By: Dr. Florence Baingana

Today, we had six people training for the Community Dialogues. The training went well, they really appreciated it and felt that it was good that it was being carried. The participants themselves raised the issue that if something is not done about what the causes of the conflicts were, it is like just covering up a sore but it will not go away. They say they have a saying, which goes “You cannot roast a rat unless you open it and get rid of the intestines out”. The interpretation is that you have to get rid of the bad stuff, before you can roast the rat to eat it and enjoy it. So they really appreciated that we are going to go out and do sociotherapy in the communities.

An important gender issue that was raised is that women often do not feel comfortable speaking up in public, in such a forum as the community dialogue. We are hoping that this can be overcome. The MHCs were encouraged to make sure that they ask all participants, including women if they have anything they may want to say before the meeting ends.