CCI’s Strengthening Women#s Land Rights and access to resources (STWELARR) project aims to contribute to increased access to land ownership by women and address land-induced violence and abuse against women in Lango Sub-region. It focuess on the following objectives:
1. Increase community knowledge on women’s rights to land and resources at local level;
2. Enhance the capacity of stakeholders and different leaders at local and district level to support women’s rights to land.
3. To support the amplification of women’s voices on land in different fora.

The project focuses on supporting women to have a space and voice and works in Lira District in Lango sub-region.

The Voice-supported project helped CCI to address land rights issues in the project area. The organization created awareness on land rights for women and enhanced their capacity to access women empowerment grant programs at the sub-county level, created positive engagements with the women and other stakeholder groups such as local leaders as well as creating community and cultural leaders’ goodwill towards women, youth and other vulnerable groups as far as access to land is concerned.

Community outreach and awareness creation activities were conducted using dramas, skits, markets day mass awareness, and were attended by the community members, local leaders, women and youth among others in all the four sub-counties i.e. Bar, Ngetta, Agweng, and Aromo. For example, more than 2,000 community members (1,300 females and 700 males) were reached through the community outreaches and awareness creation meetings across the project area.

Radio talk shows and spot messages were successfully carried out on Q.FM. A total of six (6)
talk-shows were held. Over 35,000 people were reached over radio as compared to over 55,000
following of radio on social media. Two radio talk-shows centered on “understanding,
preventing and solving land conflicts” and “Incidence and impact of land conflict in the
community” respectively, were conducted in the local language in Lango region in order to
benefit the local community. The talk-shows involved a moderator from Q.FM (Mr Marx
Ameny), Ms. Grace Aboto Okeny and Mr. Moses Ogwal (both CCI Project Officers). The talk-
shows were successfully conducted and were followed by massive calls that came from the
listeners who appreciated the program and how it was a big eye opener to most of them on
land rights and conflict resolution.

Supporting advocacy of women’s land rights. The CCI Voice project team met and supported
women groups in the sub-counties of Aromo, Bar and Agweng. The women groups were
empowered with approaches to handling and managing land conflicts which involved
institutions and existing remedies for redress in instances of land conflicts. At least two
community mediation on land conflicts with support from the sub-county Community Liaison
Department were carried out in the areas of Bar and Ngetta and community dialogues was also
conducted in Aromo and Agweng sub-counties respectively, six (6) wills were written with
support from CCI project team, and 20 direct referrals and follow ups were made. The referral
cases ranged from land border conflicts, forceful eviction of widows from their land who were
referred to Justice Centre in Lira Town for legal redress. The cases that could be handled at the
grassroot level, the CCI team followed up to see that the matters were handled timely and
fairly.

Some project achievements at a glance:

• 80 women leaders were supported in advocacy on land rights through training them on advocacy strategies, challenges and opportunities;
• The trained women also supported over 2400 other women in different groups they originated from on land rights;
• Over 80 people (30 men, 50 women and 3 female PWDs) took part in the music dance and drama sessions;
• CCI successfully conducted and resolved over five mediations of land conflicts and community dialogues on land rights in the project area;
• The project conducted review meetings with over 80 stakeholders on women land rights in the four Sub-counties of Aromo, Bar Agweng and Ngetta. The review meetings enabled the project team to realize project objectives, assess project progress, achieve results/ success, discuss challenges encountered and agree on mutual solutions to the challenges faced by
  rightsholders in the project area.

  

Overall, the ‘strengthening women land rights and access to resources project’ transformed the
rightsholders, the community and duty bearers in the four Sub-counties of Aromo, Bar Agweng
and Ngetta. The project empowered the women and they all appreciated the value of ensuring
that women and youth land rights are protected. There is improved knowledge about land
rights, mediation and resolution of land conflicts without resorting to violence which was not
the case before this project