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The
Country Director Africa Youth Ministries Uganda Mr. KUNIHIRA Albert
and the Assistant Sports & Reacreation officer hand over sports
equipment and materials on Mines Risk Awareness Through Sport
to the Director of Active Youth Vision Foundation working in Partnership
in Kitgum |
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Africa
Youth Ministries Uganda is a Child and Youth focused Non Profit
making organization working in Uganda implementing projects and
programs that address problems affecting young people such as AIDS,
Conflict, Poverty and illiteracy. AYMU, uses sport and play as a
tool for development of Children and Youth in the most disadvantaged
communities in Uganda.
Among current programs being implemented through are, Tackling AIDS
Through Sport, this is where young people are sensitized and made
more aware of the deadly HIV virus and advised how they can avoid
to get infected. Through sport, AYMU is also implementing other
programs such as make malaria history through which communities
are sensitized on the dangers of malaria and how to prevent it,
as well the organization in the same program distributes mosquito
nets depending on availability.
Through sport also the organization is implementing a program on
street kids rehabilitation. Through sport in partnership with Active
Vision Youth Foundation in Kitgum, Africa Youth Ministries Uganda
has integrated the Mines Risk Education and Peace Building through
sport program to the existing programs mentioned above. |
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A Composition of U10-15 Soccer team involved in the mines risk
awareness program. |
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By
integrating Mines Risk Education (MRE) in its existing sports development,
coaching, and training programs, Africa Youth Ministries Uganda
targets to reach children and young adults regardless of gender,
religion, or race. Through sport, AYMU will be able to make northern
Uganda young people more aware of the threat of landmines.
Similarly, through sport the organization encourages the healthy
physical, social and emotional development of children affected
by war, former child combatants, and children orphaned by AIDS.
Our sports programmes are built to enhance holistic development,
help foster resilience as well as to enhance values and life skills
including leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, self esteem, conflict
resolution, discipline, respect and fair play that is Building Character
on and off the field. |
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| What
is Mines Risk Education? |
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All
our sports uniforms used in this program are branded specifically
for this program as you may see in the picture above. |
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| Mine
risk education helps people living near landmines learn how to recognize,
avoid, and live with the dangers of landmines and UXO. This idea,
also know as “mine awareness,” was first developed in
the mid 1990’s by landmine activists. It became clear that
in addition to securing a ban on landmines, it
was essential to educate people living near landmines about safety,
using techniques they would easily understand and could use to teach
others. Since then, mine risk education has helped many people during
times of conflict and long after wars and conflicts have ended. |
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| A
Case For Northern Uganda: |
Northern
Uganda is a region that borders Sudan in the North of the Country
and commonly known as the Acholi Land comprising of 5 Districts
of Gulu, Kitgum, Pader, Lira, Apach and. For the last 20 years the
region has experienced and has been ravaged by a senseless civil
war between the Lords Resistance Army LRA a self styled rebel group
and the Uganda Governments army the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces
UPDF.
The 20 years conflict has left people battered and bruised, tormented
by grief, despair and fear. Civilians have been killed and mutilated,
thousands have been abducted, tortured and sexually abused. Many
have been forced to commit atrocities or to look on helpless as
others are beaten, raped or murdered. Abducted Children are forced
to work as labourers, soldiers or sex slaves. The current UNICEF
report puts the number of abducted children to over 30,000.
The same conflict through the 20 years has forced over 1.6 million
to leave their homes. Deprived of their means of livehood, once
proud farmers and their families now depend entirely on the handouts
they receive in internally displaced peoples camps IDP’s.
With previous support by the Sudanese Government and the Arab world,
the LRA did heavily plant landlines mines in northern Uganda though
there’s no statistics to this effect.
This makes large parts of Northern Uganda contaminated with mines
and unexploded ordnances (UXO) as a result of the 20 years war.
Heavily affected areas include border areas with Sudan. Available
data from Ministry of Health, the International Committee of the
Red Cross and Ngo’s indicate that the number of mines/UXO
casualities may be as high as 2,000 from 1999-2004.
Similarly, data from Assoziazione Volontari Per il Servizio Internationale
(Association of Volunteers for International Services, or AVSI)
indicates that 422 survivors have been supported with artificial
limbs in its rehabilitation centre in Gulu and about 100 survivors
are awaiting support. |
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One
of the victims of Land Mines in Northern Uganda his limb was blown
office by a Land mine as he was coming back from school |
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| Program
Goals & Objectives: |
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Sport the program aims to increase awareness of threats from mines
and explosive remnants of war (ERW) among 86,000 school children,
30,000 out of school young people and 15,500 community members in
Kitgum District. It will also help train 200 primary school teachers
in mine risk education skills through its partners. |
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| Activities: |
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Disseminate information on mine risk through schools and community
meetings
• Organise extracurricular mine risk education for in school
and out of school children e.g. poster competitions, sports events,
songs.
• Distribute mines risk education materials to schools and
children
• Organise speaking tours and theatre performance for out
of school children and community members.
• Provide mine risk education training to primary school teachers
• Use of large scale posters and billboards |
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| Expected
Outcomes: |
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A drop in the number of accidents resulting from mines and ERW
• Increased schools involvement in mine risk education
• Community groups will have and share increased awareness.
• The impacts of mines and UXO on the day-to-day living of
returnees and resident communities will be reduced. |
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| Mines
Risk Education Approach: |
| To
educate young people on the risk of mines and other ERW, Africa
Youth Ministries will implement a 3 way approach, and this will
include;- direct MRE, MRE public information, indirect or community-based
MRE, and capacity building. |
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| Direct
MRE |
| Since
Children can be the most vulnerable targets for landmine and UXO
injury if they are not fully sensitized on the dangers of playing
with them or recognize high-risk areas. AYMU will send out trained
staff to schools to hold mines risk education sessions. |
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| MRE
Public Information Approach |
| Through
this approach, to relay safety messages AYMU will print and
distribute posters and leaflets to schools, churches, mosques
etc, set up billboards, and broadcast messages through radio. |
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| Partners
Capacity Building |
| Africa
Youth Ministries Uganda in strengthening and empowering the
communities with skills on MRE through its partners will train
teachers to enable them teach school going children about
the risk of mines. |
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September
21, International Day of Peace:
Through Sports program on Mines Risk Education, Africa Youth
Ministries Uganda is organising massive awareness campaigns
on the risk of land mines and creation of the culture of
non violence for the children of northern Uganda and the
world. This will include inter-village, schools and IDP
camps through soccer and netball competitions. The campaign
will be wound up with a big sports gala in Kitgum town on
the 21st of September 2007 with a sport Gala for both Girls
and Boys. Besides, this campaign will also tackle the AIDS
Problem especially with an emphasis on the girl child.
For more information on this program contact us at mre@aymu.org
or
by phone +256-753-200002/+256-752-200003/+256-414-287151
We need financial donations to print more posters, t-shirts,
banners and billboards. We also need funds for procurement
of more sports equipment for soccer and netball as the major
sports activities. |
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