A new contact strategy to network with women in need, in Uganda
By Florence Kevin Kwesigabo and Sr. Maureen Ogundeph
Photos: Florence Kevin
The World Women’s Observatory (WWO) Ambassadors made a commitment at the Africa Region conference held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in July 2023: to provide a sharing and reflection platform for the invisible women's movements, associations and groups to influence holistic integral growth and the development of ambassadors.
Florence Kevin Kwesigabo, is one of the World Women’s Observatory ambassadors in Uganda. She is also a former president of the Uganda Catholic Women's Organisation, which is an organisation that is an active member of the World Union of Catholic Women’s Organisations (WUCWO) and currently the National Programmes Coordinator at the family desk of the Lay apostolate of the Uganda Episcopal conference. Together with other WWO ambassadors and leaders she took the commitment serious and started to put it in place.
“I feel great relief and joy that despite the ups and downs, through networking we were able to reach many invisible women”, Florence Kevin Kwesigabo expressed.
Florence points out that Networking with the Ugandan Episcopal Conference under the Program of Promoting Family Apostolate and the Religious Women has made this goal achievable also together with other WWO ambassadors and Catholic Women, especially the President of the Uganda Catholic Women Organisation, Maria Assumpta Gidudu.
The National stakeholders meeting in Uganda was held in February 2023, then four Regional meetings were held between March and September 2023. They had a two-tier work approach. First, the sensitisation of the implementation of the WWO project was given to the Pastoral caregivers at the National and Diocesan level. Then they launched “interactive talks” with WWO on the 20th of September, 2023, as the two main themes to be addressed.
Interactive talks are an activity conducted in all Parishes in the Country. It's a mode of communication in which participants in small groups discuss daily living challenges and seek solutions from amongst themselves. The WWO campaigning program is being conducted at this level. This is to enable the WWO experts to reach those invisible women who do not have smartphones. Working with people in their communities enables them to arouse positive social transformation as they build strong family units.
The focus is to ensure that there is a peaceful family living in all communities. Male involvement is paramount. Providing all children with a supportive family environment is a social ills preventive measure. The benefits of peaceful family living are numerous.
Through these interactive talks with women especially the invisible ones and the launching of the WWO, at least the women feel listened to and cared for, at least they see the WWO Ambassador's shoulders to lean on and point of reference and this is already a step in their transformation.
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