to mark International Women's Day on 8th March 2007 at Kololo airstrip,)

The Hunger Project-Uganda is truly empowering the women at our epicenters through mobilization, sensitization and micro-credit. The chances are very high that The Hunger Project-Uganda will be among the few organizations that will be chosen to exhibit during CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) to be held in Uganda later this year, 2007. It is now our commitment to support the women further by linking them to international markets through:

• Improving the packaging and labeling on their commodities and linking them to other sectors like the Private Sector Foundation for certification of their products for export.
• Increasing the efforts to develop a collecting centre for all the partner's quality products from all epicenters in order to meet the demand.
• Strengthening the linkages with the National Association of Women Organisations in Uganda (NAWOU) for networking, information sharing, advocacy, representation, training and capacity building.

Our partners will be able to acquire more knowledge and skills through tailored training on crafts making, business management and civic education.