This document discusses both the positive and negative aspects of internet and social media use among young people in Uganda. It provides perspectives from young people on their experiences with internet and social media. While the internet can enable access to information, education and connecting with others, it also poses risks like exposure to harmful content, deception, privacy issues, and overuse leading to health and academic problems. The document emphasizes the importance of child online protection and provides safety tips for internet users.

1. InternetInternet
“The internet is a city and, like any great city,
it has monumental libraries and theatres,
museums and places that make you complete.
But there are also slums, red light districts
and there are really sleazy areas where you
wouldn't want your children wandering alone.
And I think people must understand that
about the internet - it is a new city, it's a virtual
city and there will be parts of it of course that
they dislike, but you don't pull down London
because it's got a red light district.” (Fry, 2009)
Today the life of most young people
is defined by internet and social
media for communication such as
facebook, twitter, Whatsapp,
You Tube among others. I
guess you have heard your
friends say 'I will Whatsapp
you'; 'I will holler you on
Facebook'; 'I will twit you
in a bit'. Social media has
made conversations cheap
and instant. According to
the International Telecom
Union, Uganda has
over 8.5 million Internet
users with the biggest
percentage being young
people. With all the benefits that
come with social media, there
are also possible risks. Since the
beginning of 2015, STF has
been asking you to share the
good and bad experiences
with the Internet and social
media. We received many
letters from you. Read on!
Good: “Internet is a hassle
free way to get in touch with
the world. It can be used to
provide young people with health
information and current affairs,”
Hafubu Julius, 17, S3, Busia
Trust SS.
Keeping Adolescents Safe
Vol. 22 No.3 September 2015
WINNERS
Did you participate in the Red
Card to underage alcohol annual
quiz? Kagimu Marvin
Charles, St John Bosco Seminary
Hoima won a laptopwhile
Alum Nancy Okuk, St
Mary's SS Aboke and Busingye
Emmanuel, S5, St Mary's
College Rushoroza, Kabale won
phones.
Cathy, Ebenezer Progressive says:
I met Charlie, an 'American boy' online. He
said he was my agemate. We shared love
messages, exchanged photos and gifts. He
said he was 18 years old, but surprisingly
he kept changing his age. This didn’t
discourage me as I continued chatting
with him.
One day he invited me to visit him. He
bought me an air ticket and I travelled to
the USA. When I arrived I was shocked to
see that Charlie was my dad’s age mate.
He took me to a restaurant. Thereafter, we
went to a guesthouse where he had a bed
made up like a heart and many gifts for
me, including knickers that he asked me to
wear. He began touching my breasts and
private parts but I resisted and screamed
for help. Luckily, a cleaner passing by heard
and rescued me. Charlie was arrested, I was
returned to Uganda. The internet is good but
we should be careful with the friends we meet
and chat with online.
Young people who
do business can use the
internet by marketing to
a global market 24 hours,
seven days a week.
Young people who
do business can use the
internet to market their
products to a global market
24 hours, seven days a week.
Don Bakara and
Genevieve Tinochat with friends on
Whatsapp

2. Straight Talk, October 20132
Research
Nakimuli Joan, 19, Form 6, Bright
Way Hill School, Bukesa says: “My
friends and I do research on the internet
for new things which are of educational
benefit.”
Conneting with friends and family
Brian, 16, Busia Trust Secondary
School, says: "Social media sites like
facebook, Whatsapp among others
have helped friends and families to
connect with each other."
Modern Communication
"It transforms one from local means
of communication
to modern ones.”
Namutebi Faith
Diana, 12, Bright
Way Hill School,
Bukesa
The internet is a short cut to events all over the world. Young people can access health information
online without being stigmatized. Straight Talkers shared their about the internet.
Daniel Kamar, S6, Yale
HS Kayunga says: It's
fun chatting with friends
online. However, the pirates
have made social media
like facebook a weapon of
destruction and youth have
fallen prey to pornography
leading to immorality.
Students also waste a lot of
valuable time on the internet
leading to poor performance.”
"Many children provide too
much personal information
online and give access to bad
people, which may lead them
to fall victim to sexual predators. The Internet
is both a beautiful and ugly creature, but the
best part is that the users mold its face, so we choose what we
want the Web to be," Okello Elvis Nume, Comprehensive
College Kitetikka, Wakiso
“The Internet leads
to immorality
through exposure
of pornographic
content for example
pictures and movies,”
Tumusiime Derrick,
S3, Red, Busia Trust
Secondary School.
“Social media networks
like Facebook have a
lot of disadvantages.
You could be bullied or
harassed by an adult
or a fellow young
person," Sanyu Kevin,
S6, Namboole HS,
Kampala
“The Internet is very
addictive and it has
become a driver for time
wasting which inturn
leads to limited time for
revising books," Lizzie
Kashy, S4, Princess
Diana HS, Kampala
In recent times, there
are many young people
and adults who need eye
glasses because of spending
too much time on their
computers surfing the
internet
Musculoskeletal disorders
are directly related to
bad sitting posture which
most people do when they
spend many hours on their
computers surfing the
internet
Child online protection is important
to both leaders and parents and
is a matter of urgency. Times have
changed, pornography has become
so easily accessible. It is evident that
the internet has positively influenced
us in education, facilitated online
transactions and has made available
expert medical services through
telemedicine, it has also had a negative
impact on the innocence of our children
who are being exposed to online
content that is detrimental to their
young minds and we must regulate it
and curtail its harmful effects.
Many young people tell lies on social
media about their age, where they live
among other things. Facebook requires
that you are 13 at the time you open a
facebook page. Many below this age
open accounts claiming they are older.
Promotes liesPromotes lies
Janet Museveni,
ACOP Conference 2014
• Visit sites suitable for my age
• Be polite, show respect on line.
The internet is not a problem but
the values we take with us online
may be the problem
• Keep your personal information
secret
• Report unpleasant messages to
security departments of platforms
such as facebook and Google.
National Information Technology
Authority and Internet Watch
Foundation run an online child
sexual abuse reporting portal:
report.iwf.org.uk/ug where you can
report online child sexual abuse in
a safe and confidential way.
• Simon Kutesa the head of media
crimes at Uganda Police says,
"report online crimes to any police
station."
• When you decide to meet people
you connect with online, meet
them in a public place. Do not be
obvious. If you told them you will
be in red, wear a different colour.
This will give you chance to assess
the person before meeting them.
Go with a friend just in case the
person is harmful.
Straight Talk, September 2015

3. Straight Talk, October 2013 33
Nassozi Josephine, S1, 15,
Galaxy SS, Wakiso asked:
What causes vaginal fluids?
Dear Josephine, at puberty, the
walls of the vagina produce a fluid
or a discharge which is thicker
than saliva. This is caused by the
hormones in our bodies.
Belinda Tumushabe, a Clinical
Officer in Murchison Bay Hospital in
Kampala says: Vaginal fluids keep
the vagina clean and maintain
the proper environment in which
"good" bacteria that prevent
infections can grow.
G
one are the days when
someone raped or defiled
you and you had no where
to report. Many times, young people
suffer the pain of abuse in silence
because they do not know where to
report such cases. Even those who
know where to go give up because of
the hectic proceedures of following up
a case and the costs that come with it.
Today life has been simplified. Uganda
Get it off your chest: Call SautiGet it off your chest: Call Sauti
On 11th July, 2015 Straight
Talk Foundation hosted 31
schools at Nsambya Sharing
Hall for the Red Card to
Underage alcohol debating
and drama competion.
The day kicked off with debates,
poetry, dance and drama at
8.30am as different schools tussled
it out to be crowned the ultimate
winners of the day. Students
shared the negative effects of
underage alcohol consumption
through debate, poems, music and
petitions. The day was graced by
Mr. Mondo Kyateka, the Assistant
Commissioner for Youth Affairs
at the Ministry of Gender, Labour
and Social Development and
Susan Ajok the Executive Director
Straight Talk Foundation.
Winterland PS and Uphill College
Mbuya that presented a poem and
petition respectively were given
awards in recognition of their
outstanding effort.
Normal vaginal discharge
This is clear and whitish in
colour, non smelly, not itchy.
Girls tend to get more vaginal
fluids during certain times
of the menstrual cycle. For
example, discharge increases
during ovulation or when
sexually excited.
Abnormal discharge: It is
smelly, itchy, has blood or pus,
yellowish in colour or looks like
spoilt milk. This could be due to
infections/STDs. Go to hospital
for treatment if you have an
abnormal discharge.
Why is it that when
some women with HIV/
AIDS produce children,
they have HIV too?
Namuddu Proscovia,
14, Standard SS,
Bweyogerere
Dear Proscovia, HIV is
transmitted from mother to
child via three main ways.
First, the child can get infected
when it is still in the womb as
the virus can cross the placenta
and enter the baby, during
labour and the child birth. The
risk of infecting a baby with
HIV is high especially when an
HIV positive mother does not
give birth from a health unit
with qualified health workers
who can help to prevent
infection. Dr Stephen Watiti,
Watiti Foundation
toll
free
emergency child response help
line called Sauti. It is free of charge.
The National call Centre is found in
Kampala but receives cases from
all around the country. Qualified
staff and counselors are available
24 hours, seven days a week to
attend to you. They speak English
and different Ugandan languages.
When you call from the country
side, your case will be handled
at a satellite or action centers in
different districts. The Probation
and Social Welfare offices at district
levels act as satellite action centers.
If you are calling from a nearby
place, the Sauti team will reach
you within a short time. Reported
cases are followed up until they
are solved in confidence. Currently,
majority of people who call Sauti
are from central Uganda and Apac
district. In a day about 650 cases
are received at the Sauti call centre.
Communications Commission in
partnership with Ministry of Gender,
Labor and Social Development has
introduced the short code 116 as an
Most of the cases reported since 2013 are rape, defilement, forced marriage,
incest, child neglect, physical abuse including Female Genital Mutilation.
A lady at the Sauti Call Centre Kampala responds to calls from young people
Students who attended the Convention learnt
new skills like making cookies, and chips.
Straight Talk, September 2015

4. Straight Talk, September - December 20154
Straight Talk FOUNDATION 4 Acacia Avenue, PO Box 22366, Kampala (U) Telephone: 0312-262030/ 0312-26203,
E-mail: info@.straightalkfoundation.org, Web: www.straightalkfoundation.org, Executive Director: Susan Ajok, Mass Media Manager: Martha Akello,
Editors: Jane Nafula, Sylvia Akol and Nadine Maier Designer: Michael Kalanzi (MeBK), Funded by DANIDA
be very serious. A
dangerous illness may begin with only
mild symptoms. It is often difficult
to identify these disorders correctly.
Special knowledge and tests may be
needed. Seek advice from a health
worker.
>>>>>My mother died two years
back. I stay with my father who
drinks alcohol. Whenever he
comes back, he asks for sex.
What can I do? KE, Greenvalley
HS, Kampala
Sorry for the loss of your mother. It is
sad that the person who should take
good care of you comes back when
he is drunk and asks for sex from you.
Talk to your senior woman teacher or
a close relative for immediate help.
>>>>>Is it true that circumcision
prevents some types of
cancers? Asaba Kenneth, Gulu
Army, SS
Yes, cancer of the penis is very rare
among people who practice infant
circumcision and circumcised men
are less likely to transmit Human
Papilloma Virus that causes cancer
of the cervix in women and girls.
>>>>>Am in love with a girl
who is mentally unstable.
I want to dump her but I’m
scared of her reaction. What
should I do? Byoruganda
Gilbert, S4, Galaxy SS Wakiso
If she is mentally unstable, help her
seek medical help from a counselor
or a therapist from a nearby health
centre. She needs your help now
more than ever.
>>>>>I feel pain in my waist
and vagina. What can I do?
Girl, 18, Hopeful Future SS,
Kayunga.
Go for a medical checkup because
you could have what is known
as “pelvic inflammatory disease”
(PID), which is infection within the
fallopian tubes and/or uterus.
Belinda Tumushabe,
Murchison Bay Hospital, K’la
and Dr Stephen Watiti, Watiti
Foundation.
Students of Alere SS Adjumani say: " Life is
easy when you serve one master at ago. Focus on
education and forget about relationships.”
Please
advise
BelindaThere is a man who
usually disturbs me
by asking me to go
for outings with him.
He also asks me for
my requirement
list for school. I am
really scared. What
should I do?
Belinda, Progressive SS,
Kitintale Kampala.Students of Aluma SS Busia, say: "If you are not abstaining, use
condoms and stick to one girlfriend or boyfriend to avoid STDs.”
Star
school
Hornby High School, Kabale is
our star school. Students in this
school continuously send their
letters to Straight Talk. They do
not wait for Straight Talk staff to
go to the school and ask them to
write letters. Make your school a
star by writing, sending beautiful
pictures, suggesting topics you
would like us to feature in the
next issue of the Straight Talk
newsletter.
Send your letters to
PO BOX 22366, Kampala.
Facebook: Straight-Talk-Foundation
Twitter: @STFUganda
Do you or your friend
have more than one
partner? Why do you think
some people have more than
one partner? What problems
do people with more than
one partner face?
Write to Straight Talk
PO Box 22366,
Kampala
Quiz
>>>>>How can we keep our
reproductive organs healthy?
Angom Sharon Willy, Purongo
HS, Nwoya
Dear Sharon, being healthy is
more than not being sick. It is well
being: in the body, mind, and
community. People live best in
healthy surroundings, in places
where they can trust each other,
work together and help each other
grow and love each other. To keep
our reproductive organs healthy
we need to;
»» Maintain personal body hygiene.
»» Eat a well balanced diet for
proper growth, development
and resistance to diseases.
»» Do plenty of body physical exercises
to increase effectiveness and
efficiency of body systems.
»» Avoid sharing dirty toilet seats,
towels, underwear and knickers.
Avoid putting on tight jeans to
prevent outbreak of Candida.
»» If someone is below 18 years,
abstain from sexual intercourse to
prevent unwanted pregnancy and
STDs.
»» If you are sexually active abstain, be
faithful or use condoms to prevent,
HIV and other STDs.
»» For any reproductive organ
problem visit a health worker
immediately.
>>>>>I used to feel pain while
passing urine for about three
months, then it stopped by
itself, I no longer feel pain.
What do you think stopped it?
Ketty, Anaka SS.
Dear Ketty, there are many different
disorders of the urinary tract. They
are not always easy to tell. Some
are not serious, while others can
P. O. Box 22366
K A M P A L AP. O. Box 22366
K A M P A L A
Dear
STF