From time immemorial, families have been central to human society, the basic social unit for the expression of love between man and woman and the creation or raising children. Similarly, in Uganda the family is the fundamental and basic unit of society. It serves its members as a reproductive unit,
socio-cultural and spiritual/moral base (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2018). Download full document Here
From time immemorial, families have been central to human society, the basic social unit for the expression of love between man and woman and the creation or raising children. Similarly, in Uganda the family is the fundamental and basic unit of society. It serves its members as a reproductive unit,
socio-cultural and spiritual/moral base (Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, 2018). Download full document Here
After sixty days of lockdown, the International Day of the Family shines as a beacon of hope to all of us at home. This year, the celebration will be held in lockdown under the theme “harmonious family: a key to sustainable peace and development.” As parents and as children, the novel COVID-19 has treated us to an overload of information, given us family time, and an opportunity to bond not only between partners but more importantly the bond between parents and children. Download full document Here
IFDay Blogs 2020_ Twiine and Muguta 8
At the turn of the millennium, the economic empowerment of women was on the global agenda because it was believed that empowering women was
the first step in ensuring gender equality in the home, and in society. There are experiences, which reveal that the labour burden on women is actually increasing since empowerment activities come along with more activities attached to her and in most cases done single handedly but
expected to benefit the entire family. This is accelerated by the prevailing norms that surround ownership and decision making at family level yet interventions are not addressing these a fair equity. However, recently, the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) through the department of Family and Culture is advocating for change in focus. Instead of focusing on improving the woman’, youth, old persons, children
separately as individuals within a family, the department is focusing on uplifting the entire family, which will, in the process, empower women.
May 15, 2020 was the first time for Uganda to join the celebration of the International Family Day virtually. This came at a time the country was in a lockdown aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, a global pandemic, among Ugandans. On March 30th, 2020, President Yoweri Museveni had announced a lockdown in Uganda, starting March 31st 2020. Apart from a few categories of essential workers, all Ugandans were expected to stay at home and avoid unnecessary movements. About a week earlier, schools had been closed and children were already home. Initially, the lockdown had been scheduled for 14 days, but it was extended for another 21 days after which another 14 days were added, which were serving during the International Day
of the Family (IDF), and they were expected to end on May 19th. Downloaf Full Document Here
PROJECT BRIEF
Parenting in Uganda remains a priority intervention area for the wellbeing of Children, a need affirmed by the high levels of Violence against Children (VAC) as per findings of the 2015 National VAC Survey .While there exists numerous parenting interventions, these are institutional and project based with limited documented scientific evidence on what is working. Consequently, there exists no clear strategic direction on the parenting agenda in Uganda. In addition, while 2017 was declared the year of family in Uganda, not much has been achieved to date in terms of shaping the parenting agenda in the country leaving a vacuum on the future of the parenting agenda.
In 2018, the Child Health and Development Centre (CHDC) within the College of Health Sciences Makerere University applied for a grant from the Oak Foundation to support Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) in providing leadership in development of a parenting agenda in the country. The process is envisaged to involve rallying institutions implementing parenting interventions towards visioning, generating and systematizing evidence based parenting programmes in Uganda. This is a three year project (2019-2020).
The project is expected among to deliver the following results:
1. A national parenting strategy developed through consensus building on the strategic direction for enhancing parenting initiatives in Uganda
2. An inventory of parenting initiatives in Uganda compiled and maintained
3. A synthesis of existing research evidence on the most effective parenting interventions in Sub Saharan Africa punctuated with case examples from Uganda
4. Compiled research evidence on effective parenting interventions disseminated to key stakeholders
5. Strengthened networking among institutions implementing parenting interventions in Uganda
6. National parenting guidelines developed by MGLSD reprinted and disseminated across sectors and levels
7. Key stakeholders capacity on parenting strengthened
The project shall be implemented with a consortium of institutions and agencies currently involved in parenting work.
The precious investment made so far to develop PfR programme has provided incredibly important data on what makes an intervention acceptable and relevant to local communities. Further, early indicators from the pilot suggest that the PfR programme holds promise in promoting positive social norms and skills around parenting and spousal relationships. The formative evaluation of the programme with 4 groups has clarified how the intervention is perceived in terms of relevance and acceptability, the best way to recruit parental groups and sustain participation, especially participation of fathers, the best way to negotiate access with local leaders, and how to continue to monitor, mentor and support facilitators. A further two groups are currently being recruited with whom a 15 session (rather than 21 session) version of the programme will be tested. Further investment in a robust evaluation will help us to test varying combinations of elements of the programme to provide further evidence of the acceptability in different contexts, plausibility of the measures, the intended mechanism of change and the effects of the intervention on key outcomes associated with SGBV and child maltreatment. The PfR programme holds promise for reducing child maltreatment
During both the before-and-after (proof of concept) and RCT, key stakeholders (policy makers, programmers and advocates) from relevant Ministries and Departments, such as the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD), Ministry of Health, and child protection agencies will be involved in the programme, and will be encouraged to make technical input during the intervention. Initially two senior officials, one from the Ministry of Gender Labour and Social Development (Mr James Kabogoza), and one from a Local NGO, SOS Children’s Villages, have been identified to be part of the core study team. In addition to making input into the design and delivery of the programme, they will lead the development of an approach and process of engagement and dialogue with key stakeholders to enhance the utilisation of the research once completed. Meetings with selected stakeholders, including programme and policy-decision makers, advocates, and media, at national and local (district and sub county) will be held at different stages of the project to assess progress review and identify strategic opportunities to increase stakeholder receptivity to the research.
What is PfR?
PfR is an accessible package of interrelated components that is set out in a 21 session manual to address various aspects of SGBV and parent-child relationships (refer to the earlier section above for an outline of programme). Weekly, 2-3 hr sessions are conducted for both sexes through a participatory approach using reflection groups, posters, pictures and practical skills-focused homework practice exercises. The programme starts in single sex groups but midway they are mixed and encouraged to address conflicting gendered perceptions of parenting. Observations are recorded for each session, and a report written immediately.