Kampala
01 Mar 2012
Campaign to stop child and human blood sacrifice project.
Short project summary
The district of Mukono covers an area of 12, 438kmⁿ. There are a total of 143 registered schools within this district. We intend to visit each school within Mukono, to offer an educational workshop, with the aim of interactive learning in mind. We feel that this is vital to keep the children engaged in what we are saying, whilst at the same time being able to offer advice and information concerning the dangers involved with the belief in traditional healers. The children will then be able to gain the support they need from our staff members particularly if they themselves have already become victimized by such a belief system.
We, as an organisation, passionately believe that children are the future and it is therefore fundamental that this group and demographic secure our particular attention. Not only due to the fact that they are at an age where they are still forming their views of the world, but also as they are decidedly more vulnerable to the more abusive aspects within the rituals of the “healing” process.
The field work will be conducted by a total of two teams each containing four trained members of staff. For strategic coherence and cost saving, each team will visit two schools per day, remaining close to one another in proximity so that they are able to share resources.
We propose to begin this initiative in March 2012, providing we are able to acquire the funds desperately needed to sustain it.
Project duration in months
One year project (1st March 2012 – 31st March2013)
Financial support requested in local currency
UGX 36,991,800 Converted to Euro
Euro (EUR) 9500
International links and links with other local organisations
1. http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/field-partners/partners-in-uganda/eaco.html
www.asafeworldforwomen.org
2. http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2007-07/2007-07-31-voa70.cfm?moddate=2007-07-31
3. Senior Probation and Social Welfare Officer Mr. Ntege James, Mukono District
Human Rights Project (HRP)
GOAL: The strong goal of this project is to improving the quality of life of the vulnerable children and orphans through providing education, giving care, love and support. Additionally, it promotes empowerment of rural Community people in various areas affecting humanity.
Kyampisi in Mukono district is topping the reported cases of child kidnapping and human blood sacrifice. In most cases, children are kidnapped as they walk back home in the night. This has caused some parents not to send their children to fetch water – but that also means that the family will not have water to use at night. Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual (ritual killing). Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals (animal sacrifice) and of religious sacrifice in general. Victims were typically ritually killed in a manner that was supposed to please or appease gods, spirits or the deceased. For example as a propitiatory offering, or as a retainer sacrifice when the king's servants are killed in order for them to continue to serve their master in the next life. The practice of human sacrifice is on the rise in Uganda more so in our area, as measured by ritual killings where body parts, often facial features or genitals, are cut off for use in ceremonies. However, the rise in human sacrifices in Uganda appears to come from a desire for wealth and a belief that drugs made from human organs can bring riches, according to the task force heads.
Project background
Child Sacrifice in Uganda has been identified by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, National Council for Children, Ministry of Internal Affairs and other line ministries as well as Civil Society as a major child protection concern that demands more public attention. Data from Police records and media reports of cases of child sacrifice linked to ritual murders have been on the increase since 1999 when 15 cases of child sacrifice were reported. In 2006, there were 25 cases of child sacrifice linked to ritual murders. Between January and October 2009, 13 children died under circumstances suspected to be linked to human sacrifice.
The rapid assessment was commissioned to document the nature and magnitude of the practice in the country and to review existing responses by different actors to inform the process of developing a National Action Plan. The study also attempted to examine the relationship between child trafficking, the practice of child sacrifice and explored other related risk factors.
The assessment adopted largely qualitative approaches to gain an understanding of the phenomenon of the practice as well as the latent and manifest factors driving it. The key methods of data collection included informal discussions, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and in-depth interviews.
The findings from the assessment indicate that community members perceive a higher level of prevalence of the practice of child sacrifice far beyond what has been documented and investigated by the Police. There is a belief within the community, that child sacrifice incidents usually involve collaboration between two or more parties. These parties include the person intending to sacrifice, an agent hired to execute the kidnapping or trafficking of a child to be sacrificed and a ritual facilitator, who is almost in all cases a traditional healer who claims to be a spiritualist with supernatural powers.
Although sacrifice is a common phenomenon within African indigenous religions and cultural practices and constitutes an important part of worship, prayers and thanksgiving, there was consensus that child and/or human sacrifice is a new phenomenon which is not necessarily linked to indigenous/traditional religious worship and cultural practice. There is a belief among community members that the practice is being propagated by “foreign and fraudulent traditional healers who have introduced sacrifices that are alien to the prevailing beliefs and practices associated with sacrifice as they are conceptualized and articulated through the indigenous cultures in Uganda”.
The problem of child sacrifice is promoted by economic, social and structural factors including: desire for wealth, poverty, trickery by traditional healers, spiritual superstitious beliefs, lack of a regulatory framework for traditional healers and inadequate mechanisms for child protection at the community and family levels.
There is a low perception of personal risk of child sacrifice among community members. Although all children were perceived to be vulnerable to child sacrifice-ritual murders, it was reported that children without parental care including orphans, abandoned children, school drop-outs, children involved in child labour and street children were particularly vulnerable to child sacrifice. This is, however, contrary to evidence from police case profiles which indicate that all children (including those being cared for by their parents) are susceptible to sacrifice. Some parents (especially fathers) have been found guilty of sacrificing their own children. Close relatives and neighbours have also been involved in some of the reported cases.
Child trafficking and organ trade were identified as risk factors that have potential to compound the phenomenon of child sacrifice. Before becoming victims of sacrifice, children are kidnapped and or led away from their homes or schools. Trafficking manifests in kidnapping, elopement and other forms of manipulation of children. It was observed that some organ trade protagonists may be disguising themselves as traditional leaders.
The media was identified as a main player with regards to the issue of child sacrifice. The Ugandan media has turned its attention to the problem of child sacrifice and has played a crucial role in creating awareness about the problem and highlighting the need for better protection of children. However, the media has also played a role in promoting and sustaining beliefs in superstition and spirits (supernatural powers) through the running of adverts for healers who claim to have such supernatural powers.
Responses were found to be largely lacking, mainly attributable to inadequate knowledge about the practice. This notwithstanding, the assessment identified some interventions in the area of psychosocial and legal responses as well as prevention.
The assessment findings indicate:
• An urgent need for a comprehensive ethnographic study on the phenomenon of child sacrifice taking into account its socio-cultural, socio-economic and legal dimensions, within the broad context of child rights abuse.
• A need to review current psychosocial interventions to make sure that they address the needs of survivors, their families and families of children who have been victims of child sacrifice.
• A need to build capacity of community and school based structures for both prevention and response interventions that address child sacrifice within the context of children rights violations
• A need to develop a communication and advocacy strategy addressing issues of prevention and response to issues of child sacrifice. This should be developed within the context of child abuse but emphasizing issues of child sacrifice.
• A need to develop a regulatory framework for traditional healers in Uganda as a means of developing checks and balances within the sector and preventing entry of fraudulant healers into the traditional medicine market. Given that Ministry of Health may not adequately handle the spiritual and socio-cultural related aspects of traditional healing, a semi-autonomous agency bringing together stakeholders from several line ministries and Civil Society Agencies provides the best option for tackling this.
• A need to support the police anti-trafficking and anti-sacrifice units to effectively investigate reported incidents and hold perpetrators accountable.
Beneficiaries of the project
Selection of Beneficiaries
EACO will target the communities of people of various backgrounds, tribes and religions Traditional healers, Boda boda cyclists, Children in school vulnerable women, particularly widows, vulnerable children, youth, and the elderly. Among the beneficiaries are school drop-outs, child mothers, victims of abuse and violence among others.
Gender aspect of the project
Around Mukono, the big percentage of women are the one suffering, many women are denying themselves and when it comes to child sacrifice there are the one who suffer Women are already suffering which inevitably will be their children's fate as well. And studies show that when women are supported and empowered, all of society benefits become more resilient there for we shall involve more women into this project.
Project objectives
1. To Encourage everyone involved in sacrificing children or anybody that contributes towards making child sacrifice successful (emotionally, physically, or spiritually) to stop this gruesome activity.
2. Pray and call upon people to pray about ending child sacrifice.
3. Together with all those concerned, EACO would like to sign a petition to send to the parliament of Uganda and request for a tougher law and if possible a separate court to charge the offenders so that eventually justice is achieved.
4. Give moral, physical and spiritual support to victims & their closest friends and relatives, communities and survivors of child sacrifice.
5. Create awareness and thus improve levels of responsibility towards the children so that at the end of the day we have an “EVERY CHILD IS ANYBODY’S CHILD” attitude.
6. To create options for those who would have otherwise resorted to sacrificing children as a solution to their problems.
7. Work in partnership with the government task force to bring to justice the offenders – hence, come up with statistical data in realtion to child sacrifice and also come up with stragtegies to reduce child sacrifice.
