In the 2024 annual crime report, Oyam district recorded 31 cases of murder by assault, 80 cases of burglary and 88 cases of defilement, with most of the perpetrators being young people.
Parents
in Oyam district have resorted to holding community dialogues to curb crime among the youth.
In the 2024 annual crime report, Oyam district recorded 31 cases of murder by assault, 80
cases of burglary and 88 cases of defilement, with most of the perpetrators being
young people.
With
increasing poverty and a lack of parental guidance because parents spend less
time with their children, the children struggle to acquire life skills like decision-making, self-awareness, and problem-solving, making it hard for them to find
the right solutions to the problems they face.
As
a result, parents in Oyam are holding weekly meetings where village members
identify a challenge in the community, discuss a specific problem-solving skill
and come up with solutions to the problem. This is believed to be making a
difference within the community, where parents are applying lessons learnt at
home.
Isaac
Omiji, a resident of Akong-atar "B" village in Angweta parish, Iceme
sub county says ever since he attended the dialogue, his family is more calm.
Luo
bite:
//Cue
in: “Aneno nii kodi…
Cue
out: ... ba timo yot.”//
Tony
Opio, a primary school teacher from Angweta Primary School in Oyam district, acknowledges that the dialogue is helpful to both pupils and teachers, making it easy for both to collaborate and solve problems.
//Cue
in: “We are in…
Cue
out: … to solve that problem.”//
Adding
“The community thought that the children who are at school are meant for the
teachers only, but as we have gotten knowledge, they are now well aware that it
is the work of the community or parents at home to collaborate with the teachers
at school to handle the children amicably.”
Similarly,
Sandra Awor a resident of the same area says her children and those in her neighbourhood
are listening and responsible now compared to months before the dialogue. Adding
that lessons learnt during the dialogue has improved her relationship with her
husband.
Luo
bite:
//Cue
in: “Ame onwongo pwony…
Cue
out: ... tye adoko awor.”//
The
same skills learnt during the dialogue are then shared with the children to
help them solve problems they are faced with.
Foundation
for Inclusive Community Help (FICH) in collaboration with Uwezo Uganda is
leading the 10- week community dialogues, providing practical ways to parents
to develop their children's problem solving skills.
Emmy
Zoomlamai Okello, the team lead at FICH explained the importance of improving
the parent's problem solving skills for them to be able to train the children
well.
//Cue
in: “We are doing…
Cue
out: ...to the children.”//
A
recent study by Action for Life Skills and Values in East Africa (ALiVE)
showed that only 2 percent of adolescents in Uganda are proficient in
problem-solving.
It
further shows that 33.1 percent of Ugandan youths struggle to recognise a
problem or its nature, making it difficult for them to find and apply
solutions.
