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Global Grassroots 2011
Global Grassroots has taken the first steps toward expanding our Academy program to Northern Uganda to serve women and girls abducted and forced to serve as combatants and sex slaves by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Thousands of women have returned home after the war, many of them traumatized, stigmatized, HIV-positive, and raising children singlehandedly. While there are many initiatives working to rehabilitate male former child soldiers, there are far fewer resources for women who are returning with the added trauma of having experienced sexual violence.
In February and March 2011, we conducted an extensive feasibility study and series of site visits throughout Uganda. Our US Fellows spent weeks speaking with local leaders, community members, and organizations about the landscape of need and opportunities for partnership. Having met with over twenty local organizations, we have identified our target partners in northern Uganda, and have chosen to locate our program in the Pader district. When we reach our fundraising goal, we intend to initiate the Academy program for at least five new teams in Uganda, in collaboration with the Women and Rural Development Network (WORUDET) and Pader Girls Academy.
Northern Uganda Expansion
photo by Gretchen Wallace
photo by Gretchen Wallace
photo by Gretchen Wallace