After the LRA war in Northern Uganda ended more than 18 years ago, the communities in Lango and Acholi sub-regions, for example, remain traumatized and vulnerable. The long war did not only affect the family heads – but children born during and after the war have been affected. As such, mental health became a big problem leading to a number of suicide cases.
Years after the war ended, most families, especially in rural Lango and Acholi continue to grapple with issues relating to overwhelming teenage pregnancies, high rate of school dropouts, among others.
In Lango sub-region, for example, 7398 teenage pregnancies were recorded in January, February and March 2023. This statistics is worrying for the community and with high rate of poverty; some parents feel it is okay to marry off their girls before 18.
Over the past good months, TND News Reporters have been profiling these cases and it has given leaders at different levels an idea of what must be done. TND News, an online publication that reports primarily on Northern Uganda, believes that constant reporting on the subject will go a long way in finding an everlasting solution, making it possible for young girls and boys to see education a fortune for the future.
We would like to continue our extensive reporting enriched with data and we can only do better with the support of people like you. Your generous donation will help us support our team of journalists and strengthen our newsroom to be able to accurately and comprehensively report on the subject.
The support will help us do comprehensive reporting in Lango and Acholi sub-regions, hold community engagements in areas were the problem is high. We will use the engagement to ask leaders from local level what they are doing, and letting them know as leaders they play key roles in ensuring girls go to school.
With the same support, we will be able to buy sanitary pads and give to hundreds of girls in these sub-counties, including giving them books and pens.
TND News is a media brand of Great Lakes Center for Strategic Media Studies (GLCSMS).
