In light of extreme weather and unpredictable seasonsdoningUganda, Kampala International university in partnership with Oxfam has hosted an interuniversity youth dialogue on climate change.
The dialogue was hosted at the University’s main campus in Kabalagala. It was attended by numerous climate activists from all over the country such as OnesmusMuhezi from UNDP, Abbas Minding from Media Challenge Initiative,officials from Oxfam and students from institutions around the country.
The event isunder the theme; youthfor climate change comes at a crucial time just after the recent global climate change strike by young people all over the globe.
Oxfam Country Director, Moses Dombosays, it is their strategyto involve the youth in climate change decisions for sustainability of the campaign as they are the future of this nation.
Dombo went on to pledge to government to put restrictions on charcoal burning and thus make way for renewable energies like gas, solar and hydroelectricity.
“Uganda has many dams and as such electricity prices should go down as well to enable people resort to cooking with electricity as opposed to charcoal.”
He also cautioned the youth on garbagecontrol and that if one cannot participate in all the campaigns, at least he can keep the globe clean.
The event was concluded by KIU’ Vice Chancellor, Professor George Nasinyamaas they launched their new eco friendly dust bins.
The executive director of Oxfam International said on Sunday she was heartbroken by a sexual misconduct scandal in Haiti that prompted Britain’s government to threaten to cut off aid funding to charities.
Oxfam, one of Britain’s biggest charities, has condemned the behavior of some former staff in Haiti after a report in The Times newspaper said aid workers paid for sex while on a mission to help those affected by the 2010 earthquake.
Britain’s aid minister said the government would cut aid funding from any charity that did not comply with a new review into their work overseas, calling reports of sexual exploitation in the sector “utterly despicable.”
Winnie Byanyima
Winnie Byanyima, who became executive director of Oxfam International in 2013, said she was saddened by what took place in 2010 and that it could not happen under systems and rules put in place since.
“I feel deeply, deeply hurt. … What happened in Haiti was a few privileged men abusing the very people they were supposed to protect – using the power they had from Oxfam to abuse powerless women. It breaks my heart,” Byanyima said in an interview with Reuters TV in New York.
“We want to restore trust. We want to build that trust. We are committing to be honest, to be transparent and to be accountable in addressing this issue of sexual misconduct. We are in a different place today,” she said.
British Aid Minister Penny Mordaunt said on Sunday that she would write to British charities that work overseas demanding they declare any problems relating to the duty they have to protect their staff and the people they work with from harm and abuse – so-called safeguarding.
Byanyima said charities must stop people who do not share their values from joining their organizations.
“We need to do more in terms of investigations and sharing the results of those investigations so that offenders don’t go on to offend in other organizations,” she said.
She said Oxfam would share with the relevant authorities all the information it had relating to the 2010 incident.
“You know it’s not within our power to return people who are not our staff to Haiti to face prosecution,” she said. “But we will avail everything that we know from the investigation to whoever authority, whichever authority wants to have this.”
On Friday, Oxfam said allegations that underage girls may have been involved were not proven, It said four members of staff were dismissed as a result of the investigation and three resigned before the end of the investigation.
Reuters could not independently verify the allegations contained in The Times report and was unable to immediately reach any of the Oxfam staff who worked in Haiti.
Oxfam neither confirmed nor denied The Times newspaper report but said its misconduct findings had “related to offences including bullying, harassment, intimidation and failure to protect staff as well as sexual misconduct.”
