Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ADDISABABA2872
2009-12-07 14:18:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Addis Ababa
Cable title:  

NOMINATION FOR THE 2010 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR

Tags:  PREL KPAO KWMN PHUM AU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDS #2872 3411418
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 071418Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7062
UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002872 

SIPDIS

FOR S/GWI AND AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO KWMN PHUM AU
SUBJECT: NOMINATION FOR THE 2010 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE

FROM AMBASSADOR MICHAEL BATTLE, USAU
UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 002872

SIPDIS

FOR S/GWI AND AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KPAO KWMN PHUM AU
SUBJECT: NOMINATION FOR THE 2010 SECRETARY'S AWARD FOR
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE

FROM AMBASSADOR MICHAEL BATTLE, USAU

1. The United States Mission to the African Union (USAU) wishes to
nominate Sergeant Angela Nyakeyo for the 2010 Secretary's Award for
International Women of Courage. Sergeant Nyakeyo is serving in the
African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM),a critical mission that
is trying to restore peace and stability in what is arguably one of
the most dangerous war zones in the world.

2. Sergeant Nyakeyo is a 57-year-old Registered Nurse serving with
one of the battalions that her country, Uganda, has contributed to
AMISOM. The Ugandan and Burundian battalions that are deployed in
Mogadishu, Somalia, currently total some 5,284 personnel, and
approximately 5 percent of those forces are women.

3. When Sergeant Nyakeyo deployed to Mogadishu, she expected to care
for wounded and sick AMISOM troops exclusively. The AMISOM Force
Medical Officer in Mogadishu informed USAU that Sergeant Nyakeyo has
actually played a major role in helping the local population and
improving the image of AMISOM in Mogadishu. On her own initiative
and urging, she set up a ward to treat working Somali women with
obstetric fistula. It is, in fact, the only facility in Somalia
capable of treating fistula cases.

4. Notwishtanding the incredibly austere conditions and frequent IED
explosions and mortar attacks around the camp, Sergeant Nyakeyo has
assisted in the operation of 50 fistula patients in the war-ravaged
region of Mogadishu. These operations are futile if there is no
proper post-operative care. This post-operative care involves daily
dressing of wounds for those Somali women who have undergone
abdominal surgery, changing of diapers, and bladder training. In
addition, the women need to be counseled about post-operative issues
that may arise, including the risks of resuming sexual intercourse
prematurely. Sergeant Nyakeyo took the time to counsel Somali women
who had undergone fistula repair. She also provided them with mats
to weave during their recovery period.

5. According to the AMISOM Force Medical Officer, Somali women with
fistula are often abandoned by their husbands and become jobless
social outcasts. Through her actions, Sergeant Nyakeyo, working
with AMISOM's fistular surgeon, has helped challenge a harmful
cultural practice and also has promoted the rights of young Somali
women facing unimaginable odds.

6. The USAU believes that Sergeant Nyakeyo is highly deserving of
consideration for the 2010 Secretary's Award for International Women
of Courage. She embodies the tremendous dedication and courage that
the entire AMISOM force has demonstrated under fire. In honoring
Sergeant Nyakeyo, the U.S. Government, which already has gone to
great lengths to support the AMISOM peacekeeping troops
logistically, financially, and politically, would be paying tribute
to all the women who make tremendous sacrifices during times of
conflict.

7. BIODATA
Name: Angela Mary Nyakeyo
Job Title: Registered Nurse, African Union Mission in Somalia
Date of Birth: 10 Oct 1952
Country of Birth: Uganda
Citizenship: Ugandan
Contact information: Mogadishu Air Base, Medina District; home
address is Sendawikus Nyakasosa, Nagongera, Kirewa, Tororo District;
phone number is +25215797337; e-mail is
angelamarynyakeyo@yahoo.co.uk
Passport Number: B0773303
Language: English, Swahili, Luganda, Luo, Runyankole, Rukiga
MUSHINGI