Trauma Counseling for Child Survivors of War

As Uganda continues to host the most refuguees in all of Africa, the majority of the refugees in Uganda are from South Sudan.  65% of refugees from South Sudan are children.  While this young generation has witnessed and been exposed to the devasting affects of war, we are honored to be part of their journey towards restored hope and healing. 

With the support of generous donors we have been able to provide counseling programs for children who have fled their home in South Sudan and are living in one of the refugee settlements in northern Uganda.  We are so grateful that we have been able to witness hope come alive in the children attending our programs. 

Our team has been able to provide art therapy and dance therapy programs to children in the refugee settlement.  Over 200 children have been able to participate in these programs.   Often times it is difficult for children to formulate words to describe or share their past trauma, so we provide other means to give them a chance to express what they have endured.  We engage and encourage children to express themselves thorugh the drawing of their experiences in South Sudan as a way of engagement and expression.  Its is through their drawings that we can begin to explore and encourage the releasing of trauma.  Dance programs that we have provided are bringing relief in the minds of those in attendence, helping them release their trauma through physical activity and focusing on a fun activity, not on their past.

With the partnership and support of generous donors, we have also been able to engage and serve a local school in the refugee settlement.  This has included the distribution of school bags and school supplies to students in need.  These items have been of great encouragement to the children and the school.

We wanted to share one of the many stories that we hear regularly from the child refugees we serve from South Sudan....

James was 13 years of age and at home with his family when the rebels attacked his village in South Sudan.  As the rebels attacked, he ran for his own safety and lost connection with his family members.  He found himself at a UN base seeking safety and shelter while the fighting continued in his village.  James remained at the base for one week.  After that time, he was assured that the fighting had stopped in his village and it was safe for him to return home. Upon his return home, his family was gone and his home burnt to the ground.  There was nothing and no one left.   He had no money or any way to survive.  He found a near by neighbour and negotiated a selling of a plot of his family’s land.  After selling the plot of land, James used those finances to help him find his way to Uganda.  

Upon arriving in Uganda he was taken to the refugee settlement where I Live Agian Uganda is serving.  James was placed with others within in his tribe.  He had come to Uganda alone. He has no relatives or family with him. James is unsure if his family is alive or not.  I Live Again Uganda began providing art therapy and dance programs in the community where he lives in the refugee settlement. 

“This program has helped me.  Its giving me hope.  I remember how things were in South Sudan, but you are showing me that I can still have a future.  We have been drawing things about our dream home - our future and I believe that it can be bright.” James - 13yrs

We cannot help children like James without your support.  Thank you for giving to restore healing, hope and identity to children who have survived war.