At the very grassroots of the problem…
In the vast rural setting surrounding the city of Lira in the Northern part of Uganda, families have been returning to rebuild their lives since early 2008. But the transformation from life in an IDP camp, to a sustainable family home is not an easy one. Many families have lost one, if not both providers, leaving a devastating number of orphans child-aided or in the care of already over-stretched relatives.
The mental implications of this combined with spending years in camps are evident in children as well as adults. With nothing to do, mourning the loss of loved ones and bearing untold hardships, many adults turn to alcohol for salvation, which in the end adds to their unhappiness, results in domestic violence and tears families further apart. Needless to say, children who grow up in such an unstable environment, with no access to education and with little in terms of a disciplined and structured upbringing, suffer immense consequences, physically and mentally.
Most families who return to their homes are partly, if not entirely dependent on the support of the many NGOs based in the area, aiding the lengthy re-build of an area, which has been rebel territory nearly two decades. One such organisation is the TPO (Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation), which works tirelessly at community level to identify, support and treat children suffering from severe mental health repercussions.
Today we follow a few of TPO Lira’s key members of staff as they go about their work in some of the surrounding districts. First up is a scheduled meeting with the local network of the (CPC) Child Protection Committee members. CPC representatives from each of the parishes in the project sub-county of Adwari gather together in the cooling shade of a mango tree, where they share their successes and more complicated cases with their fellow members and TPO staff. As each case is conveyed, a blueprint of their daily encounters emerges; most common are the cases that involve defilement and rape – more often than not involving young teenage girls; early marriages is another dominant issue, with girls as young as 12 being married off as a way of earning money; domestic violence and broken homes resulting in low school enrolment statistics; reunification of families and aiding returned children in the tracing of their parents, not knowing if they’re even still alive. The stories are never-ending and overwhelming, but each is dealt with matter-of-factly by TPO Programme Co-ordinator, Rose, offering practical advice and next steps to the gathered CPC members. Armed with educational posters, one representative Jo explains; “These meetings are very helpful to me and my community, because the knowledge I get from the TPO, I always go and share with the people in my community. They teach us about children’s rights, and how to define violation of children’s rights, things that I can go home at teach my people, so that they can report when a child is in danger of abuse.”
Such meetings take place in each sub-county once a month and is just one of the many initiatives by TPO to improve the lives of children and their families. Explains Rose; “CPC members work individually with TPO trained and supported social workers. They give emotional support, they dialogue with the families, they solve problems related to children. When they have cases that need special attention, that’s when they come to the sub-county. So there’s a very close network. In the support structures we have included all the levels like the family structures, traditional healers, NGOs, women’s and youth groups, so we have involved the whole community social network.”
Next stop is the Amunga Primary School in Okwang sub-county, which like so many others in the area has been affected by rebel activities. As Headmaster Ogwal Charles explains, “most families left the area and were staying in camps, disrupting their children’s education. As families return from the camps to resettle in their homes, many obstacles face them and their children. Because of the disruption to children’s lives and the psychosocial effect the conflict and years in camps have had on them, many have not returned to school. But gradually, as TPO got involved, we were able to get around to the families, to sensitise the parents to bring their kids back to school. And through that support a good number of children have come back to school. Before we had about 400 children enrolled, now that number is 605. This is also thanks to the World Food Program who are supporting us with food so we can feed the children when they’re in school – for many of them, this is the only meal they get. Through the support we’ve had from TPO, I am also very glad to say that now we are able to identify and help those children who have extra problems, mostly due to the loss of one or both parents. You’ll find that many of these children are child-aided, and for them the school is like their home – this is where they get food and spend most of their time, at home, they have nothing. So far, we have identified about 15 children who suffer severe mental problems and need extra help to rehabilitate – for now five of these are enrolled in TPO activities such as school clubs and counselling.”
The following day, another meeting in another sub-county. Rose explains that TPO first came to the area in 2004, when the majority of the population were still in IDP camps. “We identified a number of structures already existing within the different communities, among whom were this group of caregivers – people who already acted as a kind of advisor to their communities. We trained them for two weeks in children’s rights, family counselling techniques etc and gave another refresher course in 2006. To this day, these caregivers are still functioning, offering support to their communities, and for us are the ideal way to sustain available resources. This group of people are going to be useful for a very, very long time.” Referring to the group of 30-40 women who have gathered around for the meeting, Rose adds proudly, “and this is the fruit of the caregivers’ work.”
The women, young and old, are from parishes throughout the sub-county where they identify and support children and families in need, receiving guidance and support from the TPO-trained caregivers. Sharing their experiences, the sadly familiar stories ring out yet again; alcohol problems, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. The members of the women’s group work with parents and teachers to ensure children go to school, they gather clothes, food and books within the community, take care of orphans and child-aided children and in general offer support to their communities.
Nelson, who has been a caregiver in the Luru parish explains; “I started working as a caregiver when I was in the camp, because we had a lot of children who were traumatised by the LRA rebels. TPO has trained us in how to identify and counsel traumatised people, about sexual and gender-based violence and diseases like HIV/AIDS. When we returned to the community we tried to motivate people to make them come together. Advised them in churches and passed our training on to groups like the women’s groups. I like my work because we have faced many difficulties because of the LRA, and now I can give care to my whole community. When we have meetings like this it is very helpful, because it is training us to care for our people, it helps us getting children back to school. So many children have lost their parents, and it’s important they go to school, to learn and make friends. It is important to have friends, it is not good to be lonely. They need that so they can get over the death of their parents.”
Mary Ogwel, another caregiver agrees. “That is the most important thing for us, to get children back to school. I tell the parents in my parish that education is like the light for a child, with education they can get anything they need. I feel proud to have been taught these things by TPO, and all the people are now getting acquainted with the work we are doing, and they appreciate it, they now come to us to ask for advice because they have seen that we can help.”
When asked what they need to do more and better work, their requests are achingly modest: Transportation, a bicycle even, to cover the long distances within their parishes; uniforms to identify them more easily within the community; maybe even a small allowance – it is only now that I realise that all this work is carried out on a volunteer basis. With just a small increase in funding, imagine how many more children could be reached, how many more lives could be brought back on track, how many more futures saved.
The mental implications of this combined with spending years in camps are evident in children as well as adults. With nothing to do, mourning the loss of loved ones and bearing untold hardships, many adults turn to alcohol for salvation, which in the end adds to their unhappiness, results in domestic violence and tears families further apart. Needless to say, children who grow up in such an unstable environment, with no access to education and with little in terms of a disciplined and structured upbringing, suffer immense consequences, physically and mentally.
Most families who return to their homes are partly, if not entirely dependent on the support of the many NGOs based in the area, aiding the lengthy re-build of an area, which has been rebel territory nearly two decades. One such organisation is the TPO (Transcultural Psychosocial Organisation), which works tirelessly at community level to identify, support and treat children suffering from severe mental health repercussions.
Today we follow a few of TPO Lira’s key members of staff as they go about their work in some of the surrounding districts. First up is a scheduled meeting with the local network of the (CPC) Child Protection Committee members. CPC representatives from each of the parishes in the project sub-county of Adwari gather together in the cooling shade of a mango tree, where they share their successes and more complicated cases with their fellow members and TPO staff. As each case is conveyed, a blueprint of their daily encounters emerges; most common are the cases that involve defilement and rape – more often than not involving young teenage girls; early marriages is another dominant issue, with girls as young as 12 being married off as a way of earning money; domestic violence and broken homes resulting in low school enrolment statistics; reunification of families and aiding returned children in the tracing of their parents, not knowing if they’re even still alive. The stories are never-ending and overwhelming, but each is dealt with matter-of-factly by TPO Programme Co-ordinator, Rose, offering practical advice and next steps to the gathered CPC members. Armed with educational posters, one representative Jo explains; “These meetings are very helpful to me and my community, because the knowledge I get from the TPO, I always go and share with the people in my community. They teach us about children’s rights, and how to define violation of children’s rights, things that I can go home at teach my people, so that they can report when a child is in danger of abuse.”
Such meetings take place in each sub-county once a month and is just one of the many initiatives by TPO to improve the lives of children and their families. Explains Rose; “CPC members work individually with TPO trained and supported social workers. They give emotional support, they dialogue with the families, they solve problems related to children. When they have cases that need special attention, that’s when they come to the sub-county. So there’s a very close network. In the support structures we have included all the levels like the family structures, traditional healers, NGOs, women’s and youth groups, so we have involved the whole community social network.”
Next stop is the Amunga Primary School in Okwang sub-county, which like so many others in the area has been affected by rebel activities. As Headmaster Ogwal Charles explains, “most families left the area and were staying in camps, disrupting their children’s education. As families return from the camps to resettle in their homes, many obstacles face them and their children. Because of the disruption to children’s lives and the psychosocial effect the conflict and years in camps have had on them, many have not returned to school. But gradually, as TPO got involved, we were able to get around to the families, to sensitise the parents to bring their kids back to school. And through that support a good number of children have come back to school. Before we had about 400 children enrolled, now that number is 605. This is also thanks to the World Food Program who are supporting us with food so we can feed the children when they’re in school – for many of them, this is the only meal they get. Through the support we’ve had from TPO, I am also very glad to say that now we are able to identify and help those children who have extra problems, mostly due to the loss of one or both parents. You’ll find that many of these children are child-aided, and for them the school is like their home – this is where they get food and spend most of their time, at home, they have nothing. So far, we have identified about 15 children who suffer severe mental problems and need extra help to rehabilitate – for now five of these are enrolled in TPO activities such as school clubs and counselling.”
The following day, another meeting in another sub-county. Rose explains that TPO first came to the area in 2004, when the majority of the population were still in IDP camps. “We identified a number of structures already existing within the different communities, among whom were this group of caregivers – people who already acted as a kind of advisor to their communities. We trained them for two weeks in children’s rights, family counselling techniques etc and gave another refresher course in 2006. To this day, these caregivers are still functioning, offering support to their communities, and for us are the ideal way to sustain available resources. This group of people are going to be useful for a very, very long time.” Referring to the group of 30-40 women who have gathered around for the meeting, Rose adds proudly, “and this is the fruit of the caregivers’ work.”
The women, young and old, are from parishes throughout the sub-county where they identify and support children and families in need, receiving guidance and support from the TPO-trained caregivers. Sharing their experiences, the sadly familiar stories ring out yet again; alcohol problems, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. The members of the women’s group work with parents and teachers to ensure children go to school, they gather clothes, food and books within the community, take care of orphans and child-aided children and in general offer support to their communities.
Nelson, who has been a caregiver in the Luru parish explains; “I started working as a caregiver when I was in the camp, because we had a lot of children who were traumatised by the LRA rebels. TPO has trained us in how to identify and counsel traumatised people, about sexual and gender-based violence and diseases like HIV/AIDS. When we returned to the community we tried to motivate people to make them come together. Advised them in churches and passed our training on to groups like the women’s groups. I like my work because we have faced many difficulties because of the LRA, and now I can give care to my whole community. When we have meetings like this it is very helpful, because it is training us to care for our people, it helps us getting children back to school. So many children have lost their parents, and it’s important they go to school, to learn and make friends. It is important to have friends, it is not good to be lonely. They need that so they can get over the death of their parents.”
Mary Ogwel, another caregiver agrees. “That is the most important thing for us, to get children back to school. I tell the parents in my parish that education is like the light for a child, with education they can get anything they need. I feel proud to have been taught these things by TPO, and all the people are now getting acquainted with the work we are doing, and they appreciate it, they now come to us to ask for advice because they have seen that we can help.”
When asked what they need to do more and better work, their requests are achingly modest: Transportation, a bicycle even, to cover the long distances within their parishes; uniforms to identify them more easily within the community; maybe even a small allowance – it is only now that I realise that all this work is carried out on a volunteer basis. With just a small increase in funding, imagine how many more children could be reached, how many more lives could be brought back on track, how many more futures saved.
Simon, one of many thousands of people in the area affected by the rebel activities
Michael, who was born and raised in an IDP camp and as a result severely affected mentally
TPO program co-ordinator Rose educating a local Child Protection Committee in psychosocial issues
Child Protection Committee member Jo, who passes on TPO education to his community
Amunga Primary School Headmaster Charles Ogwal who works with TPO to increase school enrolment
TPO trained caregiver, Nelson, who provides counseling to his local community
TPO staff meet and counsel local women's group
Click here for more photographs from Lira projects.