Rural Communities Criminal Justice Awareness Project - RCC-JAP
With RCC-JAP, committees are formed at the village level and equipped with basic property, legal and human rights concepts by contracted lawyers to sensitize locals to legal concepts and encourage them to monitor, and report any injustice to the lawyers for action. Consultation dialogues with community members and personnel from key government departments are organized to address identified issues
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Robert
Last Name
Kibaya
Country
Uganda, MUK
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Organization Name
Kikandwa Rural Communities Development Organisation
Organization Website
Organization Phone
+256414670686; +256712848448
Organization Address
#494 Kikandwa Village, Kabembe Parish, Kyampisi Sub-County, Mukono
Organization Country
Uganda, MUK
How long has this organization been operating?
1‐5 years
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Your idea
Name your project.
Rural Communities Criminal Justice Awareness Project - RCC-JAP
Describe Your Idea
With RCC-JAP, committees are formed at the village level and equipped with basic property, legal and human rights concepts by contracted lawyers to sensitize locals to legal concepts and encourage them to monitor, and report any injustice to the lawyers for action. Consultation dialogues with community members and personnel from key government departments are organized to address identified issues
Country your work focuses on
Uganda, MUK
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
There is currently no mechanism in place in Uganda to ensure property and other legal rights of the rural poor are protected. The RCC-JAP seeks to involve poor rural communities in monitoring any injustice in their respective communities and to seek justice legally and confidently with no fear, regardless of their ethnic background, economic status, educational level, or gender. Members serving on existing and future community legal committees are and will be democratically selected from within the community. Committees will be established by documented governance procedures that will ensure an appropriate gender mix and equitable community participation. The governance procedures will also describe the operating principals under which the committees will function and will provide for regular interaction between the committees to share experiences, identify areas needing action and related functions. Key among these are: • Legal experts will be contracted by RCC-JAP and brought into the community to give basic legal education to committee members. The members will use this education to assist villagers in monitoring and reporting (to contracted lawyers) any injustice suffered by any community member. Committee members will be equipped with basic knowledge in filing official reports with the help of project report templates in order to report injustices. • Permanent Community Legal Aid Clinics (CLACS) will be established in two centrally located communities that will provide local legal services accessible to all 30 communities served by RCC-JAP. • Contracted visiting lawyers will travel out to communities to offer free legal consultation and guidance to community members on a regular (weekly being the proposed frequency) basis. • Organized periodic community dialogues will bring in experts from various departments for free consultation, guidance, and action.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
Since the project’s implementation in June 2009 through the present, 353 adults and 471 children have been educated in the basics of criminal justice, legal processes, and basic human rights. 76 community members in Kyampisi have been helped to access legal services for free.
To date, five legal advisers, seven government officials, fifteen police officers, five human rights activists, four local media groups, and six local and international interns have participated in the project as speakers, consultants, reporters, and in a variety of other roles. This project will significantly extend the scope of the project and the resulting benefits within the community.
Specific examples of successes to date include:
• In the case of a theft of land owned by 68-year-old Mr. John Kanongo of Kikandwa village, justice was reached through the magistrate court in Mukono.
• 35 employees of the DAMJI Tea and Sugarcane plantation were helped in securing their retirement packages and other employment benefits from their employer who had deliberately refused to pay them.
• 87-year-old Kizza was able to recoup her money from a tenant who was squatting on her land without paying rent.
• Mrs. Kayondo and Mrs. Walusimbi were able to secure their rightful claims on the property of their deceased husbands and utilize them for helping themselves and their children.
100% of 500 community members who responded to the project’s assessments survey recommended the continuation of the project because of its great impact.
Problem
There is a widespread lack of information on legal rights remedies & the types of legal assistance available. Many do not even know who they can contact for aid. Many key policies on land & property rights or domestic violence are not translated into local languages. Often, current policies are unknown or misunderstood, a problem further complicated as many policies have recently been amended or newly passed into law. As the courts enforce existing policies & begin to enforce these new laws, the combination of new and older policies is such that many community members are confused as to how best to approach situations. The issue is compounded by the nearest legal firms being over 7 miles distant. In the absence of good legal aid, abuses of office by local council authorities are rampant. Police commonly accept bribes and intimidate victims. The result is that many, especially women & children, are too intimidated to register complaints. Incidents of physical abuse, even torture, have been reported. All these factors make it extremely difficult & dangerous for the rural poor to access the justice system. As a result, many have lost their property and confidence in the legal system.
Actions
To date, RCC-JAP has formed two committees and if funding is obtained is looking forward to create another. Over time, should funding be available, the RCC-JAP concept can, & will, easily be extended to additional villages in the area.
The committee members will undergo training in basic criminal justice, human rights, and legal procedures in order to assist them in extensive community sensitization, monitoring, and how to refer the abused to contracted legal counselors and report any human rights abuses in their communities. Dialogues between community people and key representatives from the police, judiciary, human rights organizations, local government, and legal defenders will be periodically organized for free community sensitization, consultation, and guidance.
The establishment of two community legal aid clinics to offer free legal services to communities is a principal objective as lawyer’s services are always needed by the community. Information on criminal justice, human rights issues, key policies and the contact details of key departments like police, district security, & other important organizations will be freely provided to community through the resource center
Results
The establishment of the RCC-JAP committees will increase capacity for rural populations to access key legal information and to demand their basic rights when at risk.
With the two CLACs serving thirty villages of 9,000 people in Kyampisi, rural community members will have a chance to take legal steps in combating any injustice and human rights abuses without the limitations of distance, illiteracy, poverty, or other factors. Again, the CLACs will act as centers for legal document drafting for rural community members.
The committees will offer an enhanced ability for rural populations in need of legal services to access quality counsel and to take the necessary legal steps in curbing abuses and exercising their rights.
The project will improve a community information resource in Kikandwa to offer free information on human rights, legal practices, property rights issues, and other legal issues. Currently, a section on human rights and criminal justice programs has been established in the resource center in Kikandwa and we are currently soliciting material from different stakeholders to be accessed freely by the community.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
If so, how?
Yes. The project seeks to sensitize and educate communities on newly passed bills which are laws, including land rights and domestic violence policies. They were passed last year and many people know very little about them yet they are now used by the courts in cases on land rights and domestic violence here in Uganda. Understanding the content of these policies is very important for people in rural communities, especially women and children, for they clearly define their rights on property, forms of domestic violence and laws against them, and other important topics. Additionally, the project will be able to represent its community members to government agencies to help ensure that new or changed policies are implemented which match with community needs and desires.
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your innovation.
RCC-JAP is working in partnership with several NGOs during its implementation. Working with NGOs has helped greatly due to their advanced experience and expertise in areas that RCC-JAP is not well versed. For example, during the implementation of my justice makers project in Kikandwa, I invited the Uganda Women Parliamentary Association to educate community members on the land and domestic violence bills which had been passed by the parliament and were awaiting the President’s signature before becoming law. Partnership with local businesses has also been an asset. For example, RCC-JAP partnered with a local advocate firm M/s Mungoma, Mabonga Wakhakha & Company Advocates which provided two visiting layers to my justice makers project. A number of partnerships have been formed with businesses in order to tackle other issues such as bookkeeping and information publishing & distribution. Government departments have helped with recommendations and permission to call public dialogues.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
In its initial stages RCC-JAP will be primarily supported by grants and donations from foreign donors. So far, one grant has been awarded to the project to justice makers by International Bridges to Justice worth US$5,000, which was used to kick-start the project’s activities in June, 2009. Additionally, contributions from the management committee of the organization have been useful in covering financial gaps. There is no formal Business Plan or Revenue model yet created. The current objective is to obtain funding that will enable the establishment of the CLAC’s and documenting the governance and operating procedures of RCC-JAP. In parallel, a formal business plan is in process of being drafted with volunteer assistance that has already been offered by a Canadian NGO. This will be based on the concepts included in this proposal. It is anticipated that the revenue model of the RCC-JAP will be based on a combination of grant and foreign aid augmented by funding from the local villages for the next 3-5 years at a minimum.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
I was brought up in rural area and I have extensive experience on how things are done there. In most of the villages in Uganda, things are far different from those in urban places. Very little attention is paid to rural community members in government service delivery at all levels. This is so because the rural communities are not well represented in most of the national development programs. Most of the rural community representatives are not natives of the very communities that they serve, thus their performance is never adequate for community uplifting. Communication and information access is very poor in rural areas and they are always marginalized based on their low literacy levels. A basic education of key issues is never well or completely implemented in rural communities. This has kept the rural communities far behind in most development programs.
The majority of rural community members, especially women and children, are continuously suffering at the hands of their fellow man because they do not know how or where to report criminal cases. Rural women and children in my community face many hardships which include (but not limited to) rape, harsh treatment, property rights abuse, and intimidation. Most of their cases are never presented in courts of law for judicial action because they lack information on whom to contact and so issues are always resolved unprofessionally on a personal basis, often with bribery.
In 2003, I laid a strategy to help out people in my community by establishing an organization called Kikandwa Rural Communities Development Organization (KIRUCODO) with the aim of empowering rural communities through skills development, sensitization and training. Implementing the strategy has been a challenge as many seemed to not support the initiative of assisting in empowering rural communities. A plan of action was developed with a focus on sensitizing rural people and educating them about the need to help each other rather than waiting for outsiders who may have different goals. Today, all the development programs going on within my community are mainly supported by the people themselves. They learned that helping each other and working together as a team is the best approach for social and economic development.
Tell us about the social innovator—the person—behind this idea.
Professionally, Robert is a Science Technologist in Biological Sciences. Founded and managing Non-Governmental Organization- Kikandwa Rural Communities Development Organization (KIRUCODO) and is 2008 Justice Makers Fellow of International Bridges to Justice
Since 2003, Robert has served in various organizations in the capacity of: Systems administrator for ICT-4 Schools & Community under Mission Harvest Ministries Africa; volunteer in the department of information and communication of Disabled Women In Development (DIWODE); Coordinator for Community Water and Sanitation Policy monitoring, evaluation and advocacy in Makindye Division under Uganda Domestic Sanitation Services (UGADOSS), General volunteer for To Love Children (TLC) organization; etc.
Robert has participated in a number of International training programs and workshops such as: Three-months Global Educational program in Japan under World Campus International-Japan; two-days training workshop in Information and Communication Infrastructures for Rural areas in Africa under UNIDO Nairobi-Kenya; five-days training workshop in Information Production with satellite receivers in Accra-Ghana ; one-day Seminar on Challenging Impunity of Sexual Violence by A.C.O.R.D ; penal leader of Refugee Life and Internally Displaced People during the International conference of Humanitarian Studies in Netherlands, Presented a poster on Commercial Algae farming for Bio-diesel production and environment conservation in rural Africa, among others
Robert is a member of the following networks: International Humanitarian Studies Association, International Criminal Court Coalition, Justice Makers network, Peace and Collaborative Development Networking
Lastly, Robert is interested in Rural communities development and empowerment, human rights, reading and writing, sustainable development, technology, alternative technologies, making friends, and God
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Through another organization or company
If through another source, please provide the information.
Peace and Collaborative Development Network www.Peace and Collaborative Development Network
Additional
Which (if any) of the following strategies apply to your organization or company (check as many as apply)
Legal education and awareness.
Please explain how your work furthers one or many of the above strategies (if you selected “other”, please explain your strategy)
The project will increase Policy advocacy to property rights or security of tenure through community organized dialogues with the concerned parties aiming at defining these policies in local languages that the majority understand. By doing this, community people will be able to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of these policies.
The project will extend free basic Legal education to public
Comments
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with Robert when he was awarded a JusticeMakers Fellowship last year in 2009. During the year-long fellowship Robert worked incredibly hard to ensure his RCCJMC project was a success. The JusticeMakers team were inundated with stories on the many people Robert’s project provided assistance to. Robert has provided an invaluable service to his community which so many people have already benefitted from. I think it’s incredibly important that the project should continue and I strongly recommend Robert and support him in his application.
Good luck!
Thank you Jessica for commenting on my idea and all the encouraging words.
I appreciate your work.Your work is serving the grassroots struggle for justice.
Now a day in my country under military a lot of suffer mostly in village people. In that we serve the grassroots, we do not struggle for them. Instead we give them the tools and support to assist the grassroots people to lead the struggle for social, economic and political change in Burma.
* The village people will being charge of their own information. This will be important source of power for them.
* The reporting of human rights abuses will not depend on the presence of outside documentalists, who may not always be around when abuses occur. Should the Thai/Burma border be closed in the near future, human rights abuses within the country can still be documentated and reported to the outside world
* Village people will feel less like victims, but rather as human beings capable of fighting back
* Villae people wil not only know when their rights are being abused, but they will also understand the political and economic mechanisms which encourage and multiply these abuses .
To build up international awareness and support for the struggle in UGANDA by acting as a bridge between the grassroots people of UGANDA and international community in such a way that the grassroots people help international support groups focus actions on the most critical issues which prolong the country's cycle of war.
Regards,
Aung
Burmese
I Thank you Myo for this comment and all the insights.
Yes, it is very true and I agree with you on the issue of empowering the community people in documenting human rights abuses locally. The outside world has a limit but people facing the problems of abuse always have the right information and time to feed the world with such information if at all they are empowered through basic training in human rights, legal procedures, working with current communication technologies and ensure access to basic communication tools within their localities.
I thank you and looking forward to be in touch as we work together to bring a change in our communities.
Robert
First of all, I would like to commend you for the wonderful work you are doing to help people in the Uganda villages as they struggle to find justice. The Committees you founded are powerful tools that help to resolve one of the main issues of injustice in those villages which is the lack of information. People must understand that constitutionally, and as human beings, they have the right to fight for justice. However, I am greatly concerned about to big issues in those villages, the lack or the accessibility to justice providers and of course corruption. Unfortunately, not much can be done to effectively eradicate this latter, the only thing that an organization like yours can do is to sensitize the villagers about the importance of the notion of justice and equal rights. As for the first issue, maybe beside the periodic consultation offered by your Committee, a sort of permanent entity more accessible could be gradually implemented in the village. Also, as a woman, I feel deeply concerned about rapes and domestic abuses. Therefore, I realize that the hardest part for women and children victims of such abuses is to step out, and to openly talk about what they went through because they fear their abuser’s reaction. This is why I think that the Committees always should make them feel safe and secure any time they decide to reach for help. But once again, great job!
First, I agree with Olitiana about concerning on the accessibility to justice provider. It is not easy for everyone in the village to access to all sort of legal and justice matter, since they have always been oppressed and abused for so long. They are unlikely to suddenly speak out for their problems.I deem that some of them might be afraid of local authority like police or family abusing if the women are abused by their husbands. Even they know that the NGO will be able to assist them in this problem, they rather keep their mouths shut for their own sake like security. Also, if they do not have any background on the legal issue, it will take time for them to understand about their rights/legal system to report their problem. Here, I just wonder if there is anyway that the NGO can provide them with security ( tangible policy) make sure that they will be unharmed and not be interfered by others? I understand that this issue is so common in many parts of the world especially in the rural areas that are ruled by mafias or police like Uganda or Thailand, my hometown.
Anyhow, turly appreciate in what you are doing! Even though i am not the member of your village, I would be very grateful for your dedication : )
Hello Olitiana,
I thank you for this comment and all the suggestions and encouraging words. Yes, the committees are really a powerful tool as they try to link the information gap between disadvantaged rural people and the concerned departments who always keep in their offices and never mind much to move to villages as they know they are poor and always their voices don't reach very far for they lack appropriate information tools.
Yes, lack of justice providers is what the project is working hard to solve but encouraging the concerned parties start operate in villages. Also, the project is trying hard to sensitize local people that it is their right to demand for services that are rendered to people in other places. So demanding for a service those not mean to put someone in prison. So, with this project, we shall establish two Community Legal Aid Clinics (CLACs) with 2 full time stationed lawyers who will be helping with free legal services to the community people.
Corruption is another issue and this we started to fight it from the very begin and a number of local leaders got fed-up with the project as all the time they were collaborating with the rich to take the property of the poor unlawfully. Most especially, we had so many cases concerning land and local leaders and police were so involved in this but thankfully, we advocated for this at higher offices in the district and the Residential District Commissioner(RDC) had to stop all police personnel and lower local leaders from handling any land issue in the whole district. So, currently if local people find any policeman solving a land dispute then they have to call the office of RDC for assistance.
In brief, we found out that what has been lacking in rural communities is basic education about legal procedures, human rights, and entitled freedom.
I thank you
Robert
Yes Olitiana, Justice and Equal Rights are so important. And i'm also very concerned about rapes and domestic abuses. The problem is that not very many women are brave enough to stand up and talk about what they have gone through.. Most of the time after such experiences, women and children are deeply traumatised, they tend to blame themselves for what has occured and normally choose to suffer in silence to prevent shame upon the family..
It is aweful to know that so many people out there are suffering in silence and thats why it is so important to set up organisations where they can seek help, where they can be understood, counselled an also helped to bring offenders to justice!
Mr.Robert Kibaya,
I received your www.changemakers.com/node88504 from my friend myo aung Bangkok. I like your work and appreciate your human kind idea for UGANDA people.
I accept your idea and aung idea to make it better life for the grassroots in UGANDA. Need to build International awareness.
To build up international awareness and support for the struggle in UGANDA by acting as a bridge between the grassroots people of UGANDA and international community in such a way that the grassroots people help international support groups focus actions on the most critical issues which prolong the country's cycle of poverty & civil suffer.
Distribute the information to the people.
Whilst information is power, it takes many projects to be able to create the information. Each project has their own aims and objectives that directly connects to and supports UGANDA.
Thank again Mr Robert & Aung.
Regards,
FengShei
Hello FengShei,
I thank you so much for your comment and I thank Aung too for connect us. I am so happy you like my project idea.
I thank you so much for the suggestion concerning "building international awareness" This is really a very good idea as the international community need to know especially the donor community so they can revise their funding policies based on the real information collected from real people with concerns.
I thank you you so much and looking forward to interact more on this. I request you to join my Organization facebook list where you will be able to see a numbe of albums on my project. You can use this email to join kruralcommunitiesdevorg@yahoo.com
Thank you
Robert
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