KAMPALA, Uganda – The Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda (CCFU), together with Cotila and development partners including UN Women and the Spotlight Initiative, have committed to financially support the Bugisu Cultural Institution’s school outreach programmes.
This was revealed to this publication by the spokesperson of the Bugisu Cultural Institution, Hon. Steven Masiga.
Masiga confirmed that the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister, Dr. Paul Mwambu, has already submitted a concept note in relation to the proposed funding.
The funds from UN Women and the Spotlight Initiative will enable the cultural institution to reach schools in selected districts to sensitise students against teenage pregnancy, which remains a major cause of school dropout—especially as the circumcision season began in January 2026.
Masiga said the institution will also focus on leadership grooming, discouraging gender-based violence in both schools and homes, and fighting Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), particularly among the Sabot communities in Bufumbo, where the practice still exists.
He noted that some Sabot groups, such as the Sabinyi, who have lived in Bufumbo, Uganda, for over 200 years, continue to practise FGM secretly.
Masiga emphasised that FGM is not supported by Bugisu customs and practices, adding that the Sabot communities in Bufumbo have vowed to continue with male circumcision. He said the institution will intensify advocacy against FGM, especially in Bufumbo and neighbouring areas of Bulambuli among the Sabinyi community.
Masiga further stated that he is carrying out this exercise on assignment from His Highness the Umukuka, and that the logistical support—particularly fuel support for school visits—will make the outreach faster and more effective.
“We shall traverse districts across Bugisu, particularly Bulambuli, Bududa, Namisindwa, and Mbale City,” Masiga said.
The Bugisu Cultural Institution was among the cultural institutions invited by the Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda to participate in a planning workshop held in Kampala. Masiga represented the Prime Minister of the Bugisu Cultural Institution, Rt. Hon. Paul Mwambu, who was attending another official cultural engagement elsewhere.
The workshop was facilitated by Hon. Barbra Mutambi, Executive Director of CCFU, Hon. Harriet Nalukenge of CCFU, and Ruth Mukuta, a former official of the Ministry of Gender, among other facilitators. It was officially opened by a Commissioner from the Ministry of Gender and Social Development.
Prime ministers of various cultural and traditional institutions in Uganda attended the meeting, including representatives from Buganda, Busoga, Toro, Bunyoro, and Rwenzururu Kingdoms, as well as delegates from Bugisu, Teso, Buruli, Acholi, among others.
