Field Placement 1: Raising Voices
Field Placement 2: The Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP)
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Preceptor: Lori Michau
Student Name: Sara Siebert
Year: 2004

During the summer of 2004 I worked with two organisations in Kampala, Uganda dedicated to preventing gender-based violence (GBV). Raising Voices was founded by Lori Michau and Dipak Naker in Tanzania in 1999. It works to prevent violence against women and children through the development of program tools and through partnerships with community-based non-governmental organisations to strengthen violence prevention programs. Lori Michau acted as my preceptor during the field studies experience. The Resource Guide created by Raising Voices guides the work of the other organisation, the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention (CEDOVIP). CEDOVIP does community organising around the prevention of domestic violence through encouraging local activism and building networks, as well as through use of media to encourage discussion on GBV. The Resource Guide lays out a detailed plan for community needs assessment and mobilisation using the stages of change model that they scale up to the community level. CEDOVIP follows the guide closely in their work.

CEDOVIP works in a high-density area of Kampala called Kawempe Division, in which most of the community members live on less than $1US per day. Their project is unique within Uganda, being one of the few truly community-based organisations in existence.

I worked on five main projects within my field studies experience. 1. Training and capacity building with CEDOVIP staff, community volunteers and community counsellors, 2. Print and radio media campaign on domestic violence and HIV, 3. Developing the GBV Prevention Network Newsletter, 4. Supporting the development of two community theatre troupes in making their dramas more participatory, and 5. Male involvement field review and Program Development committee. Each of these used different skills and allowed me to work within different departments of the two organisations. With Raising Voices, I worked on capacity building workshops for CEDOVIP staff, like leadership development training and others. I also worked on the first issue of a newsletter for the GBV Prevention Network in East and Southern Africa, gathering stories and articles from organisations within the network and formatting them for the newsletter. With CEDOVIP’s Advocacy department, I worked on newspaper columns and radio spots on the connections between domestic violence and HIV. With the Local Activism department of CEDOVIP, I worked on several workshops on community influence mapping, using participatory public speaking methods, counselling skills, sexual assault, and other topics for community volunteers and counsellors in Kawempe Division. I also worked with Local Activism on creating participatory drama performances on domestic violence with two local theatre troupes. With both CEDOVIP and Raising Voices, I worked on a field review for a joint male involvement committee. CEDOVIP will be developing a program for male involvement and Raising Voices will use the lessons learned from that program to develop a tool on increasing male participation in GBV prevention in East and Southern Africa.

The field studies experience developed my skills in cross-cultural communication, participatory methods, graphic design, developing a media campaign, conducting a field review, and enjoying the work I do. I would really recommend that other interns working on program work rather than in evaluation or research have several projects as I did during this experience; it allowed me to work with a variety of staff and increase my skill base in several areas rather than just one. It also gave me a taste for activities I like and want to pursue and activities I will minimise in future jobs if possible.

Since there are few organisations in the world that are truly working on GBV prevention and documenting their work, I feel incredibly lucky to have seen such an innovative, inspiring grassroots team of organisations at work. It has been an experience that has shaped the way I will approach public health problems in the future, and has really increased my confidence that this is the type of work I want to continue.

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