NMG-U, European Union launch kids magazine

The  delegation of European Union (EU) in Uganda together with Nation Media Group Uganda (NMG-U), which publishes Daily Monitor, yesterday launched the 5th edition of the kids magazine, Tesa & Luuka, in Kalangala District.
During the event presided over by the deputy head of EU delegation in Uganda, Mr Guillaume Chartrain, pupils of Kibanga Primary School staged a session imitating Tesa and Luuka’s first visit to Ssese islands.

The magazine, which runs in Daily Monitor every Tuesday, talks about the two kids -Tesa and Luuka - who were offered a holiday trip to the islands.
However, while at Buggala, one of the 84 Kalangala islands, they spotted a young girl whom they later identified as Gloria, crying for help in a locked house after being forced into marriage by one of her guardians. The duo abandoned the trip to help Gloria escape from danger.
Mr Guillaume appreciated the pupils for the drama and promised to lobby for more similar programmes to support children in the islands.
The magazine is being rolled out in 45 districts, but the ambassador said more copies would be published and distributed either to communities or schools depending on the topics.

“As one of our priority areas for this programme, the EU delegation of Uganda fronts the right to education for all children in Uganda and that is why we reach to even schools in the islands distributing a number of reading materials,” he said.
Mr Guillaume asked young people to participate in the conservation and restoration of the ecosystem in Kalangala to mitigate the harsh effects of climate change. 
Ms Elizabeth Namaganda, the head of marketing at NMG-U, promised more editions.

“The Tesa & Luuka Magazine teaches a lot to the young in regards to their rights and that is what we want to achieve in this programme as NMG-U and EU delegation of Uganda,” Ms Namaganda said.
Pupils, especially those who actively participated in the quiz competitions about the magazine, received prizes, including T-shirts, soccer balls, school bags, and drinks.
Rashid Naha and Jane Zakulu, both Primary Five pupils, appreciated NMG-U and EU  for the initiative.
“The Tesa & Luuka teaches us a lot as young people and it gives us the spirit of humanity to always attend to the needs of fellow pupils both at school and at home,”  Zakulu said.

Background

In 2021,the EU delegation together with the member states set out five priorities on democracy and human rights in Uganda covering 2021 to 2024. Key areas  include enhancing the right to education for all, land rights and environmental rights, civic space, digital rights, and Internet governance.