Two decades of war have stoked fear in Northern Uganda, displacing an estimated 1.8 million people. At the height of the conflict, thousands of children walked miles every night to sleep in safe areas to avoid abduction by the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has forced children as young as 8 to fight as soldiers or become sex slaves of adult fighters. One-quarter of Ugandan children have lost one or both parents to the war or disease. In 2007, the United Nations called the conflict one of the worst and least-reported humanitarian disasters in the modern world.

As many as 1 million Ugandans left camps and either returned to their homes or entered other transit camps since negotiations between the government and rebels started in August 2006, though sporadic violence continues.

This three-year Initiative brings together 20 to 25 of the most experienced local implementers to help tens of thousands of people rebuild their lives.

Geneva Global researchers will analyze the results to guide future funding and help local implementers refine their approach for continued impact beyond this Initiative.

Projects in the Initiative will empower Northern Ugandans to help their communities recover from the devastating effects of war.

Initiative Profile »

In camps for displaced people, entire families cram into small rooms to sleep. People in camps rarely have access to clean water, toilets or outhouses, leaving them vulnerable to potentially deadly infections. Coupled with violence, hazardous living conditions killed an average of 900 Northern Ugandans weekly before many started to leave the camps. Though their return home has begun, people need to be empowered to truly return to normal life.

More than half of the displaced Ugandans are in the Acholi region, which was the area most affected by the conflict between the LRA and the government. Though many schools have reopened in the past year, tens of thousands of children have not yet returned. This Initiative reconstructs schools and

prioritizes education for children, many of whom have been forced to work during the time they were displaced. International agencies have responded to the humanitarian crisis with emergency assistance. But without sustainable development to address appalling living conditions and a lack of livelihood options, displaced people will remain dependent on aid for the foreseeable future. Most international funding has gone to districts outside Acholi’s Pader district, leaving community organizations strapped for resources.

Now is a crucial time to direct philanthropic investments into Pader, so residents can rebuild their society for a lasting peace.

Northern Uganda in Focus »

Interventions that address only the surface problems, without addressing the distrust and psychological trauma that result from war, are less likely to have long-term impact. In this Initiative, implementers will help communities heal from atrocities and peacefully settle local disputes. Former combatants will be reintegrated into families and communities. Victims of physical abuse and the psychological impacts of war will receive trauma counseling and healthcare.

Vocational training and microloans will enable people to rebuild their lives and provide a long-term basis for businesses.

Settlement into homes, access to clean water and provision of seeds and livestock will help people grow and raise their own food, decreasing reliance on aid.

Schools will reopen and implementers will provide construction materials for new classrooms. Adolescent mothers, former child soldiers and orphans will receive remedial education to make up for time lost. Teachers will improve their skills through advanced training.

With help, local implementers are up to the challenge of restoring livelihoods - and restoring hope - in Northern Uganda.

Joel Enotu of Northern Uganda calls the four years he spent in a camp for displaced people “the worst years of my life. I never had imagined that I could go through that kind of life where you suffer day in and day out. A life where you do not know how to get the next meal.” With help from a local organization that received funding from a Geneva Global client, Enotu and his family were able to return home. The organization provided Enotu with seeds to plant, which Enotu repaid after his successful harvest. He also provided seeds to other families resettling in their home villages. “I have also on my own given some of my relatives these seeds and they have come back home,” he says.