Working With Community Volunteers to enhance the decision ...

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Box 4: Woman volunteer : workingwith othersProscovia Nabirye (left), a volunteer in Kamuli,talks about the importance of programme reviewmeetings and working with others: “We havemonthly review meetings to discuss what wehave done, what we have failed to do or wherethere is a diffi culty and discuss solutions. Amongthe solutions is not to do the work alone but toinvolve other volunteers. So whenever I have adispute to settle, I invite volunteers from otherzones, even from other parishes if they areavailable. This has made a change becausepeople get to hear from other volunteers andthey fi nd out that what I teach them when I amalone is true.”case alone or to handle a mediation session alonewithout consulting a male volunteer. Even in termsof grasping issues, women were slow.”As a result of these factors, male volunteershave handled more clients than their femalecounterparts but, in terms of effi ciently handlingclients and giving them appropriate advice, therewas no evidence to suggest that men were anybetter than the women. The 2006 survey datahowever shows that women volunteers are morelikely to provide counselling services thanthe men, while their male counterparts aremore likely to be involved in confl ict resolutionactivities. Women volunteers also used thereview meetings and their peer to overcomesome of the obstacles they faced (Box 4) and,as we shall see, soon provided important rolemodels for other women in the community. In sodoing, they disproved the cultural perception ofwomen being unable to perform the tasks theprogramme ascribed to them.Programme support to the community volunteers has been all-importantA quarterly review meeting (right) and a support visit in Kamuli (2009)12Working with Community Volunteers to Enhance theDecision-Making Powers of Women
4. Impact On Women’s Decision-MakingThe precise changes brought about by theprogramme in the ability of women to takedecisions, and those changes that can specifi callybe attributed to the work of the communityvolunteers are not easily traced. This is becausethere are other factors (both linked to theprogramme and external to it) that contributed tochange in the programme areas at the time. Onefor instance was the appearance of a radio stationin Kamuli that gave women an opportunity tolearn about national and global changes favouringwomen’s rights (though some women were onlytolerated listeners). Other NGOs also startedworking in these areas, some with a specifi c focuson women’s rights. Finally, as an elder remarked,the level of education among women was alsorising (Box 5). It was at the same time that PlanUganda also supported other educational andhealth programmes in Kamuli and Kawempe.It is however clear that the Plan/FIDA programmealso signifi cantly contributed to change.Interviews with programme staff, with communitymembers who met the volunteers, and with thevolunteers themselves indicated several areas ofimprovement related to women’s decision-makingpowers. Some of these can be traced back tothe community volunteers’ involvement in legalinformation sessions, in making access to justicefor women easier and, more generally, in helpingraise women’s self confi dence, participation andambitions.Increased knowledgeproperty. Volunteers have thus helped womenrealise that they can control resources andparticipate in decision-making, whether in thehousehold or in the community, as much as men.Imam Kinyiri Hamuza, a religious leader in Kamulisays “There has been some infl uence from thosecommunity volunteers. They insist when mobilisingthat people must go for community education.Every woman’s attitude changed after attending;there is much awareness about legal rights. I knowa lady, Sarah: she owns cattle and can decidewhat to do with them. Her husband is happy thatshe is hard working.”Box 5: Women’s growing selfconfidenceKenneth Bagimba Kaita Mabandha Lotan (below)in Kamuli is the Clan Head of Bayisemuwayo, theEnsense Clan. He says: “Today a woman chooseswho to marry and she cannot be forced. Even somecultural requirements and rituals that used to beperformed at death are no longer compulsory. Awoman may choose to do them or not. The clanis no longer involved in distributing the property ofthe deceased people.” He adds that it is becauseof world-wide development trends, as well as moreaccessible education than before; Plan Uganda andother organisations have also contributed to changes.It is also because of politics: “There are a numberof women parliamentarians who have inspired otherwomen and in many of the parishes where I am theclan leader, women are participating in politics”. Heconcludes: “Women are now treated fairly and thishas helped them enjoy their rights: for example, inmy family, I cannot allow them to be disinherited”.Providing legal information was an importantstrategy adopted by the programme and volunteersplayed an vital role in mobilising and informingtheir communities. Volunteers went on house tohouse visits, went to churches and mosques andsensitised. They also used other opportunities,such as funerals, market places, social gatheringsand community meetings. In 9 months in 2009/10,for instance, they met with almost 9,000 women inKamuli and 3,600 in Kawempe.This has awakened many women. For a start,volunteers contributed to increased knowledgeabout their rights to own land and to inheritWorking With Community Volunteers To Enhance TheDecision-Making Powers Of Women13
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