Aid orientated towards the future

Aid orientated towards the future | Children in Uganda - The Flotsam of War | Dutch journalist visits the SOS Emergency Relief Programme in Gulu | Home Sweet Home - until darkness falls | Taking the initiative in Uganda | Increased rebel activity in northern Uganda puts children at risk

"Being ready for the worst and hoping for the best" - that summarises the situation for the SOS Children's Village teams out in the field. The northern districts of Uganda, debilitated by the impacts of continuing war, already have difficulty in coping with an estimated total of 200,000 orphans. But the children who need help most urgently are those who have recently regained their freedom from the Lord's Resistance Army. Warriors against their will - former child soldiers at a reception centre in Gulu - Photo: SOS Archives Since March 2002, there have been increasingly frequent rumours and reports of children released from what in many cases have been years of captivity in the hands of the LRA. That is a consequence of the offensive launched by Ugandan government troops on Sudanese soil. For the retreating rebel army, the abducted children - and there are thousands of them - have become unnecessary ballast and have simply been left behind or have been able to flee. At present the number of children crossing the border into Uganda is relatively small, but the flow of returnees is expected to increase sharply in the next few weeks and months. A number of NGOs and local groups (e.g. World Vision, Caritas, GUSCO - Gulu Support the Children Organisation, KICWA - Kitgum Children's Welfare Organisation) have now set up reception centres and are providing medical, psychosocial and material help in the short-term while they try to reunite the children with their families. After a certain time, however, the children have to leave the transit camps and, with the orphanages already full to bursting, those whose families have not been traced suddenly find themselves with nothing but the shirt on their backs and no-one to turn to. In a country where the village community and extended family would normally step in, the traditional social safety nets for orphaned children have collapsed in the wake of the AIDS epidemic. That leaves SOS Children's Villages as the only organisation with the infrastructure to take in and offer continuous care to those children - whatever their age, origins or past - who are left over, who are nobody's children. As a new departure, SOS Children's Villages will also provide places for underage mothers and their babies in an SOS Children's Village. In close co-operation with other NGOs, local authorities and action groups, and the traditional tribal chiefs, the first fifty children have already been registered. A house is being rented in Gulu to provide provisional shelter until the temporary SOS Children's Village is ready in November. Five to ten trainee SOS mothers and assistants are being recruited and trained by SOS Children's Villages to care for a total of about 150 children and child mothers and their babies in a family-based environment. In addition to the material necessities of life, the children receive medical attention and psychotherapy. They will also be able to attend school and receive vocational training. Above all they will be given the feeling that their life has meaning, that they are wanted and needed, protected and loved, and that they have a right to a future. How will your donation be used? Your donation will enable us to create a safe haven for the weakest amongst the war victims, a place where they - can experience a gradual mental and physical normalisation after a series of traumas - receive medical care and an education - have persons to whom they can relate and who can offer them a reliable family environment - will not be sent away and have to fend for themselves after a certain period of time - are cared for until they are able to live their lives independently and their integration into society is ensured Construction site of the temporary SOS Children's Village in Gulu - Photo: SOS Archives SOS Children's Villages need your help to be able to finance this urgently needed project as follows: Repairs and reconstruction of desolate buildings including a small clinic, and the construction of low-budget houses using local materials, with simple furnishings and fittings, including sanitary facilities and electricity supply, at a total cost of EUR 200,000. Maintenance costs (food, clothing, psychotherapy, school fees, apprenticeships, etc.) amounting to EUR 150,000 per year for 150 children and child mothers and their babies. With your help we can react quickly to a looming humanitarian disaster and at the same time guarantee long-term care orientated towards the needs of the children concerned.