Working With Community Volunteers to enhance the decision ...

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5. Lessons LearntThe resilience and evolution ofthe local cultural contextThe programme experience showed that gettingwomen involved as volunteers, especiallyin Kamuli, was sometimes difficult, mainlybecause of a cultural context that did notencourage them to participate in communityactivities and that had deprived them of theminimal education level needed to be selected.An understanding of this context and itsdynamic nature therefore proved essential.Equality between women and men is a matter ofhuman rights and a condition for social justicebut communities can see this equality as animpossible goal. Men keep saying that a manis a man and can never be equal to a womanin any aspect of life. Some women agree, asthey have been socialised into traditional roleswhich they cannot easily change. The weightof women in community decision-making istherefore still small. Much as they have aright to participate in decisions that definetheir lives, when their husbands accept theirinvolvement in economic and other activities,wives still often see this as a privilege givento them. Nevertheless, those met agreed thatthe community volunteers encouraged them tocome out, to say what they want and to becomevisible forces of change.Sensitisation in the community therefore needsto be long-term and inclusive of all. Awarenessleads to confi dence, it does not come in thefi rst sessions. Information and sensitisationcampaigns will in all probability need to besustained for some years yet, and targethousehold heads, clan leaders and elders. Theseduty bearers are central in upholding humanrights and once they are won over, the likelihoodof success is higher. As the District Chairperson inKamuli noted, some men feel they are losing theirpower, leading to the resentment of any projectthat is threatening their privileges, and evenresulting in domestic violence.The efficacy of the volunteerapproachThe programme was designed to greatly rely oncommunity volunteers, especially for communitymobilisation and information, follow-ups andreferrals. The volunteers were an availableresource that could be harnessed, thanks to theirknowledge of the local environment and sense ofsolidarity, and thus reinforce work with people inposition of authority, whether clan or local councilleaders, the police and other government staff.There is evidence that these design assumptionsproved to a great extent correct. Most importantly,the volunteers provided a local link and localunderstanding: to reach the community, there wasa need for an entry point, using people who knewthe context and in whom the people believed.Zamini Nsibambi in Kawempe says: “The use ofcommunity volunteers in the programme was awell thought-out approach. The communities havetheir own dynamics and in order to fi t, you need agood introduction, which the volunteers had. Theyintroduced the programme and they educated theresidents to accept it and this contributed to itssuccess.” Community involvement was anotheraspect emphasised in the programme design andthe residents indeed selected their own volunteers.Hajat Rehema Watongola thus says: “Havingvolunteers, who were as common as anybody inthe community, come to teach about human rightsand human dignity also helped many to change.”And they provided a permanent presence: a villagecouncil chairperson in Butabala, Kamuli remarks:“While other organisations conducted activitieslike human rights awareness, they would come fora few days and then leave and come back aftersome other time, which was ineffective.”There were other factors for success too. One wasthe consistent support given to the volunteers,with regular re-training and collaboration from theprofessional and accessible programme staff. Allthe volunteers interviewed exhibited knowledgeof their roles and responsibilities: “The continuous20Working with Community Volunteers to Enhance theDecision-Making Powers of Women
training by FIDA empowered us to understand thelaw and to use it to empower communities. We cannow see the changes that are happening becauseof our work”, boasted Mr Kasiribiti of Kawempe.The continuous follow-up and refl ections allowedfor further sharing of experiences. The workingrelationship was productive and strengthenedthe volunteers’ confi dence, until they becamea reference points in their communities, whoseadvice was sought, including by Local Councillorswhen handling matters in their courts. The trainingand other communications materials also providedinformation for further reference and kept theminds of the volunteers alert. According to AnnNayiga, a volunteer in Kawempe, these materialshave been of great help, especially now that theprogramme offi ces have closed.Another contributory factor was the involvement ofmen in the programme, including infl uential maleoffi ce-holders and cultural leaders. The decisionat the outset to embrace men as communityvolunteers paid off, and evidence suggests thatmen are more effective in dealing with men, andwomen with women.Third, the collaborative referral system wascrucial to ensure the volunteers’ effectiveness.The programme introduced them to the differentlaw enforcement agents, including the policeand Local Council leaders, and the volunteersrecognised the importance of working withthem. One of the clan heads in Kamuli forinstance remarked that cultural leaders are nowmore respectful of women’s rights than before,because of their constant interaction with thevolunteers. Volunteers have found it fairly easyto refer cases, even to the courts. Paul Kavuma,a volunteer in Kawempe, also observes thatbeing a link between communities and otherservice providers resulted in clients referred bythe volunteers to these institutions being givenadequate attention. Lovinsa Kayaga in Kamuligives an example of this effective networking: “Inmost of the cases I handle, I seek the volunteers’advice and sometimes call them and we handlethe matter together. After they were trained,justice became possible for the woman becausethey were unbiased and objective. Many womenhave learnt to speak, the volunteers’ awarenesssessions encourage them because some of thesevolunteers are women and when they speak, menin the audience listen”.Several respondents pointed out the link withenforcement. According to the Kamuli DistrictChairperson, “Although there had been somehuman rights training in Kamuli, the FIDAProgramme brought in the enforcement aspect: ifone abused another’s right, the provisions of thelaw would actually be enforced, even by goingto court. This helps, especially in terms of childrights and inheritance. It also gave the womenconfi dence that there were laws that actuallyprotected them, rather than culture alone. It isnot enough to give knowledge without providingthe means to enjoy and protect such rights in apractical manner, which the volunteers and theprogramme staff provided and this created thedifference”. Fredric Mbuga, a Child Care Advocatein Kamuli shares a similar feeling: “Becausevolunteers are available and the communitiesknow that they are knowledgeable in matters oflaw, they listen to them and this has even madesome men change their behaviour for fear ofbeing taken to the volunteers”.Prospects for sustainabilityThe programme also worked on the assumptionthat volunteers would eventually constitutea community resource that would contributesignifi cantly to sustaining its outcomes. Oncethere was a critical mass of community resourcepersons with knowledge of the law and legal rightsof people affected by HIV and AIDS, then activitiessuch as will-making and dispute resolution in thecommunity would be sustained.With the programme closing, is this likely tohappen? While duty bearers and communityvolunteers may currently be active and supportive,it is not easy to predict their future attitude andenthusiasm and whether the Government willprovide the necessary fi nancial resources, as itsinvolvement has so far mostly been in respectto the referral system. In future, it is likely thatGovernment will have to be continuously lobbiedto provide equitable access to justice at the locallevel. Nevertheless, the programme worked inclose collaboration with other institutions and thesewill hopefully continue to provide a point of contactfor the volunteers and the community at large.All the same, there are signs that the motivationof some of the volunteers may diminish with time.Working with Community Volunteers to Enhance theDecision-Making Powers of Women21
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