This project provides trauma healing for thousands of children in Uganda who have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS, and in many cases, also raped or sexually abused. We train teachers, caregivers, and local leaders in trauma informed care and peer counseling, so they can break victim-perpetrator cycles of trauma and abuse and create new legacies of healing and resilience for themselves and their communities.
Thousands of children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS in southwest Uganda. Worse yet, many have become targets of rape and sexual abuse. Recently, 10 children under 10 years old were raped over just a few months. Some contracted HIV from their perpetrators because they couldn't afford the $5 medicine that prevents transmission. Without disrupting the cycle of trauma and abuse, it will simply be passed on from person to person, community to community, and generation to generation.
This project trains local leaders to become their own communities' mental and emotional health champions. They learn culturally relevant tools that promote trauma recovery, resilience, and self-care. The leaders also receive technical and program support to launch healing programs in the community. We are also conducting feasibility studies to use local eucalyptus forests as a source of economic empowerment. This project is a partnership with local NGO, Nyaka.
Long-term effect will be a decrease in symptoms of PTSD in the community, thereby reducing cases of physical and sexual violence and breaking cycles of vulnerability. Community leaders and survivors will be given tools that will transform their lives from victims, to survivors, to self-empowered healing activists. Given the ripple effect of healing trauma, we hope to impact not only the 47,000 community members served by our local NGO partner, but also their families and community members.
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