National Union of women with disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU) is an indigenous umbrella organization of women with disabilities that brings together all categories of women with disabilities including the physically, sensory and mentally impaired women purposely to have a strong voice for common cause, particularly to defend, protect the rights and advocate for equal opportunities for women and girls with disabilities.

Developing countries and regions at the periphery of development are always confronted with two significant realities based on values, namely redress, equity and socioeconomic development on the one hand, and quality and competitiveness on the other. These two points of departure are opposed to each other, but are also equally important for the economic, social and cultural development of the country and its regions. Therefore, striking a balance between the two presents various challenges which solicit a number of closely integrated approaches, some of which may be phased in so as to offset possible major disruption in the reconfiguration of the higher education system.

Government's unmet commitment to finance the education of AIDS orphans and children from indigent families could lead to the imminent closure of all primary schools in the country, headmasters have warned. "If government fails to pay by 10 November, we would be compelled to close down all schools," said Themba Shabangu, chairman of the Swaziland Head Teachers' Association, in a statement.

President Festus Mogae says his government will ensure that the provision of high quality education and training continues to improve in order to produce a more competent and innovative labour force that can drive socio-economic and technological development. He said that his government was committed to ensuring better education by ensuring that opportunities for tertiary education are improved through the expansion of the University of Botswana, the building of a second university, whose curriculum would focus on science and technology, as well as a medical school.

Rudolph Jansen, a director of Lawyers for Human Rights, said the authorities needed to be more sensitive to the needs of those claiming to be refugees. "Police stations are ill-equipped to detain foreign nationals," he said. "For those who are fleeing persecution, it's absolutely crucial that they are given access to services; that their status is determined; and that they're given documentation to prove that status as soon as possible."

This guide is designed to help the user get the most out of Google's Web searching techniques, and at the same time provides a critical evaluation of Google's many Web search features, services, and tools. The guide is liberally interspersed with examples of searches, and search strategies, relating to Africa or African studies topics.

By any measure, the enrolment of over a million extra children in Kenya’s primary school system over the past two years is a success story. Enrolment figures in the East African country burgeoned after President Mwai Kibaki introduced free primary education in 2003, when he took over as head of state from Daniel arap Moi. One group of children has little to cheer about in this regard, however, namely child workers. Rights activists warn that government will have to couple its policy of free primary schooling with laws making education compulsory if these children are to be brought in from the cold.

This Unesco paper is a review of girls' basic education initiatives in four countries: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Swaziland. The case studies evaluate the country's education policy and its real impact on promoting girls' basic education. It examines developments in both formal and non-formal sectors of basic education, highlighting challenges each country has addressed to promote women and girls' education, and identifying the challenges that remain.

Date of LPGas Conference: 8 November 2004

Venue: Elangeni Hotel, Durban

The LP Gas Safety Association of South Africa, together with the major LP Gas suppliers is initiating a project to make LPGas available to 250 000 households by March 2005, then to a further 2.75mn households by 2008. This initiative presents an opportunity for potential grant funding bodies to subsidise low income home owners with an appliance cost to enable them to switch to LPGas.

On 25 October 2004, youth supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo called the Young Patriots seized, tore up and prevented the sale of pro-opposition newspapers in the commercial capital of Abidjan. The Young Patriots warned newspaper vendors in different parts of Abidjan, including Yopugon, Port Bouet, Marcory and Cocody, not to sell newspapers considered "pro-rebel", namely "Le Patriote", "Le Liberal Nouveau", "Le Jour plus", "Le Nouveau Reveil", "Le Front" and "24 Heures".

The government set October as the month by which schools – both public and private – should submit their 2005 budget proposals for approval. The amounts set will have to cover the whole of next year, as the Ministry of Education has indicated it will not entertain requests for supplementary levies. Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate is amongst the highest in the world, however – officially pegged at 252 percent. The continual escalation in prices for goods and services – everything from chalk to fuel – makes projecting financial needs a year ahead akin to gazing in a crystal ball.

"The African Union (AU) may one day find that its most powerful ally is Blacks in the United States. But ironically, the African ambassadors in Washington have never sat down and met with the 39-member Congressional Black Caucus (CBC)."

WOA's primary role is to serve as a voice in Washington for its member denominations and faith communities on issues concerning Africa and U.S.-Africa policy. Thus an essential mission of the Executive Director is to brief Africa secretaries and others on critical legislation and policy issues on the Washington agenda and to reflect the views of its sponsoring members in debate. The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing the programs, services and activities of the Washington Office on Africa (WOA) and WOA/PRI and, with the Board, sets policy, research, legislative priorities and lobbying activity.

The core group of Sudan Focal Point-Africa invites applications from interested candidates for the function as Sudan Focal Point-Africa staff person, with preferred commencement January 2005.

South Africa-Netherlands Research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD) is a collaborative research programme that has been financed by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1997. SANPAD is calling for research proposals from South African researchers/academics for the value of R414 000 for a period of 2 or 3 years.

The richest 10 percent of Kenya's households control more than 42 percent of its total income, according to a report that ranks the East African country among the ten most unequal nations in the world. The poorest 10 percent make do with less than one percent of Kenya's wealth, noted the report, which was launched on Tuesday. "For every shilling spent by the poorest 10 percent in Kenya, the richest 10 percent spend about 52 shillings," said the report, compiled by the Society for International Developmet (SID) in conjunction with Kenya's planning ministry and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

UNAIDS is establishing a Technical Support Facility (TSF) in Southern Africa. This TSF will seek to collaborate with country and regional partners in the provision of high quality technical assistance required for the strategic planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of efforts in support of national HIV/AIDS programmes.

The TSF will be established and managed by an existing national/regional organisation or institution on a contractual basis for a period of two to three years. Applications are welcomed from groups working as a Consortium or network.

The main aim of the TSF will be to:

· Improve country partner access to timely and quality assured technical assistance in agreed priority areas
· Strengthen the capacity of country partners to manage technical assistance effectively
· Assist in the professional development of national and regional consultants
· Encourage a harmonised and collaborative approach to the delivery of technical assistance in support of country partner-owned and partner-led action plans

Interested parties in the tender to manage the TSF will need to demonstrate their ability and capacity to:

· Build strong links to sources of technical assistance both in the region and internationally
· Recruit consultants and other providers of technical assistance
· Establish and maintain comprehensive databases of relevant consultants
· Market services to potential clients
· Manage contracts
· Provide professional development for national and regional consultants
· Strengthen the capacity of country partners to manage technical assistance
· Provide quality assurance of technical assistance
· Liaise with the UNAIDS Secretariat and other relevant stakeholders

Please note that only organizations based in Southern Africa will be eligible to submit a proposal.

All tenders should be submitted by email to [email protected] by 2400hrs GMT on 30 November 2004. Further information on tendering documents, eligibility criteria and required formats of tenders are available from Vicki Beard ([email protected]).

Over 100 women from the Great Lakes Region earlier this month concluded a meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, where they discussed key issues, challenges and action required to bring peace and stability to the conflict-affected region. The event, which took place from 7-9 October 2004, is the third regional meeting of the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region, and the first women's meeting. The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) was a lead facilitator of the event, coordinating the activities of women from numerous countries to ensure that different viewpoints on key issues were adequately reflected, and that national perspectives would feed into a broader regional vision.

The British Council South Africa invites applicants to join 'InterAction,' an exciting Pan African programme focusing on leadership development, transformation and empowerment. Successful participants will be part of a community from 19 African countries, attending a one-week training and networking event in another African country, before joining a wider Pan African Conference network.

The Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) announces the Steve Biko scholarships for African journalists which are meant to honour the memory of Steve Biko, as activist and writer. This scholarship programme aims to help develop a democratic culture of vigorous and independent journalism in Africa and to foster a stronger working relationship among African journalists.