On Tuesday 21st November 2023, the Omwana AGPP (Adolescents Girls Power Program) Cluster partners (Child Friendly Uganda, Empowering Children and Households and Bugembe Youths Family) along with the Busoga West Violence Against Children (VAC) Cluster partners (Live Child African Ministries Uganda, Women Initiatives in Poverty Eradication and PECA Women and Children Foundation), supported and funded by CRVPF, held an inception and stakeholders’ engagement meeting to introduce the Adolescents Girl Power and Prevention of Violence Against Children Project to stakeholders in Kisasi Parish, Bussede sub-county, Jinja.
The joint project adopts a holistic approach by integrating strategies and interventions from the two CRVPF programs: Adolescent Girls Power Program (AGPP) and Prevention of Violence Against Children (PVAC) program. The rationale behind this is to enhance the overall impact of the project by incorporating measures from both programs, the project aims to ensure that strategies and interventions to prevent violence and sexual violence against children and young people are implemented in the three primary settings where it commonly occurs: homes, schools, and the community. With support from AGPP and PVAC, the project seeks to enhance parenting and spousal relations at home, create safe spaces for adolescent girls within the community, boost awareness of sexual and reproductive health, provide financial services through VSLA to alleviate family stress and curb violence, create safe school environments for uninterrupted education, strengthen community structures to prevent violence, and sexual violence amongst several other objectives.
This project emerged as a response to a situational analysis conducted by the two cluster partners, facilitated through a “Planning and Learning” grant from CRVPF. In adopting a cluster partnership approach, CRVPF encourages 2-3 Community-Based Organizations to collaborate, providing funding and capacity-development to enable them to implement strategies and interventions to prevent violence and sexual violence against children and young people. The grant facilitated collaboration between the two clusters, enabling them to learn about each other and conduct a power and situation analysis. This analysis assessed the prevalence of violence in Kisasi Parish, Bussede sub-county, Jinja, leading to the development of an evidence-based project—the Adolescents Girls Power and Prevention of Violence Against Children Project.
The research findings highlighted significant levels of violence against children in Kisasi Parish, emphasizing the critical need for this project. The analysis, conducted on 2,051 children and young individuals, revealed that 55% had never received any formal education. This educational deficit was attributed to various factors, including poverty, forced child marriages, child labor, harmful societal norms, sexual violence, and abuse. Notably, the presence of a large sugar industry in Jinja attracted truck drivers, leading to heightened incidents of sexual violence against adolescent girls. Furthermore, child labor was prevalent as children were often engaged in fieldwork instead of attending school.
The objective of the meeting was to thoroughly present and explain the Adolescents Girl Power and Prevention of Violence Against Children Project to stakeholders, including students, head teachers, police representatives, local council chairmen, district school inspectors, and parents. Cluster partners and CRVPF coordinators outlined the project’s objectives and encouraged stakeholder involvement for its success. The session was interactive, with participants asking questions and actively engaging in discussions. A local school headteacher expressed gratitude to CRVPF and the two clusters and suggested incorporating periodic roundtable discussions into the new project. These discussions would involve local leaders, teachers, and others to address violence against children in schools. Each participant at the meeting committed to offering their support for the project, including education authorities and local council representatives.