Reintegration for former child soldiers in Uganda

Dear Supporters,
 
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news—this year, Terra Renaissance is proudly participating in GivingTuesday!
 
GivingTuesday, a global day of generosity, takes place on December 3rd, right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s the perfect opportunity to embrace the holiday spirit by giving back and supporting causes that matter.
 
This GivingTuesday, we invite you to join us in creating a more peaceful world. Here’s how you can make a difference:

• Share our mission on social media using #GivingTuesday2024, #GlobalGiving, #MakeAMillion, #TerraRenaissance, #GivingTuesdayJapan
• Make a contribution on December 3rd by visiting Terra Renaissance | GlobalGiving.

Thanks to your incredible generosity, we are proud to share our recent achievements in Uganda's Gulu District, where we are making steady progress with our Uganda Child Soldier Project for the 12th group of beneficiaries.

The Uganda Child Soldier Project is our three-year program that helps former child soldiers overcome challenges, reintegrate into society, and build self-reliant lives through daily education, vocational training, and psychosocial care to address trauma and mental health. We are proud to report the following milestones:

1. Tailoring and carpentry classes helped equip participants with practical and creative skills.
2. While the training is still in its initial stages, it is already inspiring confidence and fostering new opportunities for participants.

But there’s still so much more we can achieve together. 

With your continued support, we aim to expand our efforts and bring hope to even more communities in need. We believe every one of us has the power to create the future. Every contribution, no matter the size, has the power to create lasting change.

Stay connected with us on our social media channels to follow our progress and see the impact of your generosity.

• Terra Renaissance's Facebook
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Thank you for being a beacon of hope and helping us build a brighter, more peaceful future.

Your support truly makes a world of difference.

Warm regards,
Terra Renaissance

To all of you who have always supported us, here is the latest report on the Uganda Child Soldier Project!

Background: Since 2005, Terra Renaissance has been implementing social reintegration support for vulnerable individuals in Northern Uganda's Gulu District, including former child soldiers, young people born in conflict zones, and the most impoverished.

Three months have passed since the reintegration training for the 12th group of beneficiaries.

Many former child soldiers, even after returning home, carry anxieties like "Will I be detained, arrested, killed, or rejected by my community...?". They started their training with these anxieties.

There was a noticeable tension among the students in the early days. However, as they began attending our facility and engaging in the program, their anxieties have significantly eased. Now, they are finding joy in the training, a testament to the positive impact of the reintegration program.

Every day, the beneficiaries, along with their young children (infants and toddlers), participate in training at the facility. They also share lunch and casual conversations together at the facility.

Through this daily interaction, they have been opening up to our staff. Those who were initially hesitant to connect are now displaying brighter expressions. Just as with previous beneficiaries, we're seeing more and more smiles during training sessions.

As with the previous group of beneficiaries, the 12th group of beneficiaries is participating in tailoring and wood carpentry training.

First, the tailoring class. Although the training is still in its early stages, it was impressive to see them steadily acquiring skills. The young man in the photo above has already become able to make a simple design bag, and he happily said to me, "Look at this! Take a picture of me!"

Next, the carpentry training. This class is mainly composed of former child soldiers from Uganda. They are gradually trying their hand at practical furniture making, but this week was mainly focused on classroom lectures.

While there are also fun scenes with smiles in furniture making, on this day they were desperately copying the furniture drawings sketched by the instructor on the blackboard into their notebooks.

One of our goals is to support the trainees achieve financial independence by securing income through the skills acquired in vocational training.

However, we believe that it is not only important to increase their income, but also for them to maintain connections with society and live in cooperation with others after they return to their communities. To this end, we hold "peace education" classes every Friday. The topics covered are diverse, including working with peers to solve problems and anger management.

The 12th group of beneficiaries has shown a marked improvement in their demeanor and overall attitude since the start of their training. Their faces are brighter, and their spirits are lifted.

While challenges, problems, and difficulties are undoubtedly ahead, we are dedicated to supporting them as they continue to develop their skills at their own pace.

We appreciate your continued support.

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