WEST NILE’S INDIGENOUS MINORITY GROUPS LAUNCH NEW BOOK TO PROTECT CULTURAL HERITAGE

CCFU officials, Five Indigenous Minority Groups of West Nile region and education stakeholders posing for a group photo after launching the book in Arua City (All Photos by Onzoma Albert)

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), in partnership with five indigenous minority groups in the West Nile region, have launched a book titled Promoting Languages of Indigenous Minority Groups in West Nile region of Uganda, featuring common words, numbers, and stories in Kebhu, Nubi, Gimara, Reli, and Lendu.

This publication aims to preserve these languages and cultures while providing learners access to their rich heritage.

The main objectives of the book is to serve as learning tools for minority languages, protect indigenous dialects from disappearing, and support cultural rights and identity for minority communities.

During the launch event in Arua City, Fredrick Nsimbabi, deputy team leader at CCFU, emphasized the organization’s partnership with the West Nile indigenous minority groups to save their languages and culture from extinction.

“All languages of the five groups are at risk of extinction that’s why CCFU thought it wisely to provide support to these groups in the most modest way to revive these languages by making sure they are used in public spaces, we should know that once you lose your language, you lose your identity and you are literally dead” he said.

Leaders of the five West Nile Indigenous Minority Groups addressing the gathering, during the book launch event in Arua City

Caroline Ocanda, founder of the West Nile Indigenous Minority Group, expressed hope that the book would help address challenges faced by these communities over recent years.

“I want to urge and encourage all of us especially head teachers and for us education department to commit here that we should be able to support and see that teaching of these languages take effects in our schools” he said.

Felix Idraku, District Education Officer of Obongi district, commended the CCFU for supporting indigenous minority groups, noting that the initiative aligns with government policies of promoting systematic curriculum in schools. He urged education stakeholders in areas where these groups reside to embrace such initiatives.

“The issues we seriously want to eliminate are discrimination, marginalization and poor political representation, we also want to avoid language extinction in that we are all responsible, and we like naming our children in different languages for example I am a Kebu but I have been named in Alur because our mothers have very big influence on us” she said.

Members of the five West Nile Indigenous Minority Groups in attendance during the book event launch event in Arua City

Additionally, Peace Ayikoru Anguyo, representing the Uganda Human Rights Commission regional office in Arua City, appealed to the five indigenous minority groups to abandon harmful cultural practices that violate fundamental human rights.

“As we practice right to culture let us also fulfill our responsibilities because cultural practices that violets human rights are null and void because when we violet rights it’s not good meaning rights go hand in hand with responsibilities” she said.

Indigenous minority groups account for approximately 2.5% of Uganda’s population and are distributed across Karamoja, West Nile, the Rwenzori region, and Central Uganda, with most residing in the Karamoja sub-region.

The West Nile Indigenous Minority Groups platform was established in March 2023 to serve as a unified voice for the five indigenous groups—Lendu, Kebu, Gimara, Reli, and Nubi—covering districts including Zombo, Arua, and Obongi.

This platform aims to engage human rights duty-bearers, advocate for equal opportunities, promote cultural norms, and improve the livelihoods of these indigenous communities in the West Nile region.

This publication and collaborative effort represent vital steps towards preserving language, culture, and identity while advancing the rights and well-being of Uganda’s indigenous minorities.