March 24, 2023 – From January to February, WPDI conducted a psychosocial campaign to reach out to trauma survivors in the Acholi Sub-Region, Uganda. In a region like Acholi, that has been affected by years of conflict, the impact of chronic violence and poverty is not measured solely through casualties and destruction, but also through trauma. Indeed, countless attacks, abductions, rapes, as well as forced displacement, forced pregnancies, discrimination, harassment or social stigma can have serious, sometimes debilitating psychological impairments on individuals, notably former child soldiers. These include depression or aggression that will hamper all aspects of their human existence. As these include the capacity to engage in peacebuilding and economic development, it can be considered that lasting peace cannot prevail if the psychological scars of conflict are left unattended. This is where the communities of Acholi are faced with a major challenge, since there are only 52 psychiatrists in Uganda, that is one psychologist for every one million Ugandans according to the Lancet.
Because this paucity of mental health services may have adverse consequences for the future of peace and development in Acholi, WPDI has made it its mission to offer trauma healing services as part of the program we deploy in the region. Through this program, we offer psychosocial workshops on trauma healing at our Community Learning Center in Gulu, which serves to raise awareness of participants on trauma, offer counseling to survivors, and, when needed, refer clients to certified experts and medical facilities.
The campaign we conducted earlier this year was designed to carry follow-up consultations and home visits for 51 (20 males, 31 females) trauma survivors across the eight districts of Acholi. The objective was notably to ensure that they are following their clinical therapy.
According to Mr. Alfred Lulua Droti, head of the Psychiatric Unit at the Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, his unit receives an average of 100 cases of mental health-related illnesses every week. The contribution of WPDI has helped bridge the gap between the hospital and the community by conducting awareness sessions, dialogue meetings, follow up and home visits to ensure that survivors do not miss appointments and receive proper clinical therapy.
Santos, 29, a trauma survivor from Patira, Nwoya district, shared his experience: “On that fateful night, around 11:00 pm, I had gone to collect white ants from a nearby anthill when the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels stormed the village and abducted me and my younger sister from my uncles’ home in Olwiyo village in 2004 when I was 11 years old. We traveled for three days and three nights until they reached Owiny Ki-Bul in Sudan.
During my time in captivity, I got recruited to become a child soldier and was forced to commit a lot of atrocities like killings, looting and many other nasty crimes. After six years in captivity, I was rescued by the Uganda People’s Defense forces during their military operations in Rikwamba and was airlifted to Gulu Barracks (Child Protection Unit). Upon arrival at the fourth division barracks in Gulu, I was then picked up by World Vision, a faith-based organization and taken to the Children of War Rehabilitation center where I stayed for one year and was later reunited with my family in Patira village (Nwoya District).
Despite all the support I received from the rehabilitation center and the reunion package, I faced multiple challenges, with the worst being stigma and discrimination by the community. I met WPDI peacemakers in early January 2023 during a community awareness session on Trauma Healing. They listened to my story and provided me with weekly psychosocial support sessions which helped me on the road to recovery. I now live a normal life of acceptance, assertiveness without fear of what people say about me and I’m planning to join a vocational school for hands-on skills training. I am currently an active member of Pope Paul sports team, a local football club in the sub county.”
Our Trauma healing program responds to the overall goals of our Youth Peacemaker Network, which is to help individuals build inner peace as a condition of their capacity to build lasting peace in the community. In a country like Uganda, where psychiatric services cannot reach every survivor in need, WPDI strives to provide an outlet for people who would otherwise have little access to such support. In this matter, our tenet is that to make peace with others, we need to be at peace with ourselves.
This initiative is made possible thanks to the financial support of a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous.