UGANDA: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS

UNCLAS KAMPALA 000388 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PREL KWMN KPAO AID UG SUBJECT: UGANDA: S/GWI PROJECT PROPOSALS REF: 09 STATE132094 ¶1. The U.S. Mission to Uganda submits the following two project proposals for consideration for the Office of Global Women's Issues (SGWI) Small Grants Initiative. The two projects are listed in priority order for funding. Definition of the Problem: ¶2. Women and girls in Uganda are marginalized socially, politically and economically and routinely are the victims of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV). The defilement of young girls by family members, neighbors, and teachers is common, with studies estimating that up to 25% of girls younger than 14 have been raped. Domestic violence rates are high, particularly in rural areas, with up to 30% of all women reporting physical abuse. ¶3. There has been some progress in the past year to combat these trends, through the passage of legislation providing greater protections for victims of domestic violence and trafficking in persons. The two projects described below aim to educate and empower women to improve their awareness of their civic rights as Ugandan citizens. In addition to the direct beneficiaries, the programs will have a significant and enduring impact on local communities and help move Uganda toward greater gender equality. Project 1: Promoting Women's Legal Rights: ¶4. The Ugandan Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-U) requests $100,000 to provide legal education and assistance to women victims of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) over 18 months. FIDA-U proposes to: provide paralegal training to 52 community health workers; conduct ten legal aid outreach events; produce a short documentary of SGBV survivor stories; and train 35 practicing lawyers on women's legal rights, particularly those covered under newly passed legislation. Para-legal Training for 52 Community Health Workers: FIDA-U will provide a three-day para-legal training to 52 staff members at a local hospital that has a client base of 600,000 people, 70% of whom are HIV positive. In many cases of domestic violence, rape or abuse, medical staff are the first and only contact the victims have with potential assistance. The training will underline the role and responsibility of the medical profession in curbing and mitigating violence, its responsibility to provide basic information and referrals and to explain the medical documentary 
evidence necessary for the successful prosecution of SGBV cases. The training will also provide basic legal information to the health care providers, including instruction on the recently passed Domestic Violence Bill. Series of 10 Human Rights Legal Clinics: These mobile legal clinics will take the law closer to communities to conduct basic legal rights training for women as a way to prevent ongoing abuses and to address women's legal issues. Short Documentary of SGBV Survivor Stories: The documentary will be used to sensitize the public to the abuses suffered by women in Uganda. The film will combine stories of abuse with audience discussion and legal professionals commentary. FIDA-U produced an effective anti human trafficking video that was used to sensitize the public and lobby for the passing of Uganda's anti-human trafficking bill last year. Training/Mentoring Women Lawyers on Human Rights Law: Women lawyers in Uganda have varying degrees of familiarity with international human rights standards and with Ugandan laws. FIDA-U will provide training to 35 women lawyers on the law, issues with enforcement and prosecution, and gaps that require reforms. At the lead University Human Rights and Gender are taught as post-graduate courses so many women lawyers have not even had a basic course on the issues. ¶5. The FIDA-U budget for this program is $110,000 but includes a $10,000 cost share. The budget is broken down into the following components: program coordinator/legal aid: $25,485; community health worker training: $24,829; human rights mobile legal clinics: $15,249; documentary production: $6,158; training for women lawyers: $7,848; end of project evaluation: 15,951. The complete proposal including a detailed budget is attached to this cable. ¶6. FIDA-U has a solid grant and program track record and the Mission believes the organization has the capacity to professionally carry out the project within the proposed 18 month performance period. FIDA-U's proposal and budget are attached. Project 2: Communities Against Violence and HIV/AIDS: ¶7. The Uganda Muslim Supreme Council - Women's Desk (UMSC-WD) requests $65,534 for a train the trainer program to educate and empower 3,300 women over 12 months. The projects will provide modular training to 33 district coordinators in four topic areas: HIV counseling and prevention; domestic violence and women's rights; income generating activities; and parenting. The 33 district coordinators will then establish/support four community peer support groups in their respective districts and offer 4 sessions covering the four topic areas to the women in each community peer support group. The 528 community training sessions will be offered to women of all faiths in 33 of Uganda's 90+ districts. The UMSC-WD expects that the 132 community peer support groups will continue function as a community level group and as a entry point for information on women's and gender issues beyond the end of the 12 month period of performance. ¶8. The UMSC-WD $65,534 budget contains a modest stipend request for the national coordinator and an administrative assistant, but otherwise relies on the volunteer support of the district coordinators and the peer support group leaders they will recruit within their districts. The budget has the following components: labor: $5,884, consultative meeting $1,309; training and workshops: $36,771; community mobilization: $3017; monitoring and evaluation: $9326. The UMSC-WD proposal and detailed budget are attached to this cable. ¶9. The UMSC was established in 1972 and is an umbrella organization for all Muslim associations and organizations in Uganda, with representation in 33 of Uganda's 90+ districts, including more than 8,000 village mosques. (Note: Uganda's Muslim population is estimated at 12%). UMSC-WD was established in June 2009 and has less experience in formal project implementation and grant management, however Post has interviewed both its national coordinator and the coordinator of the overarching Human Rights department and believes that the organization will effectively carry out the proposed program. UMSC's Human Rights desk has proven capable in managing grants received from the Mission. Post believes this is a good opportunity to increase the capacity of the UMSC-WD to promote the rights of some of the most marginalized women in Uganda, and to promote inter-faith interaction at the community level. ¶10. Management note: The Mission's small grants office currently manages $70,000 in self help grants and $350,000 in PEPFAR small grants. Self help grants normally do not exceed $10,000, and PEPFAR grants are capped at $25,000. If either of the two projects above are funded at the requested amounts, Post may need to use some of the funding to help manage an additional grant of this size. Pol/Econ Officer Trevor Olson is the Mission's point of contact for this submission. End note. LANIER