By Channie Cheung | Member of Advocacy Team
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.
In October 2023, 48 beneficiaries of the 11th phase of the project successfully completed vocational training for social reintegration, and a graduation ceremony was held!
Those born and raised in conflict have lacked adequate education and have struggled to sustain themselves. Particularly, former child soldiers face significant challenges in post-conflict societal integration, including psychological trauma and discrimination from the community just for being former child soldiers. Terra Renaissance is providing social reintegration support to help them improve their livelihoods and achieve social independence through engaging with others.
The beneficiaries have received vocational training in carpentry and tailoring for a year and a half at our facility called "Smile House", along with trauma healing through singing and dancing and workshops to build better relationships with others.
When asked about what they found important at Smile House, two beneficiaries said, "We are delighted to have acquired vocational skills, but we are especially grateful for being taught how to build good relationships with others." They spoke with great joy.
The beneficiaries of the 11th phase are now preparing to start their own businesses. They recently met with the tailoring shop they are planning to open at Gulu's largest market, and they seemed very excited about this new challenge.
Unlike the practices at our facility, they will now have to attract customers, serve them, and run their businesses on their own. Although they have graduated from Smile House, Terra Renaissance will continue to provide individualized support to each of them.
The fact that they can embark on this new path is all thanks to the continuous support from all of you.
Once again, thank you very much for your warm support. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the 11th phase beneficiaries and would appreciate your continued interest.
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