Trauma Counseling for Child Survivors of War

We are so grateful for partners who have supported the work of I Live Again Uganda!  Because of YOU children who have fled war in South Sudan and have crossed the border into Uganda are finding renewed hope and joy.

David who is 13 years old shared with our staff,  

"One evening when I was in South Sudan my Father told me and my siblings that the situation is not safe.  He told us we should not sleep at home that night. We followed his instructions and made sure not to remain in our home.  But my Father, he slept at our home that night. 

The next morning we came back home.  My Father wasn't there.  We heard that so many people were abducted.  We also heard that many people were killed.... even one of my friends.  My friend was killed and burned inside his hut. After what happened, I just hated being alive.  Everything was so terrible.  The world felt so dark. 

Two days after that, my Father appeared fromt the bushes!  He was limping.  He had been beaten so badly.  His face was all swollen.  I could barely recognize him it was swollen so much.  I will never forget that day.  It was right then that we left our home and made our way to Uganda.  

Here in Uganda, I am happy.  I can finally go to school.  There are no gunshots here.  I love I Live Again Uganda!  They play games with us, we dance and we tell stories... it all helping me forget that pain from the past.  Whenever I am with I Live Again Uganda, I never fail to laugh!"

We are so thankful for YOU who give towards this important work in Uganda. 

Thanks to your financial support, David, and so many other child refugees are laughing and smiling once again!

Over the last three months, I Live Again Uganda has provided counseling to over 400 refugee children.  Each one has their own story of how they came to Uganda from South Sudan.  Some came with their parents, some came with their siblings and some came alone. 

For children that have come alone or are with siblings, they have now become the parent.  They get up early, clean their homes, wash clothes, prepare food and then, if they can make it on time - they will go to school.  Life as a refugee child (especially without parents or guardians) can be extremely difficult.  Not only are they having to deal with the day to day survivlal in the refugee settlement - but they are also still recovering from severe trauma from their experience of war in South Sudan.

Thanks to the support of our donors, we are helping these children find peace after war.  Each child has a chance to share their story through drawing.  When they draw of their challenging experiences before coming to Uganda the images usually portray violence, conflict and war.  For children, drawing can be so much easier to express and share pain.  Sometimes, children don't have the words to express their pain, feel safe enough to share it or its simply too painful to express.  We also encourage the children to draw images of hope - of their dreams for the future.  Some of their drawings of hope are of going to school in Uganda, becoming a doctor, reading, praying and beyond.  Each one is regaining hope for their future.

I Live Again Uganda has been working in partnership with a school within the refugee settlement to provide counseling programs on a regular basis.  This not only includes art therapy programs, but group counseling, games and one on one counseling support.   Good things are happening in the lives of those that are coming to our counseling programs.  The teachers at the school have shared that the students that have come to I Live Again Uganda's Counselign Program are different.  They shared that their behavior has greatly improved, they are more disciplined in doing their school work, they are coming to school more regularly and they are working together as classmates so much better!  

We are so thankful to you for supporting this important work.  We still have so many more children to get to here.  We can't do this without you.  Thanks to you, child refugees from South Sudan are gaining hope.