World Vision Uganda Unites 10,000 Formerly Abducted Children with Families
Since its inception ten years ago, the World Vision Children of War rehabilitation Center in Gulu, Uganda has successfully reunited more than 10,000 formerly abducted children with their families.
Since its inception ten years ago, the World Vision Children of War rehabilitation Center in Gulu, Uganda has successfully reunited more than 10,000 formerly abducted children with their families. The center, which celebrated its 10th anniversary on Mar. 5, has been working to offer former child soldiers psychosocial therapy before being reintegrated into the community.
"It's fulfilling serving mankind," stated Michael Oruni, the Center Coordinator. "More happiness comes to those helping the less privilege."
According to World Vision, as many of the 10,000 formerly abducted children have gone back to formal education through World Vision while others have had vocational skill training in tailoring and carpentry. A good number of them have started up their own businesses and retail shops.
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Oruni described how sad, weak, vulnerable and suspicious the children were when they arrived at the center. “The moment of their arrival is the most painful. They look so frail and malnourished with ugly wounds all over their bodies," he said.
Oruni said children of war are ruthlessly captured and indoctrinated into the Lord's Resistant Army--a rebel paramilitary group operating in northern Uganda. Abducted children are forced to drink blood and girls as young as nine are 'married' off to rebel commanders and forced to have babies, which they are unable to taken care of. Oruni also explained how they are made to go back to their own village to kill and set fire to huts. He said this causes them to become outcasts in their own community and is a result.
"It takes God’s grace for them to recover,” Oruni said.
"The first week is a nightmare, for all children [in the center] as they constantly relive their experiences in the bush," World Vision reported. "Many of them sleepwalk when they have bad dreams."
However, after two weeks, the children calm down and regain their health, Oruni said.
The children draw pictures of anything that comes to their minds to release the suppressed stress. Then one-on-one counseling takes place. Each center counselor is allocated a number of children to take care of. Here, the counselor is able to draw more information out of the children as they begin to trust and confide in their counselor.
Small group counseling sessions for children of the same age who have had the same experiences (such as child mothers) are also held. The children discuss their experiences, which helps them to realize they are not alone in the pain they have endured.
"Many opportunities have come the children’s way because of the center," World Vision reported. "People from within and outside the region have adopted a good number of them. The majority are being supported in their education."
In celebrating the first center's 10th anniversary, World Vision Uganda held a march around Gulu, with children carrying placards calling on those in power to bring the devastating conflict to an end.
The theme of the center's 10th anniversary was ‘Restore My Dreams.’
"It has been a painful 18 years since the conflict set in," said World Vision Uganda interim National Director Luther Bois Anukur. "The children are calling for peace. They are crying for protection. We therefore appeal to the government for the protection of children and their communities and to continue the peace process and dialogue to bring this war to an end."
Due to the overwhelming number of children, World Vision decided to open two other centers--one for child mothers and another for former adult rebels.
