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 Uganda Patongo Refugee Camp
Youth Centre in Patongo internally displaced peoples’ camp, northern Uganda
NLVC are currently supporting this project run by Jubilee Action.
The project is in northern Uganda, where 22 years of war forced 1.8 million people into IDP camps. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) terrorised and killed thousands of civilians, and abducted more than 20,000 children. Not only were they abused by the LRA, they were made to commit terrible atrocities against others and are profoundly traumatised. Now that a fragile peace is in place, NGOs and disaster relief agencies are leaving, resulting in a breakdown of the infrastructure.
The government  is encouraging adults to move back to their villages, however there is no infrastructure there - no health provision, water or schools, forcing children to stay in the IDP camps. Children and young people who have tried to return to their villages have faced disputes over land ownership. As a result 66% of the remaining 15,000 people in Patongo are children and young people, 60% of whom are orphaned and living in child-headed households.
Alcohol abuse is rife amongst 50% of the youth. There are huge gender inequalities, with girls and women vulnerable to sexual violence, and what little education is on offer is taken up by boys. Illiteracy and poverty are widespread, and most people have little access to food, shelter, clothing and medical facilities. At the last count in 2007 HIV infection was 15%, higher than the national average of 6%, and anecdotal reports indicate that it is on the increase.
Returning child soldiers and abductees face hostility from their own communities, and girls who were raped by the LRA and/or returned pregnant, endure shame and humiliation. The children and young people feel neglected, marginalised and abandoned. Conflict has devastated and brutalised so many young lives, broken up communities and families, destroyed livelihoods and inflicted untold psychological damage on countless children and young people.
The Patongo Youth Centre will be located in the heart of Patongo IDP camp, where some 10,000 children and young people and orphans are living. All have experienced the devastating effects of war, and live with the continued fear of being abducted. Local people and NGOs have reported a destructive atmosphere of depression, anxiety, hopelessness and fear. The likelihood of sexual abuse, under-age recruitment by militia is ever present; there are no educational possibilities and livelihood skills; land access difficulties preclude farming. Those who were abducted, abused and forced to commit horrendous atrocities face unimaginable and perpetual trauma. Now that there is fragile peace in the region, disaster relief and aid agencies have withdrawn, taking much of the infrastructure with them. The proposed youth centre will enable children and young people to be self-supporting through vocational and business training; facilitate community reintegration through workshops explaining the process of ‘recruitment’ of child soldiers; reduce trauma and isolation through counselling; encourage girls to take leadership roles; raise awareness of discrimination against girls and women through workshops on gender equality; reduce HIV/AIDS by providing information on prevention and treatment; cultivate a stable lifestyle through recreational group activities, fostering team work and collective responsibility.
Its purpose will be to rehabilitate children and young people (aged up to 23) affected by conflict, including former child soldiers, abductees and girls who have been raped and sexually abused, equipping them with the tools and skills to rebui ld their lives and support themselves. Training and education will improve their life opportunities and lift them out of poverty, by enabling them to set up businesses and find employment; individual counselling will mitigate their trauma and isolation; counselling for victims of sexual violence will reduce their fear and social ostracism; workshops on gender equality and business skills will provide girls with greater equality and opportunity; awareness raising workshops will enable the wider community to better understand what former abductees have gone through, strengthening community cohesion and reconciliation; conferences and workshops on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and gender based sexual violence will reduce HIV infection rates and improve access to treatment; workshops and conferences will give young people the opportunity to engage in civil society and decisions affecting their future.
Engaging and involving key duty-bearers such as police, local health officials, child protection committees, local NGOs and government officials in the project’s workshops and conferences, will bring them closer to the needs and issues of children and young people affected by conflict and enable them to understand how best to address these issues.
Dissemination of the project’s findings will influence their policies and practice, resulting in the better protection of conflict affected children and young people’s needs and rights.
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