Happy New year Wishes from Kasese united humanist association

As we say fare well to 2009 alot of things have happened in the year 2009.

On behalf of KUHA,we did register some achievements and set backs since we came into existence.

Achievements:

- We managed to have our organisation fully registered with the local authorities and this happened in the month of   June 2009.This gave us legitimancy and giving us chance to operate as a community based organisation.

- We embarked on mobilising members and though some of our members have had financial constraints in paying membership fees,we have registered a total of 33 members.

- We managed opening up a postal address that is going to act as our mailing address.

- Our association did benefit in our book mobilization campaigns and we got some book donations from the Sanfrancisco Atheists,Magazines from the International humanist and ethical union,some trial copies from the New Humanist magazine UK.We also yet to recieve books and magazines from Canada,USA,UK from some sympathisers.

- We did establish our office on Matebere road and did equip it with some simple furniture,Table,Chair plus some benches.

- Most of our people after understanding Humanism and what its all about including its principles,manifesto and its values have joined us and we are optimistic all will be okay with us in this struggle for a free mind and freethought in general and this has given people an alternative from the dogmatic and indoctrination world in existence here in Uganda.

Some challenges encountered:

- We failed to open up our association bank account but we plan it for early next year.

- Our Kuha Shelter needs to be equiped with more benches.

- More readable materials are still needed most especially books on local school subjects like Biology,Physics,Chemistry,Geography to mention but afew.

- We failed to go around local school and villages to spread information regarding humanism and freethought in general,we are interested in organising seminars,workshops etc under different themes on Human rights,Environmental matters,Humanism issues and Science based topics.

- We lack finances to spear head our activities as we are entirely relying on ourselves in sacrificing the little we get from our part time jobs just for the betterment of our organisation.We would grately be happy to get generous funders for some of our programs especially that concerning organisation of seminars in and around kasese area district.

We wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010,LETS BE OPTIMISTIC THAT THROUGH HARDWORK AND DETERMINATION we will be able to progress in our plans and future aspirations.Many thanks to all those people who have stood behind us in support of all we do in trying making this world a better place.

Facts on Evolution

EVOLUTION


Evolution is a gradual accumulation of functional adaptations.For evolution to take place successfully there must be three essential items needed as indicated below:

1. Time

2. Genetic variety among the offspring

3. Mechanism of preserving only beneficial variation and such mechanism is called Natural or Cumulative selection which was first proposed by Scientist Charles Darwin in 1859

Facts on indoctrination and Dogmatism

Psy chological Sanction is a moral term that is used for the purpose of psychological intimidation which is intended to motivate compliance with rules.

A Physical function ,if successful causes the emotion of guilt,a man motivated by guilt is a man with a broken spirit and in this case he or she will obey the rules without question.

Religion has played a vital role in creating a sense of guilt in people to motivate them to obey the gods rules so it was necessary for christianity and other religions to provide the missing evaluative link between the thought of disobeying God and the experience of guilt and to be smart this gap was filled nicely by the concept of sin.

"sin" is perhaps the most effective sanction ever invented and for christians to sin is the worst thing imaginable and the thought of commiting a sin can cause intense guilt.

Friederich Nietzsche attacked Christianity basing on their constant use of the phrase "SIN"he Writes "......... that form par excellence of hte self violation of man,was invented to make science,culture,every kind of elevation and nobility of mans impossible;the Priest rules through the invention of sin".

REASONING
This is the process of thinking about things in a logical way.It involves using the mind ie using ones brain as a major tool in bringing out solutions.

This lays a major foundation to Rationalists of which we as humanists belong as well.Reasoning enables man to identify and integrate the facts of reality BUT man`s reason does not function automatically;it requires the choice to exert mental effort,to actively focus on ones mind.

Rationalists deal with facts,with what is true and avoiding what we think are not true.We come to the limelight and bring every thing in the open and make it known publically.We are even willing to sacrifice the judgement of our minds to the desires and demands of other people.

Intellectually,every man is independent of himself.there is intellectual independence at work and the willingness to assume responsibility for one`s beliefs,choices and actions.
               

                         

FAITH

This is a term that means acting without critical deliberation and acting without regard for the natural consequencies of ones actions,acting because it is demanded of one by an Authority.

- Faith is a simple matter of conformity.

- With faith at work there is no chance for one to ask questions or reasoning for that matter.

- The acts of faith are united by their submission to an Authoritative Moral Code.

- It should also be noted that when theologians speaks of faith in God,they mean that Devine Rules must be obeyed without Question.

The man who seeks for truth calls on REASONING; The man who seeks Conformity calls on FAITH.

Note: A Moral independence entirely relies on reasoning while a morality of disobedience relies on faith.

            

Homo Sapiens,the species man belongs to.....

Kasese United Humanist Association Wishes you the very best as you read the above scientific and philosophical facts......

KUHA

Working for the Betterment of Humanity

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Facts on Humanism

What is Humanism: Humanism is the solving of human problems guided by reason and science, its free from religious dogma, motivated by an appreciation of life and the life of others, seeking to reach goals of human happiness, personal freedom and growth with responsibility and understanding on this earth, in this life, at this time.
It aims at making sure human life is in happiness for the life time the human species isn on this planet.

We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and the solving of human problems. Also including; we believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life, and we believe in the common moral decencies; altruism, honesty, truthfulness, and personal responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical and rational guidance. In short, the critical thinking process lies at the heart of Humanism.

Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change. Humanists recognize nature as self-existing. We accept our life as all and enough, distinguishing things as they are from things as we might wish or imagine them to be. We welcome the challenges of the future, and are drawn to and undaunted by the yet to be known.

Types of Humanism :
Literary Humanism is a devotion to the humanities or literary culture.
Renaissance Humanism is the spirit of learning that developed at the end of the middle ages with the revival of classical letters and a renewed confidence in the ability of human beings to determine for themselves truth and falsehood.
Cultural Humanism is the rational and empirical tradition that originated largely in ancient Greece and Rome, evolved throughout European history, and now constitutes a basic part of the Western approach to science, political theory, ethics, and law.
Philosphical Humanism is any outlook or way of life centered on human need and interest. Sub-categories of this type include Christian Humanism and Modern Humanism.
Christian Humanism is defined by Webster's Third New International Dictionary as "a philosophy advocating the self- fulfillment of man within the framework of Christian principles." This more human-oriented faith is largely a product of the Renaissance and is a part of what made up Renaissance humanism.
Modern Humanism, also called Naturalistic Humanism, Scientific Humanism, Ethical Humanism and Democratic Humanism is defined by one of its leading proponents, Corliss Lamont, as "a naturalistic philosophy that rejects all supernaturalism and relies primarily upon reason and science, democracy and human compassion." Modern Humanism has a dual origin, both secular and religious, and these constitute its sub-categories.
Secular Humanism is an outgrowth of 18th century enlightenment rationalism and 19th century freethought. Many secular groups, such as the Council for Democratic and Secular Humanism and the American Rationalist Federation, and many otherwise unaffiliated academic philosophers and scientists, advocate this philosophy.
Religious Humanism emerged out of Ethical Culture, Unitarianism, and Universalism. Today, many Unitarian- Universalist congregations and all Ethical Culture societies describe themselves as humanist in the modern sense.
Foundation of Humanism:
(a) Know yourself

(b) Remember your humanity and forget the rest.

(c) Live well and help others live well.

Principles of humanism AS Drafted by:


PAUL KURTZ (chairman Council for Secular Humanism(USA) and Center for inquiry international)

· We are committed to the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and to the solving of human problems.

· We deplore efforts to denigrate human intelligence, to seek to explain the world in supernatural terms, and to look outside nature for salvation.

· We believe that scientific discovery and technology can contribute to the betterment of human life.

· We believe in an open and pluralistic society and that democracy is the best guarantee of protecting human rights from authoritarian elites and repressive majorities.

· We are committed to the principle of the separation of church and state.

· We cultivate the arts of negotiation and compromise as a means of resolving differences and achieving mutual understanding.

· We are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.

· We believe in supporting the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves.

· We attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.

· We want to protect and enhance the earth, to preserve it for future generations, and to avoid inflicting needless suffering on other species.

· We believe in enjoying life here and now and in developing our creative talents to their fullest.

· We believe in the cultivation of moral excellence.

· We respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.

· We believe in the common moral decencies: altruism, integrity, honesty, truthfulness, responsibility. Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences.

· We are deeply concerned with the moral education of our children. We want to nourish reason and compassion.

· We are engaged by the arts no less than by the sciences.

· We are citizens of the universe and are excited by discoveries still to be made in the cosmos.

· We are skeptical of untested claims to knowledge, and we are open to novel ideas and seek new departures in our thinking.

· We affirm humanism as a realistic alternative to theologies of despair and ideologies of violence and as a source of rich personal significance and genuine satisfaction in the service to others.

· We believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in the place of dogma, truth instead of ignorance, joy rather than guilt or sin, tolerance in the place of fear, love instead of hatred, compassion over selfishness, beauty instead of ugliness, and reason rather than blind faith or irrationality.

· We believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings.

Planetary Humanism:

Paul Kurtz said "Our actions should be judged by their effects on those we encounter in our communities of interraction.This must be extended to the larger planetary focus;the blue-green dot as viewed from from outer space".

As globalization re-shapes our world,its our role we homo sapiens should be the only ones to find solutions to global problems afflicting on us.

To some of our readers who donot understand the meaning of Homo Sapiens its the species which we humans belong and a species is a group into which animals,plantsetc that are able to breed with each other and be in position to inter breed and give birth to younger ones.

Homo Sapiens a species group of which we humans belong

Facts on Sciences and Our Planet Earth

SCIENTIFIC FACTS



Natural Law:


Natural law is based upon the limited nature of existence.Every entity has a specific nature,specific characteristics,that determines thecharacteristics capacity of that entity.


Taking examples of plants,they do not have capacity to think as humans,also humans do not have the capacity to photosynthesize.The capacities,abilities and potential actions of an existing living or non living organism are dependent on its characteristics and since they are always determinate and specific to their resulting capacities are also determinate and specific.


All these constitute the foundation of Natural law.


The primacy of existence is clearly explained in science by the principle that Matter can neither be created nor Destroyed.


Man`s existence is as a product of evolution.


Geological Scientists plus some other scientists have done recommendable work to explain this;Darwins theory of Natural selection explains that man developed from a single celled organism through a series of stages and that there has been a struggle for existence and this has led to the fit for organisms to continue living while the less favored or selected against have lost lives and eliminated from the population for example the Dinosaur population became extinct.


Findings from Radiometric dating from the Geologic Column establishes the chronological order in which various life forms first appeared on earth.This is clearly indicated as follow:


1-Single celled


2-Multi celled


3-Soft bodied


4-fish


5-Amphibians


6-Reptiles


7-Mammals


8-Apes


9-Australopithecus


10-Homo Habilis


11-Homo Erectus


12-Homo Sapiens






CREATIONISM


This is a belief as claimed by christians as in the Bible that the world was created by a supernatural being called God


Creationism doctrine states that God created all life forms including man during a single,brief period known as "Creation Week"


We scientists strongly believe Dinosaurs and Human beings have walked the earth simultaneously,as did Gorillas and Trilobites.All animal "kinds" are the same ages,give or take afew days and we all pass through the same stages of growth and development.


The geologic column reveals to us that some species evolved in a steady but gradual manner where as others evolved more rapidly or became extinct for example the Dinosaur community and the speed of evolution is closely tied to external pressure exerted by the environment,by contrast sharks which lives in stable ocean environments have shown almost no evolutionary change in milions of years.


Creationists argue that even if one believes that all life forms evolved from a single cell or cells, a creater is necessary to explain the complexity of cellular life.This contradiction is answered by a famous scientist called Miller-Urey Experiments perfomed at the University of Chicago USA in 1953.


Stanley Miller and Harold Urey found out that Amino acids the building blocks of cell proteins form readily from a mixture of ammonia,Methane,Water and Hydrogen gas all of which are present in abundancy on the premordial earth.


Miller discovered that molecules of life naturally assemble themselves from afew basic,easily available ingridients and origin of life only required organic molecules,water and most importantly millions of years to develop.


In the late 1990,scientists discovered that life can occur in conditions previously thought to be completely inhospitable to Biological Systems such as in near boiling hydrothermal vents in ocean floor,or in poison methane ice etc.






FACTS ABOUT THE EARTH


- Its the planet on which we live.


-Has got a diameter of 7,925 Miles


-The earth revolves around the sun


-Its spherical shaped


-Its distance from the sun is approximately 93 Million miles.


-Its density is 5.5 density of water.


-Temperatures on this earth varies from place to place and we have got temperate areas,tropical,equatorial etc.


-Creationists acording to them calculate that God created Heaven and earth in the year 4004 B.C so according to them the earth is only 6000 years old by biblical chronology.


-Scientists through analysing of fossil records,nature of soil strata through using carbon dating have calculated the age of the earth at 5 Billion Years old while the Cosmos is 14 Billion years old.


-The earth is among other planets as in existence in the cosmos which is mentioned no where in religious circles.Other planets are Jupiter,Uranus,Saturn,Pluto,Mercury,Moon,Mars and Neptune and of all these in space its Jupiter which is the biggest.

Compiled by Bwambale Robert KUHA

Benefits of our proposed Book Library Project

1.Members will be able to access knowledge on humanism ,freethinking and skeptical information.

2.The stocked readable materials will be read by so many people as the literature is going to be permanent in the library.

3.Members plus the general public in our community will benefit from other library services to be offered like printing ,scanning ,photo coping ,laminating and duplicating documents.

4.Computer section part of the library will have a computer room and at a later stage we hope to connect the computers to the internet which is so important in this era of information age.

5.The entire student community in and around kasese area will be able to utilize this library facility for their revision ,reference and research purposes .Kasese area has got many Primary schools,secondary schools and higher institutions of higher learning plus elite community .We expect to be busy in holidays as the student community during this time will find it a necessary meeting point.

6.The knowledge attained from our library will be a major tool for publicity and in boosting people and our members to fight against Ignorance ,Poverty and Disease which has kept our people backward up to this time and age.

                      KASESE UNITED HUMANIST ASSOCIATION
              working for the betterment of Humanity

Humanism in Western Uganda

HUMANISM IN WESTERN UGANDA
Humanism is still a new phenomenon to our people in Western Uganda and most of the people have never heard about it and are hearing it for the first time.

Western Uganda is a wide area covering many districts like Kasese,Fort-Portal ,Bundibugyo ,Mbarara, Bushenyi ,Ntungamo,Kyenjojo,Kamwenge,Ibanda and Rukingiri.
The main reason why little is known about Humanism is historical for example Uganda is a former colony of Britain and there has been dominance of faiths of Anglicans(Church of Uganda),Catholics, Adventists, Orthodox , Jehovahs witnesses ,Baptists ,Methodists ,Bahai ,Pentecostal churches and Islam .some Ugandans have become conservatives and resorted to African religion .Each of these mentioned faiths have invested a lot in establishing schools ,hospitals and health centers, orphanages while others have well established charity and relief organizations.
There has been widespread indoctrination in all these places and our people over the years have been forced indirectly to follow certain beliefs and believe in them without giving them chance to live in a free skeptical environment to express their own thoughts and explore what is good or bad for them and its only a very wise person who can figure out the logic behind all this.So KUHA needs high effort and strong support both materially and financially to counter interract the afore mentioned investiments by the historical dominancy of faiths.
This indoctrination over the ages has left most of our people blind folded, lagging behind in economic development because there is a lot going on and poverty is at its peak,there is a lot of belief in miracles ,magics ,witchcraft

Humanism presents a solution to all these set backs as it will have people believe in working so hard to make life better because if our people could utilize Reasoning as a major tool in solving day to day problems instead of believing in getting help from other sources without ones determination to utilize the knowledge he or she is having.

Humanism can help our people in several ways as indicated below:
(a)People need to taught about the their basic human rights as in accordance with global demands of observing peoples human rights of which our country Uganda is a signatory to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

(b)The Student community have to be encouraged to take keen interest doing sciences and science related courses or subjects both in primary ,secondary and higher institutions of higher learning.
Scientists have played a significant role in transforming peoples lives including even those from religious and non religious communities because we all find things made by scientists so beneficial for example Drugs ,auto mobiles ,Mobile phones ,Air crafts etc and the list is endless.

(c)There is a need to fight against witchcraft and belief in Magic Powers because all these have no good thing in them as they retard development.
Witchcraft in Uganda is so rampant almost in all corners around the country but most dominant in Rural areas like parts of Bunyoro ,Bundibugyo ,Bunyaruguru to mention but a few.

(d)There is a need to invest a lot in Environmental Management because it’s a worldly problem affecting all corners around the globe.
The environment is changing from good to worse and this has been brought about by mans activities in the name of development like construction of roads ,towns ,cutting down trees for timber and charcoal burning ,mining which has destroyed the earth strata deforming the environment ,clearing of wet-lands, use of second hand cars ,fridges which emit carbon dioxide that is very dangerous to the atmosphere and people; and the use of polyethene bags which has become a menace to the soil structure ,Un necessary and un called for Wars which are still evident in most parts of Africa and my country in general where bombs ,gun shots, gun ships, mortars ,missiles release dangerous fumes that contaminate the atmosphere there by raising global temperatures and falling of Acidic Rain which is dangerous to us humans and the soils.

(e)There is a necessity for our people to be taught how to work and save and invest.
Most African people lack saving and investing culture.

Even those who are blessed with jobs still a small fraction of them know where to invest and where to save the funds .There has been at least some progress in the field of banking in Uganda as banks now exists in all the corners of Uganda.

In conclusion ,Kasese united humanist association is determined to help our people grow up into resourceful people for our country and the entire world in general.


We only have challenges in mobilizing finances so that we engage our programs as we plan to have workshops,seminars,school visits,village tours and telling our people to wake up and join us.


We plan to work hand in hand with Uganda Humanist association which is the national association over seeing the activities of Uganda humanists, Kasese District Development Network KADD-NET umbrella for Kasese district Non Governmental Organizations and the International Humanist and Ethical Union.

Written by:
Bwambale Robert
DIRECTOR
KASESE UNITED HUMANIST ASSOCIATION
Email  info.kuha@gmail.com

KUHA Beliefs,Plans and Objectives

KASESE UNITED HUMANIST ASSOCIATION

kasese united humanist association(kuha) is devoted to spread humanism among people of kasese and its neighbourhoods. Kuha is working hand in hand with Uganda Humanist Association in its efforts towards promoting the humanist movement.


Kuha’s identity is clearly described in our constitution. KUHA~s main aim is to promote a freethinking vision of social, cultural and ethical values among young and old people of kasese area and western Uganda in general.We are more interested in a visionary world of sciences and free thinking and skepticism.We highly respect REASONING by utilising the potential of using reasoning as a major tool in solving human problems thereby making life good and worthy living in total happiness forever.


KUHA's beliefs

- Human beings possess the potential power to solve problems by reasoning.


- Human beings are a part of nature; all forms of the supernatural are myth.


- Human beings have the capacity or strength to choose good over evil without the expectation of reward in another life and the brain of humans is more advanced and has got the potential to guide him or her whatsoever.


- Human beings attain good life by continuous self-development and determination to work and can contribute to the welfare of the community.


- We believe in democratic procedures and procedures in government.


-We believe in freedom of expression and civil liberties and we have got strong commitment to advocate for peoples rights and freedoms,we are against human rights violations and abuses by people.


- We respect Science discovery and technology and we strongly believe this can contribute to the betterment of human life on this planet plus other planets and galaxies.


- We believe in supporting the disadvantaged to help themselves and enjoy their life,our target people are street children,orphans,widows, widowers plus those people from poor back grounds.


- We fully support existence and promotion of sciences in schools and its our hope that more people take full involvement and participation in sciences especially practical hand skills.



Objectives

· To educate our people about free thought.


· To advocate for human rights and making sure our members are fully aware about their basic human rights and freedoms of speech,choice,gathering etc.


· To oppose oppressive religions, cultures and dogmas that keep both men and women in massive indoctrination.


· To encourage moral excellence, positive relationships, human dignity, compassion and cooperation amongst our people.


· To seek ways of solving problems of life without the dogmatic authority of secular religious institutions but instead using reasoning and knowledge of science to solve the problems.


· To eradicate or alleviate poverty amongst people in our community which is so high.Our country Uganda is rated among the poorest countries of the world yet naturally gifted with abundant resources.


. To promote Education of the girl child who have been left behind in most African societies.Very little emphasis has been put on girls going into school because of Traditional-cultural and religious beliefs being imposed on our people.


. To promote science education in Ugandan schools,we are targeting to have young people in primary,secondary and higher institutions of learning;love and get motivated to do sciences.



KUHA's Plans

· To carry out AIDS control campaign and awareness among the youths in kasese area and parts of western Uganda.


· To promote the welfare of young girls and boys through establishing secular schools that will provide them with employment and practical skills and also telling them better options to get involved in less risky busineses.


· To help our members enjoy their life on earth by counseling and involving them in self-help projects as earlier on mentioned under Kuha Planned Projects.


· To carry out seminars and workshops in schools and tertiary institutions in order to promote humanism in form of scientific and philosophical approach.


· To open up a fully equiped well stocked library with lots of readable materials of books ,magazines,journals and newsletters on a wide range of topics ranging from Free thought,Science literature to social economic and political books.


· To set up a humanist vocational institute to offer both secondary school education and vocational subjects like typing,tailoring,carpentry,electrical and electronic engineering,Auto Mechanics in kasese district areas.


. To set up an Orphanage Center to cater for the welfare of disadvantaged children.



KUHA’s history

Kasese united humanist association was founded two years ago in April 2007. The initiative for starting KUHA was developed by Mr Bwambale Robert who is a biological scientist and a former student of Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo now renamed Kyambogo University.He holds an Ordinary Diploma majoring in Biological Sciences.


He initiated the association in the year 2007 under a name called kasese freethinkers union and in the year 2009 he got united with some colleagues who had an interest in humanism hailing from kasese district area and formed an association named Kasese United Humanist Association abbreviated as KUHA.

KUHA got registered in April 2009 and was registered by the Kasese Town Council plus Kasese District Development Network as a community based organisation.This gave us legitimacy to perform our duties in line with the operations of non profit,non governmental organisations.


Kasese united humanist association`s registration number is CBO/223


We are governed by a constitution and have got an Executive Board that is fully elected by the members and as the association embarks on its proposed programs there will be a need to get elected officers and workers to help us in running the organisation.

Famous mountains of the moon

Rwenzori mountains in Western Uganda