UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT

It may not be easy for an ordinary man to understand what conflict is in local community public speaking. Its very interesting that our parents took us to school learn. People learn and excel but how do we rewards our parents apart from one kilogram of sugar? Its quite healthy to analyze certain issues in local languages, which in most case have been found to be deeper than English. For some one to learn well, he/she should first understand the concept in his own local language. In most cases African educated people tend to even mix vernacular with English when speaking to their parents who may not understand the meaning.

In this aspect Life in Africa Kireka is begging to translate these common English words into local language (luo) in this respect, the community members will be learning. For example there are these terminologies:

“Thawi” meaning quarreling
“ kigesa” meaning complaining
“kale” meaning okay
“Tich acheil” meaning Monday
“sabiti” meaning Sunday

And so on and so forth. These are very common words in our daily speeches that our community needs to understand well.

Back to the topic, one may need to know if conflict is normal, unusual or if it occurs.

In my perspective, conflict occurs in all relationships and it occurs at all levels ie, international, national, community, domestic and personal level. It might be good but if not handled properly may end into negative results. This is one of the biggest challenges in our communities that those leading the communities should learn how handle or to resolve peacefully and this is what life in Africa kireka strives to discuss with its community members.

It’s not easy to separate the people from the problem or conflict but how do we do it? People develop conflicts every one other time depending on many factors that surrounding them. Some time I think conflict develops as a result of stress. It’s truly essential to develop tools that will help in the process of separating the people from the problem or conflict. This is very important because may make do not mistake each other for being the conflict, which only leads to fighting each other instead of fighting the conflict or problem.

With this common understanding of conflict or problem, there is need to be soft on the people but hard on the problem. But one may ask what some of these tools are? To solve the problem, know the cause. In this respect the first tool here would be dream game, belief me or not try ask your friend what his dream is and hear if does not tell you about dreaming for good things only.. such as being able to have enough food, having security, more children completing higher education and getting into gainful employment, reduced death from voice and thousands of good things human being can ever talk of.


Another interesting tool I would think of is the human knot game, one time try to ask people to join their hands and form a circle. Ask for the few to act as observers. choose to fall in and out of the game as a leader they will follow you joyfully but let them entangle into a completed human knot ask them to restore the circle it may not be easy to reverse the process. We may therefore understand that conflicts begin simply but becomes hard to manage later. And also conflict needs analysis and cooperation of those involved because you may realize that from the observer’s perspective, some people are in great pain during the conflict and as a matter of fact even the leader of the game gets caught up in the conflict. Let conflict not get on your way and if does how do go about?

THE BEST GIFT FOR A CHILD

The twentieth war in northern Uganda is one of the unfortunate activity still living in the minds of people who directly affected by it or those who witnessed and indeed those who read and watch as journalists present on media and other stake holders who take interest in creating awareness. It may just even one day to disorganize and destroy what is already put in place but it may take many different steps and years to reconstruct it or to put things back together. Bring back people’s memories back to normal from bad happening is yet another difficult task. Human beings memorize bad events longer than good events. Americans will never forget about their twin towers and I wonder whether it has been reconstructed!

With reference to Osama Bin lad en’s brutality on the world trade center which lasted for just few hours, one may think it took him centuries and yet it was just a run and hit tactics but is one of the world’s biggest record known to any living creature on earth. In comparison to Joseph Kony’s twenty years insurgency in northern Uganda, then one can guess its negative impacts on the civilian innocent people. The rights of the people have been denied from all aspects of life, including the right to live and to live where one wants to, education and many others.

Much as Uganda says that its backbone depends mainly on agriculture, any Ugandan following my blogs will agree that the biggest percentage was coming from northern Uganda with cotton the leading cash crop. Cotton growing is becoming history with few growers in the east and that is why probably the textile industries in eastern Uganda is doubt able whether still exists. Though there are many factors for the disappearance of such industries in eastern Uganda but partly as a result of agricultural set back in the north. This therefore has distorted education system in that region in many ways. One which is that people have developed mental problems, secondly the physical structures are destroyed and most importantly no economic activities taking place. People were used to selling their cash crops to get money for their children’s fees but is not the case as I point fingers to this keyboard!

Apart from educational hardships, the majority are unable to get basic needs of life because they lack economic activities or jobs either because there is still fear resettle back home or the job that they would do requires certain skills that is lacking. All these can not be solved in one day and but there should be some thing done to overcome it. You will also realize that there is education hardship because most of the children are either orphans whose parents became victims of the war or war related negative impacts and now living with extended families who may be old/elder persons that needed to be cared for instead!! Some have their parents whom I may say young parents who became parents as a result of forced marriages because they were war victims. Others may not be war victims but engaged in early marriages just to make ends meet. It’s very true that education can delay marriages but if some body is not educated, can marry at the age of 13. The law of Uganda allows a persons to get married when 18 and above but those who went to school think about marriage when they are 30 and above. And one will agree with me that uneducated/poor people are more fertile than the elites/rich. In otherwise, there is no reason for family planning.

How should these problems be solved? Well, Life in Africa Kireka is concerned about these issues and that is why it has come up as a grass root organization to see how they can help themselves. These are members comprising of the displaced persons living in the outskirt of Acholi quarters Kampala. They believe education is the best gift for any child. As organized displaced people, crafts making has become the economic activity in this temporary place but we think beyond that.

poverty highlights

Poverty is a very serious cancer in more especially the developing world. Any yet this problem can be solved. poverty is lack of knowledge,ability, cooperation and spirit of helping each other to come out from this problem. No body wants to be poor but how can one come out of this? The only way is the organizations,government to join hands and identify those organized communities who doing some thing and supported in their activities that income generating.

Thanks to the willing hearts to and to those who are making donations be it financial,or through sensitization on how to deal with poverty.

Who is a Hero?

Many people understand hero differently, some look at the political heroes only but I have understood in my own way, Any body can be a hero to some one depending on how that person changed your life, community,or even the counrty. and funny enough every political leader will call him/herself a hero. a sport ster will be a hero to sport funs. and some one may forget that before you look at external heroes, one should look heroes internally. To me, my first hero are parents whom without them I would not be existing. Thanks to all my heroes who made me what am now.

But some times there are some external heroes who are even more than the internal ones, they change people's livies positively, the communities, such persons are should be remembered in our minds depending on how they changed us.