Tag: LRA

By Geoffrey Omony, Goldin Global Fellow, Uganda In Acholi, song and dance are fundamental parts of cultural heritage. They are used to retell important historical events as well as critique and pass on cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. With over 10 types of dances, the Acholi had a particular dance for almost… Continue reading YOLRED Hosts Annual Cultural Celebration to Promote Healing

YOLRED Host Celebration for 12 Never Late Graduates Like the famous Chinese Proverb states: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” On July 20, 2019, at least 21 women and men who were formerly abducted and forcibly conscripted into the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebel activities, started a journey to literacy… Continue reading It is Never Too Late to Learn

Greetings from Gulu, Uganda! On behalf of my colleagues here at Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED), I’m happy to share an update to our partners around the world. Developing this report gave us a chance to reflect on the first anniversary of the launch of YOLRED that we celebrated in August. We have… Continue reading Celebrating the First Anniversary of YOLRED

On behalf of my team here at YOLRED, I am proud to announce that we have opened our first official office in Gulu, Northern Uganda. This is the latest exciting step in our journey and the achievement of a dream after the successful launch of the Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) last fall.… Continue reading YOLRED: Now Open for Business

by Jimmie Briggs, Goldin Institute Board of Advisors For nearly three decades starting in the late 1980’s, over 60,000 girls and boys in Northern Uganda were forcibly conscripted into fighting a guerilla war against their government, under the brutal domination of the Lord’s Resistance Army. In war that displaced 1.5 million people mainly of the… Continue reading Former Child Soldiers in Uganda take the Lead

August 27th Update: I am pleased to announce that YOLRED, the first platform for Child soldier reintegration and rehabilitation in Africa that is owned and run by the former combatants themselves, is officially launched and up and running. Our work with the YOLRED team in Uganda ended with a public gathering to celebrate the official… Continue reading Follow Along as Former Child Soldiers Launch Reintegration Organization

Our Executive Director, Travis Rejman recently wrote this editorial in the Huffington Post calling for the right justice to be considered in the case against Dominic Ongwen.  Ongwen has received international attention because of his role as a high-ranking soldier in Joseph Kony’s Lords Resistance Army. To be sure, his crimes against humanity are not… Continue reading A Call for Proper Justice

In the discussions about disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of children used as soldiers in the conflict in Northern Uganda, the voices and perspectives of former child soldiers themselves have too often and too long been ignored. To restore these voices to the discussion and to improve the services for former combatants, the Goldin Institute and… Continue reading Alone and Frightened: A Summary of our Report

In the tradition of the Goldin Institute’s Forgiveness and Reconciliation Project, and utilizing the ESPERE methodology developed with our colleagues in Colombia, our efforts towards building child soldier reintegration continues throughout Northern Uganda.  As our Global Associate on the ground in Uganda (Denis Okello) recently reported to us in this summary paper, both Kitgum and… Continue reading Colombia Brings Reconciliation Methods to Uganda