Land rights are not a stand-alone issue—they are closely connected to women’s participation, effective local leadership, and sustainable livelihoods.

This connection was a key message during our meeting with Mr. Akena Geoffrey, the District Community Development Officer for Nwoya District, on 29 October 2026, as part of the monitoring visit with DKA Austria under the WaYLaRP project.

Mr. Akena welcomed the partnership with NGS, noting that our work addresses a distinctive and important need in the district. He highlighted the operational Memorandum of Understanding between NGS and the district, our active participation in partner engagements, and the value of our approach to bringing stakeholders together to address land-related challenges.

The discussion brought several important priorities into focus:

▪️ Advancing women’s land rights. Social norms and limited awareness continue to shape women’s ability to claim and exercise their land rights. Our collaboration with the district is helping to address these barriers.

▪️ Strengthening local leadership. Mr. Akena described NGS’s capacity building for local councillors as relevant and timely, particularly for newly elected leaders who need the knowledge to handle land-related issues effectively.

▪️ Connecting land rights with livelihoods. He noted that NGS’s work complements the efforts of other development partners, including those supporting livelihoods—reinforcing the importance of land rights within broader development efforts.

▪️ Building on visible progress. Recognising NGS’s contribution in Koch Lii, Alero, and Koch Goma, he expressed the district’s interest in seeing the work extended to other sub-counties as resources allow.

For us, this conversation reinforced the value of sustained partnership with local government: bringing community concerns into district-level discussions while strengthening the leadership and collaboration needed to respond.

We appreciate Mr. Akena Geoffrey and Nwoya District Local Government for their continued collaboration, and DKA Austria for joining us in reflecting on the progress and priorities of the WaYLaRP project.