Post by Josh
Today we set out with more sodas and biscuits in tow to the Okeng community, which is about a 90 minute drive from Lira, a small town with many bicycles where the hotel is. We turned off the main road and the road became muddy, bumpy, and swampy: it was more a path than a road. We bumped over standing water, in which we spotted some tortoises. Then another turn and the road got narrow, tall lush brush scraping against both sides of the van. Finally we reached the Okeng community. A rural village consisting of about 70 mud huts, and few brick ones.
Today we set out with more sodas and biscuits in tow to the Okeng community, which is about a 90 minute drive from Lira, a small town with many bicycles where the hotel is. We turned off the main road and the road became muddy, bumpy, and swampy: it was more a path than a road. We bumped over standing water, in which we spotted some tortoises. Then another turn and the road got narrow, tall lush brush scraping against both sides of the van. Finally we reached the Okeng community. A rural village consisting of about 70 mud huts, and few brick ones.
This hut was the best kept hut I’ve seen yet. It is owned by a young male, not yet married. Apparently, after marriage these little things of looking good in the neighborhood fall to the wayside as other responsibilities take over.
We parked by the giant mango tree which is the community meeting place. The Okeng community, unlike the visit to the clan on Tuesday, consists of a few different clans, striving to live in harmony together. When we arrived word was sent around that we were going to hold a meeting. Apparently the initial invite went just to the clan leaders, some individuals were sent around on bikes to rally the rest of the villagers. In the meanwhile we toured the gardens, crops, and new community grazing site, with boundary markers sparked by the work of my NGO.
The community was greatly appreciative of the aid from my org. They now have demarcated public grazing space and residents’ farming areas, or garden, are marked and mapped. A surveyor has been out to the site and today we presented the community with a deed plan from the surveyor. This is a huge step for any community such as this one. Few have been able to make it this far, mostly because of disputes arising from challenges related to coming to agreements with each other during the process. Okeng village has also written a charter regarding the rules of the grazing area. Land disputes in this community have decreased, people are more familiar with their rights, and they have tools such as maps and boundary markers to protect themselves from encroachers and land-grabbers and prove exactly the location and size of their land. Hurray for advocacy and the aid of NGOs! In addition, women now have a much larger presence at meetings and speak during them because people in the organization spoke to them about their role in the community. In sum, people are happier.
But this is just one community, there are many more hidden out there amidst the roads that aren’t really roads in Northern Uganda. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) led by Joseph Kony displaced many people in a 20 year period ending in 2006. The issues displaced people that returned to their land face are plenty. Land is just about all people have. They pay no bills, rent, or anything of the sort. They really do live on less than a dollar a day, but they don’t need money on a day to day basis as most of their food comes from their land or through barter. However, despite this fact, money is important, and some families value it more than others. I saw a few families that have chosen to have a crop that yields more money, such as small red hot chili peppers, which allows them to have brick and mortar home as opposed to the standard mud hut. On the flip side, “excess income” can be spent by the man head of household on drinking, which is obviously not the best use of rare funds. Necessary changes to the community like surveyors, boundary markers, and deeds cost money among other one-off items like bicycles and dowry. It’s not just the future of land rights in this part of Uganda that needs coaching, organizations preach women’s rights and other issues in this country as well. Some of those organizations were touring these communities with us and are figuring out how they can work with us to best solve these problems.
The Okeng community took two years to get to where they are today. Other communities do not see the importance of title or survey, or there is too much disagreement within them to arrive at the stage I witnessed in Okeng. Communities will continue to face land rights issues until they start to understand the importance of equipping themselves with the proper tools for protection and start working together. The onus is very much on them.
Such stories like the Okeng community are remarkable to witness firsthand. The people are incredibly grateful, especially when we return to their community, for any reason. When they are happy, they work together well. I also learned the importance of having enough soda and biscuits for everyone.
The mid-meeting break consists of Fanta, Coke and biscuits for everyone.
