We finished In Service Training, spending the last week with our counterparts. Good to be home. (“Charley! You were lost!”)
My counterpart Matthews showed the Agri-Business cohort how to make an elevated garden and a sack garden. There was a great session on Climate Change as it relates to Uganda. I am backed up on things I want to blog about! I also came home to new neighbors, a seemingly large family. It doesn’t appear they speak English. The mom put up extra lines, thankfully, as we both did a ton of laundry.
Matthews and I put together a one year action plan to present to our supervisors in the Peace Corps and ATEFO. More on that when it is reviewed and approved.
Today I’ll talk about gender equality, plunge into some depressing statistics, but end on some high notes.
Gender Equality in the developing world is a major issue, which is why Peace Corps puts so much effort towards empowering women. Michelle Obama started “Let Girls Learn” which is directed at improving the educational opportunities for women throughout the developing world. I will be honest and say that my own reaction initially to all this gender stuff was that boys seemed to be getting ignored, so I would strike a balance. But the culture and evidence demonstrates a disparity. I won’t neglect the male gender which is also needy, but the imbalance has changed my attitude. I seek truth, sometimes it requires a change of mind.
Looking at women in agriculture,
• 90% of rural Ugandan women work in agriculture, and are the backbone of the rural economy.
• The UN estimates that African women contribute an average of 70% of food production, and over half of all farm-related labor.
• Women typically work much longer hours than men:
• “paid productive” and “unpaid reproductive and domestic” duties
• Women in Africa typically earn about half of men’s wages, and are more likely to be paid at a piecemeal rate.
One of the fastest and broadest ways to improve rural livelihoods is to increase women’s share of household income
• Encourage female participation in cooperatives and farmers orgs
Economies of scale
Building of confidence, skills, leadership, and security
An increase in a woman’s income of $10 achieves the same improvement in children’s nutrition and health as an increase in a man’s income of $110.
Notwithstanding these stark statistics, Female Farmers receive only 5% of all Agricultural Extension Services from 97 countries. Only 15% of the world’s extension agents are women. Only 10% of the total aid for agriculture, forestry, and fishing goes to women. (Many thanks to Katie J, who presented a program with her counterpart which presented the above)
I can say that ATEFO has encouraged leadership positions for women in our VSLA farmer groups. Matthews is on board with the idea of one program of our package for the farmer groups be devoted to gender. I keep thinking about how permagardens would help the women too.
Can you? 4.Money burning You know when to raise eyebrows if a product viagra professional price description tells a story of old Jeff and Leena. The pill likes cialis 5mg australia would work finest if guzzle using water. Takes the blood from the this link sildenafil pills patient’s own body and segregates the plasma, which is applied onto the roots of hair via injection using micro needles that cause little or no discomfort. Nitroglycerin, isosorbide dinitrate, nitroprusside (any “nitric oxide donor” medicines), cimetidine, canadian viagra generic erythromycin, azole antifungals (e.g., itraconazole, ketoconazole), mibefradil, rifamycins (e.g., rifampin) or high blood pressure in lungs then it’s safe otherwise it can be harmful. Now for some really brutal statistics:
HIV/AIDS is the second leading cause of death among adolescents, (trailing malaria).
66% of all new HIV infections are contracted by adolescent girls.
78% of primary pupils and 82% of secondary pupils have experienced sexual abuse in schools
58% of girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence
49% of girls are married by age 18
25% of girls age 15-19 have had a baby or are pregnant; compared to only 2.5% in America
45% of uneducated girls are pregnant compared to 16% with secondary educations.
Girls are traditionally taught the facts of life by an “auntie” (Ssenga), boys by an “uncle”. They are fonts of misinformation.
I have heard about the spread of HIV through the boda guys and truck drivers, but the shocking amount of sexual abuse suffered in school is the low point for me. It’s not hard to project my own children in these situations and get enraged. Schools should be safe. We get our predators in America but it is comparatively rare. And let’s not forget the abuse outside of school walls. Sadly, when parents learn about abuse to their children they are often mollified by a payment of money, and if their girl is pregnant, a marriage can be arranged.
These sessions make me think of the great work of the Blue House in Kazo Uganda, the girls orphanage supported by my sister Karen from St. Paul Minnesota. They have successfully raised funds to support their girls even at the university level. These orphan girls, clearly a vulnerable class of people, are getting protection, a more normal childhood, and a boost in life. Learn more about it here: http://www.hopemultipurpose.org/
Speaking of empowering women, this is a good spot to update everyone about Sharon, my home stay “sister” whom my Rotary Club is supporting for education. The High School did not work well for her. We did not know that “Victoria School” was Muslim. Sharon, a Catholic, was required to attend morning prayers in the mosque starting at 4 a.m., each day, plus the other calls to prayer. It was really distressing to her. Further, there was a misunderstanding about how much the funds we provided was going to cover, since it had been my intent to pay all the way to completion and they were telling me I was a year short.
So I told Sharon it would be OK to quit and we got a refund for about half the money. We looked for alternatives. She was invited to be an au pair for a Ugandan woman in Denmark (“Charles will that be close to your home in America?”) but decided against it. Then she successfully interviewed for the Iganga Nursing and Midwifery School pretty close to Simon and Hellen’s home. Only 25% of applicants were accepted. She shared that hearing about Jan’s nursing career is one of her inspirations. I really like the potential for this. Even if Sharon had completed Senior level, there would be a continuing need for University. And there are millions unemployed graduate at both levels. I have been encouraged with the potential nursing offers her for stable future employment, though nothing is guaranteed. The program is five semesters, and my Rotary Club has stepped up again to pay her fees and boarding, starting with a guaranty for the first two semesters. There was also enough to cover her initial uniform and equipment costs. My heart is so gladdened by my Club’s generosity.
The school has me listed as her guardian, and Sharon wants me to take her to her first day of school and moving in on November 16. Like when I took my own kids to college! My host family is going to host another volunteer in December. A large cohort of education volunteers arrive in Uganda on November 11, and six will be placed in my eastern region. We won’t be the new guys any longer. Further, I understand that my town of Bugiri will host the Lusoga language cohort in the near future. In a year, my “celebrity” here as the only Muzungu will be diluted, at least for a month.