May 05, 2011

Update: Volunteering in Uganda postponed


photo from Al Jazeera

    Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your generous support of my volunteer efforts in Uganda with the Concordia Volunteers Abroad Program (CVAP). Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the volunteer trip to Gulu, Uganda that was scheduled to leave on May 2 had to be postponed.

    Over the past couple of months under the rule of president Yoweri Musevini, Uganda has seen a dramatic rise in food and commodity prices, and opposition candidates have been organizing “Walk to Work” protests.  Recently, government response to these protests has escalated. On April 14, Norbert Mao, former Chairman of Gulu District, and presidential candidate for the democratic party was arrested.  Mao’s popularity in Gulu, his town of origin, resulted in much upset over his arrest, and a situation developed in Gulu town in which police and military response to the protesters turned violent.  On this day, three Gulu civilians were killed. The situation was not confined to Gulu town, and incidents of serious unrest and reprisal are being reported in Kampala and other districts.

    What was supposed to be a series of peaceful protests of walking to work have turned into violent events as military police are using increasingly brutal force against the protesters all over Uganda. Given this initial incident in Gulu, the multiple violent arrests of other democratic leaders, and the Ugandan government's resistance to lower the cost of food and fuel, the CVAP board of directors decided that travel to Uganda at this time was not possible.

    The CVAP Crisis Action Plan forbids travel to Uganda within 30 days of any incidences of political unrest or violence. After discussing the current situation with CVAP members in Uganda, including the Director of Operations, the board is hopeful that the situation in Uganda will be resolved soon. On April 22, the board decided that while the first trip scheduled for May and June was officially canceled, the second trip that is scheduled to leave in July would go ahead as planned. CVAP will make a final decision on June 18 as to whether travel at this time is possible. The situation in Uganda is unstable and there is a chance that this trip will be canceled as well.

    If travel to Uganda in July goes ahead as planned, your donations will be used as they would have if I had gone in May: $500 going to the community partners in Uganda and $2000 covering transportation costs. In the event that travel to Uganda in July is not possible, I will gladly return the money you have donated, or you may offer your donations to the community partners in Gulu that we would have been volunteering with. Even if the CVAP volunteers from Montreal are not able to go to Uganda, our local community partners continue their work and are very appreciative of any donations during this difficult time.

Here are a few links you can check out to monitor the situation in Uganda:

http://activists4change.blogspot.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/world/africa/15uganda.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

http://allafrica.com/stories/201104290698.html

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1144774/-/c2q3svz/-/index.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/uganda

I will also post relevant links and updates on my blog: http://melissaarmbruster.blogspot.com/

    Once again, I would like to thank you all for your generous support and I ask that you think of the people of Uganda. If you have any questions or would like to know more about the projects we are developing to provide support from Canada, please do not hesitate to contact me.