Equipping Local Government for Its Expanding Role - December 2010
To bolster Gulu District Government's communications capacity as it gears up for an expanded role in regional development efforts, OTI partnered with Orange Telecom to provide administrators and staff with computers and enhanced Internet connectivity during a headquarters rehabilitation project.
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Housing Supports Government Operations in Amuru - October 2010
Citizens in Amuru District are finding that local government is better equipped to serve the community since OTI and the Japan International Cooperation Agency built 16 housing units for government workers. The housing allows staffers to live near their duty stations and remain focused on community needs.
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Students Capture the Peace in Northern Uganda - October 2010
While northern Uganda is well on the road to recovery, the progress is overshadowed by negative perceptions remaining after 20 years of war. To help improve attitudes about the north, OTI and the Uganda Local Governments Association sponsored a photo campaign to bring positive images from the region to the rest of the country.
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Campaign Boosts Voter Registration Rates - June 2010
To help the Electoral Commission register voters and clean up Uganda's electoral rolls, OTI supported a voter awareness and registration campaign in the Acholi districts in the north. When the exercise ended, new-voter registration rates had exceeded targets by more than 50 percent.
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Supporting Private Media to Boost Access to Information - June 2010
To support the ongoing recovery and development process in northern Uganda, OTI provided equipment and technical training to three local radio stations. The assistance is helping build an engaged, professional media that can address the information needs of rural communities.
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   Video Success Story

Acholi Cultural Festival: Bringing the Community and Leaders Together - June 2010
As peace and stability in northern Uganda become real, efforts toward recovery and development are taking center stage. The Acholi region has woken up to a critical moment of transition that requires a reawakening of societal values and norms that used to bring people together and foster unity. Sensing an an opportunity to reestablish its relationships with communities it serves, the Lira Palwo sub-county leadership with support from with USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives organized a gala to celebrate the richness and diversity of Acholi culture and rekindle the pride and spirit of the people.
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Empowering Former Abductees with Short-Term Work - May 2010
Many Ugandans who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army as children have returned to their homes, and various organizations are providing them with vocational skills training. OTI has enlisted former abductees to build desks for local schools, providing them with income and helping them reconnect with their communities.
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   Video Success Story

Ajing Conga, Bila Pa Ladwar
Radio Drama Promotes Peace, Recovery and Development - May 2010
A radio drama airing three times a week, Ajing Conga, Bila Pa Ladwar (I Will Strengthen My Knees – The Song of a Hunter) focuses on three families that have returned to northern Uganda and are grappling to rebuild their lives. The show is providing returnees with crucial information on education, health, culture, security, and governance. The Lamele Theatre Artists, in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives, spearheaded the production to encourage people to return and help them with their rebuilding efforts.
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   Video Success Story

Rebuilding Our Homeland: Helping Communities Make Informed Choices - April 2010
The documentary Roco Paco Wa (Rebuilding Our Homeland) is a collection of inspirational, true-life stories of individuals and families who are determined to thrive, grow, and develop after the war that claimed thousands of lives and displaced close to two million people. The Gulu NGO Forum, in collaboration with USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives, spearheaded the production and screening of the documentary throughout northern Uganda to encourage people to return to their communities and begin rebuilding their lives.
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   Video Success Story

Modern Agricultural Facility and Market Opened - February 2010
Monthly market days in Agoro Sub-County in northern Uganda attract traders not only from Uganda but also from southern Sudan. And to accommodate the increasing number of vendors supplying goods, agricultural produce, and livestock, the community has, with support from USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives, transformed the Agoro market into a modern facility. The improvements have enhanced residents' economic viability and greatly increased citizen confidence in the ability of sub-county leaders to deliver critical economic infrastructure as internally displaced people return to their homes.
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   Video Success Story

Breakdance for Peace and Positive Social Change Campaign - February 2010
Youth in northern Uganda are using breakdance as an important tool for promoting peace, increasing self-esteem, building leadership skills, and promoting cross-cultural interaction. Given a chance and taught how to channel their energy, youth can positively impact lives, starting with their own. The Hip Hop Therapy Project, which receives support from USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives, is a collaborative effort between the Breakdance Project Uganda and the Straight Talk Foundation’s Gulu Youth Centre.
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Campaign Improves Home Sanitation, Community Health - January 2010
Leaders in Kitgum Matidi Sub-County in northern Uganda implemented a home improvement campaign to promote the adoption of good hygiene and sanitation practices. This successful local government initiative was supported by OTI and has led to a significant increase in sanitary facilities.
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Kitgum District Responds to the Nagana Threat - December 2009
With OTI assistance, district authorities in Kitgum undertook a campaign to vaccinate 16,000 cattle to protect the animals from nagana disease, which is similar to sleeping sickness in humans. The Veterinary Department also took the opportunity to teach cattle owners about livestock management and disease control.
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Using Drama to Support Northern Uganda's Recovery - December 2009
To increase awareness of the Government of Uganda's Peace, Recovery, and Development Plan, OTI supported a local NGO that worked with local artists to develop a series of dramatic radio shows. The shows, some of which were revised for the stage, were well received by northern Ugandans who were able to identify with the challenges and issues portrayed.
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Kitgum Government Offers Ray of Hope to Girls School - October 2009
Earlier this year, the only advanced-level school for girls in Kitgum was devastated by a storm. Local government leaders in Kitgum, responding rapidly to the needs of hundreds of girls and their families, approached OTI for assistance with the rehabilitation work.
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Putting Down Roots in Pabbo - September 2009
To promote agricultural pursuits, to increase household incomes and food security, and to help revitalize the environment, Pabbo Sub-County leaders, with OTI support, provided 10,000 fruit tree to more than 150 local farmers. The initiative is helping engage returnees in meaningful income-generating activities.
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Open Bidding Minimizes Corruption, Improves Quality - September 2009
The reopening of the offices of Uganda's Resident District Commissioner in Gulu has solidified government presence in the north, and the restoration of the building demonstrated that corruption can be minimized. OTI's assistance helped introduce transparency into the procurement and contract award process.
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Water Is Life: New Pumps Revive Water System in Kitgum - August 2009
Ugandans returning from camps for the displaced and people from rural areas, who are relocating to urban areas in search of social services, have increased demands on Kitgum's water resources. When two of the town's water pumps broke down, tensions increased. However, with assistance from OTI, new pumps have been installed.
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Building Confidence in Local Government - August 2009
OTI is helping to increase the visibility of, and confidence in, local government in Uganda by supporting renovations to schools, health centers, and government offices as well as agricultural interventions and activities involving war-affected youth. And in places like Alero sub-county, people's perceptions about the government's ability to provide basic services are beginning to change for the better.
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Drumming Up Support for the Return Process in Northern Uganda - July 2009
For the first time in 20 years, more than 100,000 northern Ugandans came together for concerts full of celebratory song and dance, as the Northern Uganda Music Artists Association, under the banner of "peace and love in our homes" and with support from OTI, sent positive messages to communities about the peace and return process.
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Commemorating the Victims of the Attiak Massacre - May 2009
Fourteen years after Attiak in northern Uganda suffered horrific violence at the hands of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army, the town remembers the victims, and local leaders are urging the community to forgive and unite as a first step to reconcile past events, bring people home, and rebuild lives.
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Reconciliation Sets Stage for Returns in Kitgum - May 2009
Relations between two neighboring clans in northern Uganda had been tense ever since a misidentification during the LRA insurgency led to deaths. Now, thanks to efforts by the Acholi tribal chief's office and OTI, the two clans have reconciled, paving the way for the return of displaced people and development activities.
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Programs Provide Vital Economic Opportunities for Youth - May 2009
Addressing unemployment, a lack of opportunities, and local governments' need to lead and deliver a range of public services, OTI is providing furnishings made by northern Ugandan youths to administrative offices and schools. The youths are learning their trade thanks to a Norwegian Refugee Council program.
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Kitgum District Takes Center Stage during Camp Phase-Out - March 2009
As people are leaving camps and returning to their communities in northern Uganda, the government is also returning to provide services after a 20-year hiatus. But first, the local councils, with OTI support, are thanking camp commanders for their service and discussing the way forward on issues facing returnee communities.
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Amuru District Government Delivers at Patira Primary School - March 2009
As displaced families return to their northern Ugandan homes, communities and local governments are working together, with OTI's support, to prioritize rebuilding needs. In Amuru District, Patira once again has a primary school to educate the village's children and prepare them for the future.
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Restoring Local Government Presence in Areas of Return - February 2009
As district and sub-county offices in return areas of Uganda are rebuilt, with the support of OTI, critical infrastructure essential to the government re-establishing its presence and providing services is restored, giving people access to local officials and offering communities a new sense of stability.
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Reconciliation through Dance, Drama and Song - January 2009
Northern Uganda erupted in celebration at the Cultural Gala and Dance Competition, thanks to the local Gulu District government and OTI, as Acholi culture was on show to help build relationships through artistic channels—including music, dance, and drama—among the communities that suffered from the country's armed conflict.
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Healing Rites Promote Returns in Northern Uganda - January 2009
Acholi tribal elders across northern Uganda, working with OTI, are performing traditional cleansing ceremonies and burying the bones of victims of the conflict to pacify spirits so people feel secure in returning to rebuild homes and cultivate fallow lands.
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Village Health Teams Help Curb Spread of Hepatitis E - November 2008
In early 2008, northern Uganda was hit by an outbreak of Hepatitis E, a waterborne viral version of the disease. To address the immediate epidemic, the Gulu District government, with OTI support, mounted a campaign to assist communities in tackling the outbreak and controling its spread.
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Reducing Land-Related Violence in Northern Uganda - October 2008
With the transition to peace currently moving forward, internally displaced persons are leaving camps and returning to their homes. OTI provided support to the Gulu District government as it spearheaded a No Violence on Land campaign.
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Ceremonies Mark Transition to Peacetime Governance - September 2008
To build public confidence in the ability of local government to deliver community services, OTI provided support for two ceremonies that marked the handover of public responsibilities from IDP camp leaders, or "camp commanders," to elected local governments.
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