Uganda - In recovering Uganda, Medair trains community counselors to provide support for traumatised orphans and child-headed households.
You might think that a widowed single mother in Uganda with seven children of her own would be too busy to worry about anyone besides her own family. You might think that until you met Christine Okot.
Christine grows enough food to put on the table for her children while also running her own small-scale business, and still manages to find time to help other people as a member of a Medair Child Protection Committee (CPC). "I love charity work," she says, "especially for the disadvantaged who cannot help themselves."
Child Protection
Christine is one of Medair's CPC members living in Adilang Camp in northern Uganda. Decades of social unrest and civil war have caused massive displacement and left thousands of children orphaned or traumatised in this part of the country. Indeed, 56 percent of the population is currently under 18 years of age. The result is a massive population of youth living as orphans or in child-headed households, surrounded by the effects of conflict, yet without psychological care or support.
Medair is currently supporting 280 CPC members like Christine, who work in five sub-counties in Uganda's Pader District. The CPCs are trained to provide psychosocial support and address child protection issues to vulnerable communities through individual counselling sessions and community sensitisation. They encourage and mobilise care for neglected orphans and child-headed households within their communities. CPCs also facilitate a mentoring network that fills the gap for young people where parental guidance and authority structures are completely lacking.
Surviving Tragedy
Acingo Dorin is a 15-year-old girl who has become the head of her household, with five younger siblings ranging in age from two to 13. Tragically, Acingo's mother was struck by lightning and killed inside the family home. The father was so traumatised by this event that he suffered a mental breakdown and became a wanderer, unable to care for his family.
Through community visits and local networking, Christine became aware of Acingo's crisis and identified the family as one needing Medair's help. Thanks to Christine, Acingo now receives mentoring in life-skills such as cooking, raising children, and proper hygiene. Acingo also knows to whom she can turn in times of need.
Working for a Better Community
When Christine first learned that Medair was seeking people to provide psychosocial support and improve child protection, she applied immediately and was hired out of 300 applicants. According to Molly Akello, Medair Psychosocial Officer, Christine is self-motivated, approachable, and well-respected in the community. "Christine is a tireless advocate for her beneficiaries," says Molly. "She is even good at lobbying for help from other service providers."
Christine is now 35 years old. She has been a widow since 2004, and has had to feed and support her seven children on her own. But she says working with Medair has helped her to cope with her own struggles. "I don't see myself as alone anymore," concludes Christine, "because of all the emotional and psychological support I get from the Medair psychosocial officers."
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Medair brings life-saving relief and rehabilitation in disasters, conflict areas, and other crises by working alongside the most vulnerable. Its internationally recruited staff are motivated by their Christian faith to care for people in need, providing practical and compassionate support, regardless of race, religion, or politics. Founded in 1989, Medair has an unwavering commitment to bring hope to the world's most vulnerable.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
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