San Francisco UNAA Forum on northern Uganda cautiously optimistic
Sep 02, 2007
There is reason to hope for better days in northern Uganda, delegates attending the weekend UNAA convention in San Francisco, California heard Saturday morning. The upbeat message came amidst calls for the government of Uganda to step up involvement in the orderly return home of residents of intern
By Opiyo Oloya
There is reason to hope for better days in northern Uganda, delegates attending the weekend UNAA convention in San Francisco, California heard Saturday morning. The upbeat message came amidst calls for the government of Uganda to step up involvement in the orderly return home of residents of internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda. The panel made up of Dr. George Otto (Toronto), Dr. Aya Okello Lagony (San Francisco), Chief Executive Officer, Invisible Children Ben Keesey (Spring Valley, California), Opiyo Oloya (Toronto), Gulu Chairman Norbert Mao and Presidential Assistant-In charge of Northern Richard Todwong addressed a packed room that included two Uganda cabinet ministers.
The forum chaired by Professor Ben Abe (Seattle, Washington) heard about the changes on the ground in northern Uganda generally and in the Acholi sub-region. Mr. Mao was optimistic about finding permanent peace. He cited as reason for hope the credible mediator in the peace process, the involvement of the international community in the peace process, and the involvement of the local communities in the process. He blamed sporadic spate of violence to a few people with guns using them to loot and rob. “The real security threat in Gulu District is from those who use illegal guns to rob others—who think that the gun is their ATMâ€, said Mao.
The forum also heard that challenges remain in northern Uganda, especially in education and health sectors that posed serious barriers to return to normalcy. The Acholi sub-region suffer from chronic teacher shortage, absenteeism, shortage of funds, and limited resources, the audience was told. In addition, the few operational clinics lack the very basic equipment to conduct medical examinations and give treatment, added Dr. Otto, a medical practitioner in Toronto who grew up in Pader district.
A similar forum at last year’s UNAA Convention sparked heated debate on what was happening on the ground. However, the focus this year was on finding practical solutions to the on-going crisis. The general consensus appeared to be that some progress has been made in the one year that there has been relative peace, although a lot more needs to be done to bring lasting change.
A second forum organized to addressed concerns about the on-going northern Uganda crisis from the perspective of community groups was moved to a later timeslot because of the extended address by vice-president Gilbert Bukenya.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem, Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Professor Tarsis Kabwegyere, and former Omoro MP Jacob Oulanyah attended the one hour meeting.
There is reason to hope for better days in northern Uganda, delegates attending the weekend UNAA convention in San Francisco, California heard Saturday morning. The upbeat message came amidst calls for the government of Uganda to step up involvement in the orderly return home of residents of internally displaced persons camps in northern Uganda. The panel made up of Dr. George Otto (Toronto), Dr. Aya Okello Lagony (San Francisco), Chief Executive Officer, Invisible Children Ben Keesey (Spring Valley, California), Opiyo Oloya (Toronto), Gulu Chairman Norbert Mao and Presidential Assistant-In charge of Northern Richard Todwong addressed a packed room that included two Uganda cabinet ministers.
The forum chaired by Professor Ben Abe (Seattle, Washington) heard about the changes on the ground in northern Uganda generally and in the Acholi sub-region. Mr. Mao was optimistic about finding permanent peace. He cited as reason for hope the credible mediator in the peace process, the involvement of the international community in the peace process, and the involvement of the local communities in the process. He blamed sporadic spate of violence to a few people with guns using them to loot and rob. “The real security threat in Gulu District is from those who use illegal guns to rob others—who think that the gun is their ATMâ€, said Mao.
The forum also heard that challenges remain in northern Uganda, especially in education and health sectors that posed serious barriers to return to normalcy. The Acholi sub-region suffer from chronic teacher shortage, absenteeism, shortage of funds, and limited resources, the audience was told. In addition, the few operational clinics lack the very basic equipment to conduct medical examinations and give treatment, added Dr. Otto, a medical practitioner in Toronto who grew up in Pader district.
A similar forum at last year’s UNAA Convention sparked heated debate on what was happening on the ground. However, the focus this year was on finding practical solutions to the on-going crisis. The general consensus appeared to be that some progress has been made in the one year that there has been relative peace, although a lot more needs to be done to bring lasting change.
A second forum organized to addressed concerns about the on-going northern Uganda crisis from the perspective of community groups was moved to a later timeslot because of the extended address by vice-president Gilbert Bukenya.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Henry Okello Oryem, Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness Professor Tarsis Kabwegyere, and former Omoro MP Jacob Oulanyah attended the one hour meeting.