“So
often young girls and women have been raped along the dark community roads,
with no one to rescue them but we are certain that with the opening of these
community access roads more people will get to use them, security will be
enhanced and less of such cases shall be reported” thus remarked the women
of Aketo Kuma Women group in Paibona, Awach Sub county, Gulu District.
Aketo Kuma women group is an empowered and vibrant group under
GWED-G geared at promoting the observance of human rights through conducting
community led human rights initiatives on issues concerning the community
especially women and girls. With support from IDF the group through GWED–G has
been able to continuously promote women’s rights and gender equality, and also use
the different human rights instruments to demand for socio-economic rights and
cause positive change in their sub county.
Having raised the issue in the
previous quarter to their leaders, the women continued to follow up, remind and
pressurise their leaders to rehabilitate the road in question. In response to
their plea, Awach Sub County leadership contracted Got
Apwoyo Engineering and Construction Company to rehabilitate the road. Currently
work is going on and will be completed soon.
Field monitoring visits of the road observed good progress of the work,
active and functional graders and caterpillars doing their last grading.
The group’s activism has restored hope amongst the locals,
and also made the leaders and GWED-G proud of the women’s contribution to
development in the area. According to the LCIII Chairman he is
happy that the women mounted pressure on them because they have finally been
able to address a long standing issue that could even have even cost him his political
ground. “‘I had even feared to reach out and sensitize the community in Paibona
because all issues and questions would be about this road” he revealed.
It is clear that GWED-G activism is being felt in the
community; this was evidenced in the overwhelming turn up of the citizens for
the community dialogues held this quarter in Paibona village. Besides the road
project, the community is grateful to IDF/GWED-G for it’s continued efforts in
empowering women with knowledge on human rights issues and economic
sustainability. Reports indicate that this has encouraged other women to form groups
and demand for human rights education trainings.
