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Three American Students share their internship experiences at FOWODE
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I specifically put a section that states ‘promotions would be
intrinsically linked to performance reviews and criteria’. Although it
seems more of a general human resource policy issue, I found in my
research that without this provision, staff can get promotions for
anything, and women are often overlooked when they are not based
on written qualifications and demonstrated work.
list of everyone’s overtime and seeing firsthand how much
FOWODE employees work, I felt the need to add a provision
encouraging family and privates lives by limiting work weeks to 40
hours. I was not completely sure how that would fit into FOWODE’s
operation, so I added several options for encouraging well-rounded
employees, including flexible working hours, overtime pay, and
earned vacation time for all overtime worked. I created a section
concerning parents that I thought would be utterly liberal and may
even create tension with the staff. I specified that mothers should
have six weeks for maternity leave. The staff pushed for 60 days. I
was very happy with all the things that FOWODE already provides
in these terms, especially for lactating mothers. Women are given
time off each day to breastfeed for 4-6 months. This would never
happen in the United States, and I consider it very progressive and
good for mothers, families and the community as a whole. Overall, I
was pretty happy with how the first draft turned out, the willingness
of the employees and also their willingness to let me attempt to write
it and run a meeting even though I was only an intern.
I participated in the joint listening in of the 2012/13 national budget
speech that was organized by FOWODE for various civil society
organizations. I found it interesting that so many NGOs gather to
listen and discuss the upcoming year’s budget. They come together
and share information, excitement and disappointments over
government pronouncements for the next financial year yet most
non-profits in America suffer silently alone as they are emailed their
government contributions (if any) for the next year.
The budget speech was really interesting and informative for me. It
helped me learn and think and learn so much about how Uganda
does development and where FOWODE fits into that scheme.
Whereas in Uganda issues, such as better roads, seem to be
constantly on the budget, year after year without improvement,
America seems to flip flop continually about what projects are
important. One day insurance companies are mandated to cover birth
control; the next Planned Parenthood is getting defunded entirely.
Although we were included in many staff meetings, the big budget
meeting was the most insightful for me as an outsider in Uganda. I
got to see in detail how the government makes priorities. It was also
really great for Julius to come speak with us after the budget was
announced to explain things and answer questions.
I also had a chance to visit one of the districts where FOWODE
implements her programs, my time in Kibaale district was an
invaluable experience. I was able to see a different side of Uganda
than the busy city of Kampala. I got to see the road conditions for
myself; only then could I really understand what the Village Budget
Clubs were up against, and how their struggle with infrastructure
issues really affects their lives on a daily basis. Even after all of my
research, I only had a true picture of the VBCs after I visited a group
of them and was able to watch the process unfold. I will say again
how impressive this program is, and how impassioned the
participants are. Not only do the VBCs bring real, measurable
changes to the community and government, but the members
become empowered and are changing their own lives as well. I have
never been particularly interested in politics or the democratic
process, but seeing the villagers come together to fight for
themselves has inspired me to be more involved as well.
I thought the support by FOWODE would be greater, but the
members seem to be taking charge of the clubs and their mission
themselves. This is what will keep this program going far into the
future. They are pushing to get more training so they can train others
without needing FOWODE’s assistance. They want cameras so they
may conduct monitoring visits on their own. They have maintained
operational budgets by offering microloans,
My major assignment was drafting FOWODE’s gender policy which
would be an addendum to the human resources manual that governs
staff at FOWODE. Originally, based on my research,
Many people in the U.S. think that if Uganda needs help, they need
food, clothes and mosquito nets. If someone asked me now, I would
say Uganda is striving to create more infrastructure, better education
and healthcare for its citizens, and better working
government officials. By infrastructure, I mean roads,
access to clean water, access to loans, and systems to
check and balance those in positions of power. That
budget speech helped me think about things more
deeply, such as, “Yes, growing more tea for export
will bring in more for the gross national product, but
people also need to keep growing food to feed the
population.” Or “Taxing alcohol does raise money for
the government, but how will that negatively impact
rural farmers who grow the products that make the
alcohol?” Not to mention that they are raising the tax
on cosmetics, which seems trivial, until you realize
that these taxes only impact women, who are expected
to wear makeup in the workplace.
Their ideas about financially sustaining themselves are ingenious.
This is not just flattery. The VBC program is innovative, and more
than that, it is effectively furthering FOWODE’s mission. My time
in the field was a highlight of my internship.
My internship coincided with FOWODE’s Leadership building
Camp. I attended it for two days and I was instantly impressed with
the professionalism of the young women as they gave speeches and
seemed to be genuinely working to learn the concepts presented for
the day. However, I think it is important that while FOWODE trains
these young leaders, it takes extra care to vet each speaker
beforehand, and only hire teachers who are also completely in
congruence with FOWODE’s mission and vision. While people are
learning about gender issues for the first time and looking up to these
people, it is imperative that they are getting accurate and
empowering information from them. It upset me to see someone in
authority that just perpetuated the stereotypes and traditional gender
roles that FOWODE is attempting to transform.
Overall, my time at FOWODE was short but eye opening. Being
able to learn about how they are engaging in women’s issues in
Uganda also helped me to look at Uganda’s culture and traditions,
not just from a feminist or American lens, but from a humanistic
one. I got to spend time with the staff that explained the culture to
me and shed light on some of the differences in Uganda that I did not
previously understand. Although the programs are amazing,
FOWODE’s staff is really the greatest asset. They are dedicated to
the women’s movement; it was apparent in the way they talked about
their projects and where they wanted to see the organization go in
the future.
I was able to get a feel for what it would be like to work for a non-
profit full time, and a taste of what professional writers do. In the
end, I appreciated that I was able to make the projects what I thought
they should be so that I could learn through experience and not just
follow a set of instructions. There was a lot to learn in such a short
and I am excited to continue following FOWODE’s work in Uganda.
By Trinity Overmyer
“Many people in the U.S.
think that if Uganda needs help, they need
food, clothes and mosquito nets. If
someone asked me now, I would say Uganda is
striving to create more infrastructure, better
education and healthcare for its citizens and better
working government officials”.
My experience at FOWODE
This is my personal experiences at Forum for Women in Democracy
(FOWODE) during a three-week internship in July 2012. I relay my
experience with FOWODE projects and how they fit into the greater
mission of the organization, as well as how these assignments and l
experiences relate to where FOWODE is moving in the future.
I thought this document was going to be a
20 page report on how FOWODE does
gender in the larger community, including
overviews of all of their projects, past,
current and future but it turned out to be an
overwhelming task. I reviewed the
organization HIV/AIDS work place policy
and the Human Resource policy and once I
understood the general format that they
were looking for, I began to research
women’s rights organizations and other
Ugandan organizations to see what was
currently being offered, and where the
global standard was heading.
On my first day I was assured that I would get a lot of different
hands on experience both in the office and the field. I was
provided with reading materials and publications to introduce me
to FOWODE and also help me to understand what type of
activism they represent, and the typical types of outcomes their
work has seen in the past. Along with reading the publications, I
attended meetings in which team members attempted to evaluate
what changes had been made and what new programs would be
addressed in the coming period. I felt this system was an
innovative and interesting way to keep all staff engaged and
accountable for their actions towards the organization. Reading
previous publications, attending meetings was a great way to be
introduced into the organization. I had the opportunity to learn
about goals, programs and structures before I really started diving
into the project Julius had provided me. I felt both comfortable
and accepted which easily allowed me to start working on the
project to read, interpret, and make adjustments to FOWODE’s
Gender Budget Program Manual for Community Budget
Monitoring and Tracking (CBM&T).
For my second project, I together with other interns from the
Purdue group, visited different districts of Uganda to assist with
the Village Budget Club Monitoring Visit and to also interview
community members that were both involved and not in the
Village Budget Clubs (VBC’s). The VBC is compromised of men
and women in villages. FOWODE starts by going into
communities looking for concerned members who want to see
change and progress. Those people then become the first trained to
recruit and run the VBC once FOWODE leaves. Community
members are trained in budget reading, rights of community
members, and laws that regulate local government budget
allocation. The hope of FOWODE is that the clubs will provide a
legal backing to advocacy and activism in the communities so that
issues around development can be changed. FOWODE acts in this
program under the assumption that by teaching men and women
how to work with the Local governments and budgets that women
will see equitable change and communities overall will benefit.
I traveled to Gulu, the trip gave me a chance to see the region that
has been devastated by war and other issues. We had an interpreter
and this was important because in the districts native languages
are spoken more often than English and especially with those
community members who are older. In the Northern region of
Uganda, June is farming season. This was true with Gulu and as
such we started our meeting in the afternoon to allow men and
women who work in the mornings to come in once the day
becomes too hot. It took us approximately thirty minutes to reach
the community by truck and when we pulled up to Labora Center,
the women stood to greet us by song and dance. The excitement
and anticipation from both I and the community members was
amazing and overwhelming. I was thankful that they were so
willing to let me into their meeting to share ideas and experiences
with someone they had just met. We shook hands with everyone
there (approximately 30 men and women of different ages and
physical abilities) and were asked to sit in nice chairs for the
meeting to begin (which was a personal struggle for me while the
other women sat on a tarp on the ground simply because I desired
so much to join them to experience the VBC from those women’s
eyes). The FOWODE official talked about FOWODE’s exist
strategy explaining that FOWODE may not always have the
funding to keep the VBC’s going and that by turning themselves
into a Community Based Organization (CBO) with legal power
and authority to fundraise for themselves, the community could
continue to work and move forward without the regulations and
governance that FOWODE has to this point required. I witnessed
fear and trepidation in the many faces, both male and female, of
the community members as this message was conveyed to them.
I had interviews with community members, both men and women
that were part of the VBC. The individuals spoke of pride and self-
efficacy in learning about what a budget was how to read one, and
how to hold their local governments accountable to it. Since
FOWODE has instituted the VBC in Gulu, the community has
seen a variety of changes and improvements. One major change
seen is the improved health care and the community is hopeful that
a new and closer health center will be soon built. There has been a
decrease in young girls dropping out of schools partially because
of greater teacher commitment but also because the VBC has been
able to open a line of communication between child-parent-and
teachers at every level. New and better wells have now been
drilled, and overall sanitation in the markets has increased. Other
improvements that community members were proud to speak of
included decreased domestic violence and women now owning
property such as animals. Women often use the profits from their
animals to help pay for children’s school fees so they do not have
to drop out. Everyone was positive and quick to claim that because
of the VBC their lives had changed. All community members
spoke of a desire to continue their work with FOWODE in any
capacity.
On our way back to Gulu town, we took many of the community
members in the back of our truck to drop them off closer to their
homes. That simple action was a welcomed relief to the women
because many walk a minimum of two or three kilometers to
attend the VBC meetings. We were informed about the distance
many members have to travel to reach the sub-county office when
an issue arises, it was estimated the distance was no less than
seven kilometers if not more and this affects especially the
members with disability and the elderly who want to join.
We attended an interface meeting where the community speaks
with and brings issues to light with the district field officials.
Again because of the farming we had to wait for more members to
show up. As we waited, one of the leaders took us to the local
clinic where we spoke to the nurse there about issues she saw with
the community and what the clinic’s needs were which weren’t
currently being met by the government. It was interesting to hear
her side of the issue because she claimed to be unaware of the
VBC and had many needs that weren’t being met by the
government that all related to funding (something the VBC had
felt they were being successful on). After that meeting with the
nurse, the community leader explained to us that the village we
were in was once a displacement camp from the war and that over
27,000 Ugandan’s were living there at one point in time and the
only medical center available to them was the one we had just left.
That clinic contained one consultation room, one exam room and
one surgical room. Clearly it wasn’t enough back then to help the
community either. Today, only about 3,000 villagers are left but it
was an overwhelming experience and realization that many if not
most of the men and women I had and would be speaking with at
one point experienced the war in some fashion yet there they were
fighting to find empowerment and strength.
My experience at FOWODE
“On our way back to Gulu town, we took many of
the community members in the back of our truck to drop them off closer to their homes. That
simple action was a welcomed relief to the women because many walk a minimum of two or three
kilometers to attend the VBC meetings”.
I talked to two non-members of the VBC who had heard of their
work has aspiration to join and help their communities more. Here
again it was moving to see the positive effects of FOWODE’s
work being so affective that more men and women are trying to
join and commit to the empowerment of women and gender
equity. Before my trip up to Gulu I struggled to connect being
knowledgeable about the local government’s budget with giving
women freedoms and leadership within the community. I was
clearly wrong and happily so, it was inspiring to know the
differences and impacts made on a community by simply learning
how to speak and follow up with local leaders. What inspired me
the most was the decrease in domestic violence and the increase in
respect men in the community provided to women. I never would
have thought those two things would have a cause-and-effect
interaction. It was amazing to see in person how the actions of
FOWODE are helping women move forward at the local (micro)
level. During a programs meeting back at FOWODE head office,
it became clear why FOWODE interviews community members.
Without those efforts FOWODE has no way of showing how
affective the programs are but to prove also that there is still more
required to support communities to establish themselves
effectively in this accountability work.
I attended the annual reading of the National Budget which
included a post reaction conversation where FOWODE and other
NGO’s discussed the lack of funding going towards gender issues.
It was shocking to see the obvious lack of gender equality
consideration when it came to the National Budget.
Working with FOWODE for my three week internship was a very
positive experience. Unlike some of the other NGO’s students
from Purdue worked with, FOWODE seemed well established and
were able to provide resources to the interns that helped us to
easily accomplish the tasks set before us. I felt that there was
support at multiple levels to complete my projects. I apparently
had missed the meeting in which FOWODE laid out their
expectations for us in the internship but Lauren Coleman told me
that a main objective was for us, as interns, to learn and observe as
much as possible in our three weeks with the organization. Not
only was I able to accomplish this through the projects I assisted
with but also through daily conversations and attending staff
meetings. FOWODE was good at exposing the many different
levels of work done by NGO’s and I was able to appreciate all the
works and struggles that all NGO’s go through with being taken
seriously in the public, working under the restrictions provided by
donors, and still attempting to change the gender inequity of
Uganda.
By Lauren Coleman
Using art
gender
change, progress and liberation.
renowned Uganda feminist, Solome Nakaweesi
feminism, and what it meant to the girls at the program.
activity. This meant placing cards on the floor ranging from “
“strongly disagree”. The young women were then asked to respond with their opinions on specific topics.
FOWODE had put together the
assignment was to help FOWODE achieve its advocacy objective of communication. I
FOWODE utilize fine arts and graphic design to raise awareness about this issue to everyday people, promote
family planning, female leaders
and illustrated books, also using English and local languageand illustrated books, also using English and local language
page graphic novel, and several small
The poster displayed a young black woman with hair that held the history of her life. It showed parents
a girl to school and a female parliamentarian. The poster
and access to resources. For the poster, I
leadership. The two-page graphic novel broke down the family planning advocacy packet into simpler forms.
In focusing on common ideas of equal access to resources and awareness, I helped FOWODE follow its dedication to women’s rights.
In terms of effectiveness, there were some positive results and some frustrations.
and in a newsletter, which was amazing
During my Study Abroad to Uganda, I
organization
that FOWODE
politics. There also is a strong focus on pursing these rights on both a
local and glob
programs: The Gender Budget Program and
Program.
During my internship
camp and witnessed several activities
to think critically by having them
They debated
positive or harmful influence to the Ugandan
people. It was fascinating to watch them
debate, regardless of what side of the issue
they were placed on.
that feminism is causing single mothers,
ruining African tradition and
nuisance. The opposing side would argue for
t to promote
r equality...
change, progress and liberation. My favorite part of the Women and Leadership Program was listening to
renowned Uganda feminist, Solome Nakaweesi-Kimbugwe. Solome presented her
inism, and what it meant to the girls at the program. She invited the girls to join her
activity. This meant placing cards on the floor ranging from “strongly agree,
The young women were then asked to respond with their opinions on specific topics.
the Communication and Advocacy Strategy on
FOWODE achieve its advocacy objective of communication. I
ts and graphic design to raise awareness about this issue to everyday people, promote
family planning, female leadership and empower women. This would be through creating posters, pamphlets,
and illustrated books, also using English and local language. For the family planning packet, I designed one and illustrated books, also using English and local language. For the family planning packet, I designed one finished poster
several small illustrations, which could be used as
he poster displayed a young black woman with hair that held the history of her life. It showed parents
a girl to school and a female parliamentarian. The poster read, “Strong mothers make strong leaders” to encourage women’s
and access to resources. For the poster, I wanted to make a connection between family
page graphic novel broke down the family planning advocacy packet into simpler forms.
ommon ideas of equal access to resources and awareness, I helped FOWODE follow its dedication to women’s rights.
there were some positive results and some frustrations.
a newsletter, which was amazing
During my Study Abroad to Uganda, I worked alongside FOWODE
organization that works for women’s rights. My first
t FOWODE is committed to women’s rights, especially concerning
politics. There also is a strong focus on pursing these rights on both a
local and global level. The organization works on two
rams: The Gender Budget Program and the Leadership Building
. (There are also a multitude of other side projects as well.
my internship I attended a full day of the women and
and witnessed several activities. The program encouraged the girls
to think critically by having them role play a court scenario
They debated whether feminism was a
positive or harmful influence to the Ugandan
people. It was fascinating to watch them
debate, regardless of what side of the issue
they were placed on. The girls would argue
that feminism is causing single mothers,
ruining African tradition and a general
nuisance. The opposing side would argue for
“
subjective in Uganda, and it was
western standards using Ugandan
methods. FOWODE was
where My favorite part of the Women and Leadership Program was listening to
Kimbugwe. Solome presented her lecture on African
She invited the girls to join her social experiment
strongly agree, agree undecided, disagree” and
The young women were then asked to respond with their opinions on specific topics.
on Family Planning in Uganda and my
FOWODE achieve its advocacy objective of communication. I wanted to help
ts and graphic design to raise awareness about this issue to everyday people, promote
be through creating posters, pamphlets,
the family planning packet, I designed one the family planning packet, I designed one finished poster
could be used as and when needed.
he poster displayed a young black woman with hair that held the history of her life. It showed parents with a baby raising it, sending
mothers make strong leaders” to encourage women’s
wanted to make a connection between family planning, women’s rights and transformative
page graphic novel broke down the family planning advocacy packet into simpler forms.
ommon ideas of equal access to resources and awareness, I helped FOWODE follow its dedication to women’s rights.
there were some positive results and some frustrations. I did finish my work and saw it utilized
alongside FOWODE an
first observation was
is committed to women’s rights, especially concerning
politics. There also is a strong focus on pursing these rights on both a
works on two specific
the Leadership Building
There are also a multitude of other side projects as well.)
of the women and leadership
The program encouraged the girls
role play a court scenario.
As an intern at FOWODE,
Kabale which is about six hours from Kampala.
to be quite effective in helping FOWODE with the VBCs. While the
language barrier existed and I had a translator, I still mana
interview six people.
the interviews, and really got to personally experience rural Uganda
saw primary schools and health centers first hand, giving life to my
research for women’s rights in Uganda
completed, first hand, giving life to my research for women’s rights in
Uganda. After the fieldwork was completed,
work directly added to the Gender Budget Planning Program, which
if someone told me to be ready in ten
later. Meetings that were supposed to last a half
taking all day.
FOWODE is truly committed to women’s rights.
that FOWODE has and the great work that this NGO has done. As I have
said before, the Gender Budgeting and Women’s Leadership programs
are great. I understand the cultural differences that happen and how that
can hinder an experien
being open-minded to foreigners, however, acknowledge the cultural
differences.
By Rachel Tobias
“From a western perspective
observed that time is very
subjective in Uganda, and it was
frustrating to have to meet
western standards using Ugandan
methods. FOWODE was far from
where I was staying in Makerer
University and given the
transport system, if someone
told me to be ready in ten-
minutes; it could be two hours
later”.
the family planning packet, I designed one finished poster a two-
with a baby raising it, sending
mothers make strong leaders” to encourage women’s health
women’s rights and transformative
ommon ideas of equal access to resources and awareness, I helped FOWODE follow its dedication to women’s rights.
I did finish my work and saw it utilized as a poster
As an intern at FOWODE, with two co-workers to southwestern
about six hours from Kampala. I found this fieldwork
to be quite effective in helping FOWODE with the VBCs. While the
language barrier existed and I had a translator, I still mana
interview six people. I also talked with many villagers in addition to
and really got to personally experience rural Uganda
saw primary schools and health centers first hand, giving life to my
research for women’s rights in Uganda. After the fieldwork was
first hand, giving life to my research for women’s rights in
After the fieldwork was completed, I was able to see how my
work directly added to the Gender Budget Planning Program, which
was really great.
I felt that FOWODE was a highly organized
and committed NGO that followed their
dedication. I knew I was a part of something
important and could clearly understand h
my work impacted that image. As an intern, I
certainly learned more about the organization,
what it accomplished on a grassroots level. I
could see with my own eyes the impact on
villagers during fieldwork and
And all of that time spent felt
worthwhile.
From a western perspective, I observed that
time is very subjective in Uganda, and it was
frustrating to have to meet western standards
using Ugandan methods. FOWODE was
from where I was staying in Makerer
University and given the transpor
someone told me to be ready in ten-minutes; it could be two hours
Meetings that were supposed to last a half-hour could end up
is truly committed to women’s rights. I believe in the vision
that FOWODE has and the great work that this NGO has done. As I have
said before, the Gender Budgeting and Women’s Leadership programs
are great. I understand the cultural differences that happen and how that
can hinder an experience. My advice to FOWODE would be to continue
minded to foreigners, however, acknowledge the cultural
Rachel Tobias
rom a western perspective, I
ime is very
subjective in Uganda, and it was
frustrating to have to meet
western standards using Ugandan
far from
was staying in Makerere
someone
it could be two hours
workers to southwestern
I found this fieldwork
to be quite effective in helping FOWODE with the VBCs. While the
language barrier existed and I had a translator, I still managed to
I also talked with many villagers in addition to
and really got to personally experience rural Uganda. I
saw primary schools and health centers first hand, giving life to my
After the fieldwork was
first hand, giving life to my research for women’s rights in
able to see how my
work directly added to the Gender Budget Planning Program, which
I felt that FOWODE was a highly organized
and committed NGO that followed their
dedication. I knew I was a part of something
important and could clearly understand how
As an intern, I
certainly learned more about the organization,
what it accomplished on a grassroots level. I
could see with my own eyes the impact on
villagers during fieldwork and leadership.
And all of that time spent felt very
observed that
ime is very subjective in Uganda, and it was
frustrating to have to meet western standards
using Ugandan methods. FOWODE was far
was staying in Makerere
transport system,
it could be two hours
hour could end up
I believe in the vision
that FOWODE has and the great work that this NGO has done. As I have
said before, the Gender Budgeting and Women’s Leadership programs
are great. I understand the cultural differences that happen and how that
My advice to FOWODE would be to continue
minded to foreigners, however, acknowledge the cultural