Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda


Warm greetings from Uganda!

On Saturday, April 20, Youth Leadership for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) organized a community dialogue, called a ‘Kabake,’ where the community was granted a platform to share their experiences and derive solutions. The dialogue was attended by, among others, local council leaders, the police, child rights activists, business men and women, and the general community.

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In the Layibi Division of the Gulu Municipality, there had been an epidemic of rape, robbery and violent attacks, especially on women in Library Parish. The community was engulfed in fear and hopelessness. Women could not walk out of their houses past sun-set if they were to avoid rape and attacks. Those in business had their property and money robbed, even in broad daylight, by a known gang who threatened them with violence or murder. And yet both the police and local leaders could not help the situation.

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Mrs. Beatrice Ayat, a member of the local council and secretary for community service and production who represented the division chairperson, said the situation in the area had gotten out of hand because the perpetrators of violent crimes who started as children and would only steal from people had grown up and gained confidence to attack directly.

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Ayat said they openly robbed people and raped women, threatening to beat the victims or torch their houses if the crimes were reported.

[quote]“I am so thankful to YOLRED for organizing this dialogue. When we have a problem in our community and we meet and discuss, we can always find a solution,” Ayat said.[/quote]

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The officer in charge of Layibi Division police station, Assistant Inspector of Police Wilbert Adekere, said as police, they have been aware of the insecurity in the area but could not take any action because no member of the community was opening up to tell them who the perpetrators were.

Assistant Inspector Adekere consequently invited members of the affected community to secretly walk into his office and tip him on any security problem.

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The Honourable Rose Aparo, a member of the local council, said she was going to forward the people’s plight to the council for discussion. She expressed confidence that the council would arrive to a logical conclusion that would save the community.

Mr. Odong Walter (We-yoo), the Community Sensitization Officer, said he was going to meet with the area Local Councilor One and his executives to forge a lasting solution to the problem. Collins Chwa Kisembo, the Counsellor and Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at YOLRED, appreciated the community for attending the meeting in large numbers. T

The former child soldiers also had the opportunity to share their experiences and receive healing in what we called testimonial therapy, which aims to heal the traumas and symptoms of depression, low mood and PTSD within the vulnerable populations.

In addition to sharing news from our recent Community Parliament, we are pleased to provide an exciting update on the project for which we raised funds through Indiegogo: the construction of a community resource center to offer counselling, training and recreational services to the victims.  Some days it feels impossible to get this up and running, but we remembered one thing that was also core during our GATHER class that "adaptive challenges require changes in values, beliefs and approaches to work."

To that end, we have set off with a group savings and loan plan with the hope of driving the group towards a self-reliant, participatory development that should be sustainable. "Start with what you have" is the principle we applied for the construction of the community resource center. The Indiegogo funds we raised during GATHER for this project was not enough to acquire the land by itself, but we are building on these donations from around the world with local support.

[quote] We are happy to report that together we were already able to secure a piece of land, where we plan to have a permanent headquarters for YOLRED![/quote]

My sincere thanks for the support the entire team at the Goldin Institute gave us during our GATHER course, especially with the Indiegogo campaign, which made all the above development possible. I will share additional updates as we progress on our services to the community and the development of our headquarters.

Best regards,
Geoffrey


She Will Rise!


Young girls from Northern Uganda were ambitious and had dreams like children born in different parts of the world. They had dreams of becoming great leaders, doctors, pilots and engineers but all these were shattered when they were taken into captivity. They were forced to drop out of school and were made to leave everything behind. This was the beginning of a nightmare, one that still resonates in their wakefulness.

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Some were given guns and were told that was all they needed for survival, to be great, to achieve their dreams. They were told the making of dreams needed sacrifices; of watching their siblings killed, friends mutilated, and their homes set ablaze. Escaping was never an option. Escaping was death.

And so, many made a life in captivity. They made friends and enemies and lived in fear of the people who promised them salvation and glory for fighting in a war they would never understand the cause. No one knew exactly what the fight was for; maybe it was God’s calling for the leader who insisted he led the “Lord’s Army.” It could have been for the rulership of a nation that had to start from somewhere and it started from their homes. It could have been both, but one never really knew. They just survived day after day.

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They were forced to become wives to commanders randomly assigned and picked and thrown around, divided and shared like they were nothing. They become mothers at ages they needed mothering themselves but they had to love their children and teach them that the life they lived was somehow reality, hoping one day real salvation might come their way and show them a better life.

Most of them came back as child mothers with their children from captivity only to be rejected by their own families, who often looked at them as a burden. Tracing the families of the fathers of their children was almost impossible, and they had to keep suffering even in a better environment.

They have had to toil to get shelter, feed and educate their children. Lacking academic qualifications means being in the low levels of casual labour and not being able to compete with those who had better opportunities and a less gruesome past.

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Most of these women, still young, have remarried so as to survive and provide a good life for their children, but some end up in a life of domestic violence and or separation with even a much bigger burden than when they went into these marriages. One of the major reasons is their past and the burden of the children they came with. The question is: What future do these children have?

The dreams of these women are to be economically empowered, independent and having their children educated. We at Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) have trained some of these young women in financial literacy, that is to say generations of business ideas, how to start and improve a business, group dynamics, and village savings and loan associations (VSLA) to enhance their business and saving skills. We also gave them financial support to help them improve their businesses. In order to enhance the physical, psychological and mental healing of these child mothers, we always organize a yearly cultural festival which is also a platform for dialogue.

And once all these are achieved, maybe a better future is still ahead. Surely, she will rise again!!


Nothing For Us Without Us

On the 3rd of October, 2018, we at Youth Leaders for Reconciliation and Development (YOLRED) hosted our community visioning summit, an important part of the Gather curriculum, which was attended by 56 community members from various categories including youths, older people, and local leaders.

During the sessions, participants were formed into four groups by Diana Opira Alaroker, a YOLRED staff member and also a Gather Fellow who served as facilitator, to give possibilities to everyone to discuss the community assets they have. The leaders from these groups later made a presentation based on their identified community assets and Diana presented a summary as well as shared with them the asset map.

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I then took the participants through what adaptive challenges are, asked how do we as a community respond to such challenges as well as the opportunities and the vision for the future. Collectively, the participants identified land conflicts, alcoholism, their voices not being heard, stigmatization, and segregation of the former child soldiers and their children, laziness and corruption among others as being adaptive challenges. They noted, however, that taking a joint leadership and responsibility by every member of the community might provide answers to such challenges.

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Looking into the opportunities and the vision for the future, the participants considered greatly exploiting and putting land into use as one of their most valuable assets and noted that this also will provide opportunities to employ the unemployed youth. Similarly, they also viewed the Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLA) scheme as one way of improving their social cohesion and avoiding segregation since it brings people together and requires them to work together. This will improve their household income as well and put them in position to manage their basic needs and attain financial independence.

On speaking to 56 participants of the summit, the Hon. Susan Lapat, a community representative to the office of the Mayor, asked the participants to put into practice what they have learned, adding that this is an eye opener programming to the community that keeps the brain thinking. For long, people have had assets in their community unexploited and hence remained in their current situation. Consequently, she asked the members of the community to now start exploiting and putting into use the assets they have, including engaging the leaders, the Gather Fellows’ teams and other stakeholders in order to realize a joint community leadership towards achieving the change we want in our community. In the same way, the Chairman of Local Council 1 also asked the participants to embrace love and trust for one another so that they can realize the dreams of their shared aspirations as a community.

At the end, everyone was able to realize that “There is nothing for us without us.”

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Geoffrey Omony serves as Executive Director of Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED), the first organization in Uganda designed and run by former child soldiers.


Going Big in South Africa

What a year! What a week! Two years ago, I set out on a crazy journey of helping African youths discover their light – their creative talents – and supporting them to shine this light by transforming their creative talents into solutions to critical challenges facing their communities. I founded an organization called Global Leading Light Initiatives, a grassroots initiative with a global focus in mind aimed at enhancing the capacities of youths to be real assets, and not liabilities, to their communities.

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Two years on, with no funding, GLLI has been able to generate community impact which most million-Rand-funded organizations only dream of achieving. This achievement has been thanks to tens of passionate local and international volunteers who have been attracted by our work to give their time and other resources.

The Gather Course has made me understand how many assets I have and how I have been under-utilizing them. And so I decided to go big.
At the end of September, in collaboration with the Association of Universities in South Africa, our organization brought the 2018 National Entrepreneurship Week to our community. GLLI hosted the first Student Entrepreneurship Roadshow at Walter Sisulu University, featuring 3 of South Africa's hottest celebrities and officials from the Association of Universities of South Africa, headed by their CEO, Dr. Norah Clark.

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Through this event, hundreds of emerging entrepreneurs from Walter Sisulu University and 6 high schools were inspired to create solutions to critical challenges. Students were offered great sponsorship opportunities to become innovative.

In mid-October, we finally we held our Community Visioning Summit! It was a wonderful day, with a total of 69 participants – 41 students, including 15 from Walter Sisulu University and 26 from 5 high schools in Mthatha as well as 28 adults, 1 official from the Department of Social Development, 8 teachers, 3 university lecturers, 4 social workers and 12 community members.

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The youths taught us many things on that day and based on what we are seeing in our community, we can "Build prosperity on resources in which poor people are rich" i.e. their talents, skills, knowledge and culture.

The day after our Community Visioning Summit, I was invited by the department of education to make a presentation at a district teachers' workshop. A majority of high schools in Mthatha district were represented by a teacher at the workshop. I gave an overview of the Community Visioning Summit and shared the experiences with them. Most of the teachers were disappointed they couldn't make it.

I made a presentation about Iziko, our community and school-based parenting program aimed at building healthy child-adult relationships to support young people achieving their full potential.

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It was a great honor. Many teachers want to join the "Iziko." They also want our student-entrepreneurship program in their schools.

Dieudonne Anumbosi Allo from the Eastern Cape in South Africa is the Founder and CEO of the Global Leading Light Initiatives, a registered non-profit organization formed in 2014 on a strong conviction that collective prosperity can be achieved in Africa and globally through coordinated grassroots initiatives aimed at creating nurturing and enabling environments for children and youths.


"Community Parliaments" Launched in Uganda


Last February, Goldin Institute’s partner in northern Uganda, YOLRED, piloted its first “community parliament” in the villages of Bwongatira, sub-county, parish of Punena/Lukoid; as well as Lamogi sub-county, Gurguru Parish.

“The idea for this came when we were doing the music therapy program," explains Charles Okello, logistics officer and organizational co-founder. YOLRED’s music therapy program for ex-child soldiers and conflict-affected civilians was highlighted at the beginning of the year by the Associated Press, in a story later run by ABC, the New York Times, Washington Post and other media outlets.

[slide] [img path="images/YOLREDCP0.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP1.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YolredCP2.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP3.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP4.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP5.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP6.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP7.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP8.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP9.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP10.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP11.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP12.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP13.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP14.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP15.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP16.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP017.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [img path="images/YOLREDCP018.jpg"]YOLRED hosts Community Parliament events throughout Northern Uganda[/img] [/slide]

As Charles and other YOLRED members fanned across the Gulu District where YOLRED is headquartered to identify the issues residents most sought to have covered in the parliament, a handful of specific concerns were consistently expressed. Among them were stigma experienced by former combatants with the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army); sexual violence; gender inequality; educational disenfranchisement of ex-child soldiers; land rights challenges; and, the refusal of health services to returning combatants.

[quote]"We at YOLRED were also seeking to achieve peaceful alternatives to the various forms of conflict in northern Uganda. By coming together in a 'community parliament'  where various opinions and ideas for change can be surfaced, everyday citizens can learn about the challenges endured by victims of the LRA, and end stigmatization." -- Charles Okello[/quote]

Each of the community parliament sessions drew approximately 100 people, the overwhelming majority of whom were women. The gatherings took place in February and March.

In addition to the civilian participants, journalists, Local Councillors, Community Vice-Chairpersons, victims’ advocates, and Parish Councillors also attended as well.

In mid-March following the two pilot community parliament sessions, YOLRED sponsored a school debating competition at the District Council Hall of Gulu District, including four regional schools. The question of when the community parliaments will continue is a looming question.

“In the due course of doing the community parliament, participants were very excited,” notes Charles Okello. “The exchange was recorded and played on radio stations in Lakody, which could then be heard by people all over the region. People liked it and want more, and if possible most want us to have them once or twice a month. When the next community parliament happens is hard to tell because of the resources to do it are not at hand, so as I speak now we are unable.”


Uganda Partners Featured in NY Times, Washington Post and more!


We are thrilled to share with you a link to the Associated Press article by Adelle Kalakouti that was just published online by wide range of outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC and Fox News about our partner organization in Uganda, YOLRED, the first organization created and operated by former child combatants.

You might already have read about YOLRED’s community gathering in our most recent newsletter. The event was held to celebrate YOLRED’s highly successful first year and showcase the unique music therapy program started this summer.

The words of Jackline Akot, who was kidnapped as a teenager by the Lord’s Resistance Army, illustrate the music therapy program’s powerful effects. Now a 36-year-old mother of six, Jackline acted out a story at the gathering and then spoke about the experience:

[quote]“You would not cope if you were to stay according to the traditional way. So when the group came, they started sharing with us, they started counselling us.” -- Jackline Akot [/quote]

Jackline added that the performance brought her “a lot of peace.”

We’d like to thank Board Member Tom Hinshaw for his support of the music therapy program and for his partnership with the team in Uganda. We’d also like to invite you to join Tom by making a donation to support grassroots driven social change in Uganda and around the world.

 


Community Celebrates Inaugural Year of YOLRED


On December 12, our partners in Northern Uganda at the Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) hosted a community gathering attended by several hundred people in the Gulu area to showcase its new music therapy program.  This community event capped off the pilot phase of this program but also gave the community a chance to celebrate an incredibly active and momentous inaugural year in operation.

 

According to program director, Global Associate Geoffrey Omony, the event started in the morning by bringing various constituencies to the venue location from across civil society and government, including the honored guest Deputy Prime Minister Acholi ker Kal Kwaro, the Officer in Charge of Layibi police post Chairman LC III Layibi Division, media outlets such as the National Broadcasting Services, NGO partners including Caritas, and local community members.

Music Therapy Student preforms as part of the talent showcase for children of former combatants.

 

“Because there were groups which could not be ready as was expected, the program started a bit late,” noted Geoffrey. Nevertheless, upon arrival, onlookers sang both the national Ugandan and East African anthems, followed by remarks from the local secretary of education who represented the chairman LC III of the host Division. Geoffrey then made remarks on behalf of YOLRED followed by his colleague Kichi David Can, who is the chairperson of YOLRED’s finance and planning committee, and spoke for Bishop Ochola, an organizational patron who is currently bedridden at home in Pece.

A panel of judges award trophies and prizes to talented young leaders.

 

Finally, the stage was open for competition in four different categories, including: traditional folk dance, instrumental solo, original composition in the traditional African style and drama. A select panel was chosen to judge the event and determine the results in each performance section. Prizes were awarded for rankings one through five with one group receiving 150,000 Ugandan Shillings ($42 USD) and a certificate of participation; second place recipients took 200,000 shillings ($56 USD) with a trophy and certificate; and, the overall winner a trophy, certificate and 250,000 Ush ($70 USD).  All the above prizes were handed over to the group members by the invited guests and the chief guest. Following the competition’s conclusion, participants and attendees were provided transportation back to their respective communities.

The program concluded a highly successful year, even beyond the imagination of YOLRED’s founders. Since the organization’s inception ceremony in August 27, 2016 after four years of planning and development, its founders -- Geoffrey, Charles, Janet, David and Collins -- have maintained unwavering focus on supporting all conflicted-affected children and youth, women, and the poor throughout Northern Uganda. Though YOLRED was unsuccessful in its application for the IDEO Youth Empowerment Challenge, it continues seeking out opportunities and resources to reinforce and expand its capacity, including new applicaitons to the Echoing Green Fellowship and Awesome Prize, among many others.

Music and Art Therapy students created dramatic reenactments of events impacting the community, such as abduction of children by the Lord's Resistance Army, as a way to open dialogue about trauma and healing.

 

YOLRED is the first organization created and operated by former child combatants and has a unique mission and approach.  In this first year, they secured a four-room office space after moving between a series of Gulu restaurants. This new office holds the organization’s accounting, human resources and administration teams, as well as a large conference room, one large office space allotted for program team and community meetings. As YOLRED leader Charles Okello noted upon opening the new office:

[quote]“Now we are not seen as just a 'briefcase' organization that travels around to meet people where they are but also as an organization that is a safe space to visit. It’s now easier for us to be visible to the national and international organizations that need to hear the perspective of former combatants."[/quote]
-- Charles Okello

 

Still, the most significant highlight for YOLRED beyond Uganda and the African continent as-a-whole was Janet and Geoffrey attending Arigatou International and the Global Network of Religions for Children’s (GNRC) Fifth Global Forum in Panama City, Panama from May 8-11, 2017. Representing YOLRED and the issue of child soldiers, the two were joined by Goldin Institute Founder Diane Goldin, Executive Director Travis Rejman, Community Learning Associate Jimmie Briggs, Colombian global associate Lissette Mateus and Emeritus Associate Dorcas Kiplagat.

Geoffrey Omony and fellow Global Associate Lissette Mateus Rao from Colombia meet in Panama and plan for a joint forgiveness and reconciliation training in 2018.

 

[quote]“Attending the Panama forum was an opportunity for me to travel out of Africa for the first time and was an interesting experience.  It also allowed me the opportunity to meet and share with people whom I would have never met before."  [/quote]

-- Geoffrey Omony

 

In reflecting on the experience in Panama, Geoffrey continued: "For the organization, it was a great deal in getting people to know about YOLRED and the work that it is doing in helping the war affected community in Northern Uganda. It also led to the genesis of the music therapy program that the organization has been piloting for the period of six months, which Travis (Rejman) and I first discussed during our time in Panama."

Following the GNRC conference, YOLRED, supported by Goldin Institute advisory board member Thomas Hinshaw, developed a music therapy program to offer an alternative form of psychosocial support to traumatized survivors and victims of war. “Tom did indeed have a very critical role in supporting the development of the music therapy which consequently led to the increased ability of the organization to use music and the arts to nurture physical, emotional and psychological healing of war victims,” said Geoffrey. “The programming priorities of music therapy are: livelihood support to former ex-combatants, education for the children of former child combatants, counseling services, and victim support.”

At present, YOLRED is partnering with Serendipia, a Colombian re-integration program for female ex-combatants created by global associate Lissette Mateus. The two organizations have worked together before on training civilians in a reconciliation process called “ESPERE.” Still, there are definite challenges, and opportunities, facing YOLRED in the coming year.

“The biggest challenges faced by YOLRED this were logistical, including transport, communication, irregular power supply, office equipment, a lack of capacity-building, as well as an inability to reach out to a larger number of ex-combatants,” says Geoffrey.

[quote]“There are quite a number of services that YOLRED needs to better address the challenges but what makes me so proud of the work I and my colleagues are doing is the demand for our services based on the community requests to scale to other areas of Northern Uganda, to assist in designing solutions to community issues, as well as our obvious high level of trust and respect in local society.” [/quote]

-- Geoffrey Omony

Photos from the Community Celebration

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Perspective: Making Peace Sustainable in Colombia

By Lissette Mateus Roa, Co-Facilitator, Global Alumni Network

Just over a year ago, I experienced one of the saddest days in my life.

On that day in October 2016, Colombians faced a referendum on the peace process. After more than 50 years of conflict with FARC -- the oldest guerrilla movement on the continent -- and after three and a half years of negotiations, a cease fire agreement was signed by all the major fighting parties in front of the United Nations Secretary-General. We Colombians had the opportunity to approve the agreement through a popular vote, and sadly, 52% percent said “no,” while 40% didn’t even bother to vote.

"For the first time on my life, I felt embarrassed to be Colombian. I thought about going to live in another country."

But a week after the depressing rejection of peace, young people lit a fire that illuminated a path for the whole country. They started marching in cities throughout the country, demanding peace and a new agreement. Thanks to the youth-led mobilization across the country, a new agreement was ratified unanimously by the Colombian Congress.

We are hardworking and good natured people. What unites us is the hope of having a better future for our children, to be the generation that left a memorable footprint for others to follow, peacefully. We can show that destiny does not depend on our politicians: Rather, our destiny depends on us.

Lissette greets fellow Global Associate Geoffrey Omony as they prepare for a site visit as part of the reintegration workshops.

It has been almost a full year since ratification of the peace agreements between the Marxist guerilla group FARC-EP and the Colombian government. This historic agreement brings a formal end to more than 50 years of conflict in which an estimated 250,000 people were killed and an additional 60,000 are still missing. Although we have an agreement on paper, Colombians must rise to meet serious challenges in order for our fragile peace to survive. We must seize our opportunity. If we do, we can be an example for the world of how to overcome adversity, how to fight terrorism, and how to end an armed conflict in a country.

As a result of our historic agreement for peace and reconciliation, more than 7,000 guerrillas have come out from the jungle all across the country to the so-called Transitional Adjustment Zones (ZVTN). This mass demobilization was the first crucial step in the process of reintegration. Of critical importance, more than 11,000 FARC guerillas laid down their weapons turning over 7,132 guns. Through the provision of identity cards and a census, we now know crucial information that will enable us to design and implement reintegration plans. In this process, 112 child soldiers were demobilized and handed over to UNICEF and the Colombian government to begin the program "Differential Life Path." With the first phase of demobilization successfully completed, Colombians can now turn to the next step of reintegration of former guerrillas back into our communities.

On August 15, 2017, the Transitional Adjustment Zones changed to “Territories for Training and Reincorporation,” spaces where former combatants can receive the training, education and support they need to return home. There are 23 rural zones around the country created for demobilized combatants coming out from jungle who need space to live while they follow the process of giving up weapons and to start their preparation for re-entry into civil life. These spaces offer support a wide range of support including vocational training and secondary education.

In addition to the aforementioned support, each demobilized fighter is eligible to receive 2,000,000 Colombian pesos (approximately $680 USD) as well as a monthly stipend of 620,000 Colombian Pesos (or $204 USD), nearly equivalent to a minimum wage job, for 24 months. These resources are intended to be used during the education and training period to support the bridge between demobilization and eventual employment.

The last significant component of the demobilization process is transformation of the FARC from a guerilla movement to a political party. With FARC commander Timochenko laying down his arms to run for President, supporters and detractors are now able express their opinions with ballots rather than bullets.

The social changes since the war’s end are also represented in the subtle but profound evolution of the the group’s name from “armed” to “alternative”, now known as the “Common Alternative Revolutionary Force” (FARC).

In this historic but fragile moment, even peace is polarized. Opponents have taken advantage of the hopelessness of many, the ignorance of the peace agreements and the fear of repeating history to mislead through the media; regurgitating the hatreds, divisions and violence of our immediate past.

The truth is that we have learned to live with the war. We see homicides and war as normal. Our reaction when someone is killed or when there is a massacre is one of weary acceptance. “Oh, those poor people” we cry, but we don´t demand change. My husband and I march for peace with our children, while many of our friends, family members and neighbors just stay home. We are living in a violent culture and sometimes, we catch ourselves being violent. It’s complicated.

It is true that many issues remain to be addressed and much work needs to be done, but if we work together, we can make this peace legitimate and sustainable. Based on my journey growing up in Colombia and entering the larger world as a mother, spouse and advocate on behalf of former girl combatants, I would declare to the Colombian government, new political parties and all Colombian people that we must keep work together to ensure that war stays in our past.

Lissette Mateus Roa discusses the power of forgiveness in Uganda with participants en route to a site visit.

AVOIDING THE MISTAKES OF THE PAST:

Protect Demobilized Politicians

Now that the FARC has been constituted as a political party, there are already some red flags about a possible new genocide. Many Colombians remember the mass killing of members of the Union Patriotica (UP), a leftist Colombian political party founded by FARC, as well as the targeting of the Colombian Communist Party in 1985 after a previous peace process negotiation. At that moment, the UP suffered political violence that led to its extermination as a party, with more than 5,000 members who had laid down their arms being targeted and killed. Disturbingly, the report “Trochas de Paz y Esperanza: informe nacional de derechos humano” documents that between April 2017 and August 2017, 23 people tied to FARC were killed; 12 were FARC former combatants and 11 were relatives of former FARC members. This targeted killing must end.

Defend Human Rights Champions

In 2017, after the implementation of the peace agreement, according to the report of "Somos Defensores," 335 human rights defenders have been victims of some kind of aggression that has put their life at risk and 51 community leaders have been murdered. This political violence has special resonance in Colombia, and has long been used as a tool to intimidate and silence ideals and movements. However, even with the ceasefire and official end of hostilities, political violence has increased by 30% over last year.

End the Displacement

Leading organizations that monitor displacement in the country, such as the Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP) and the UN agency for refugees (UNHCR), point out that despite the signing of agreements with the FARC, forced displacement continues. Despite the pledges and monitoring, Colombia continues to hold the dishonorable distinction of being number one in the world for internally displaced people. The UNHCR representative in Colombia stated that, "in recent years the figure has dropped. However, if we talk about 2017, UNHCR has registered 42 events of new displacement representing about 7,500 people. Most of the new displaced are indigenous or Afro-Colombian." The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the fact that in those areas that were left by FARC are now being disputed and controlled by other illegal groups.

Hold Government Accountable

Especially when it comes to implementing the peace agreement, our government is nearly non-functional. The processes that need to be carried out to implement the agreements are slow, impractical and ineffective. An example is the case of demobilization camps (ZVTN) that were not ready when the guerrillas arrived, despite the government's promises in the mutual agreement. According to the mission of the UN, through the month of May 2017, more than 50% of these green zones were not ready for use. In addition, the state has not occupied the territories that FARC left behind, leaving a vacuum of authority and order. Now, illegal groups are disputing these territories and deforesting our habitats to create new drug trafficking routes and to increase illicit crops. Due to crippling poverty and a lack of access to markets, peasants themselves are beginning to clear cut forests to use them for livestock and agriculture.

Stop the Corruption

Corruption is one of the greatest detriments to our society. Those who get into power, who should watch over the common good and the needs of the citizens who trusted them, focus on themselves and fill their pockets with what belongs to the citizenry. Magistrates, senators, mayors and even presidents are routinely exposed for links to paramilitaries, gangs and networks of white collar criminals. To understand the magnitude of this scourge, it is estimated that 50 billion pesos (over $17 million USD) are lost annually in Colombia because of corruption. In the last year alone, more than 19,000 people were indicted in Colombia for corruption. One recent scandal was the Odebrecht case where $11 million USD was paid in bribes to public officials to obtain infrastructure contracts between 2009 and 2011. But the worst was June, when our anti-corruption prosecutor Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera himself was captured by an elite anti-corruption police unit.

Prepare for Elections

Soon there will be elections and the opposition will use all means to further polarize Colombia so that a new group can rise to power and undo the progress that has been made so far. Many Colombians live in fear and panic that the polarization of the country will tear apart our fragile social fabric and steal our chance at a lasting and sustainable peace. To avoid the pitfalls of past failures to reach peace, we need to prepare for fair, transparent elections and campaigns.

PURSUING PATHS TOWARDS A DURABLE PEACE:

It is true that these we have fallen into traps along the path to peace in the past, but we can avoid them if we work together. All of these issues that concern us must be seen as reasons for unity: Despite our differences, we need to join together to end these scourges that affect us all. The opportunities to repair our social bonds are now more visible, thanks to the disappearance of the oldest guerrilla in the continent.

One sign of hope was the recent visit of Pope Francis to Colombia. It was a political-religious event unlike anything else we have known. His visit amidst this turmoil managed to unite us, at least for a moment, offering a glimpse of a return to hope. The motto of this visit was "Let's take the first step." His message sought to galvanize Colombians to pursue peace and reconciliation. This motto has a deep meaning for us, because in order to be able to take the first step, it is necessary to get out of lethargy, petrification, fear and to overcome the normalization of the abnormal. It is necessary to recognize that violence in Colombia – and its hidden forms of inequality and inequity -- comes not only from illegal armed groups but also from all of us. Violence has been a force that has both underwritten and corrupted our culture and our society.

We live in a culture of violence. We have naturalized death, war, injustice, beatings and indifference, and that is why we urgently need to resignify ourselves as a country. We must together weave our future based on our shared values and not on our differences.

Following the call of Pope Francis, I offer three more steps that we must take together to create a path to durable peace:

Model the Peace

We must first look at ourselves deeply and recognize the specific moments in which we ourselves are violent. What is our daily contribution to the culture of violence that encases us?

A few months ago, in the middle of the peace process, the president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos invited all citizens to disarm our language; acknowledging that we can make peace with the words we use and the way we communicate. Building on the call of President Santos, let us disarm not only our language, but our hearts, minds, thoughts and intentions.

Disarmament is not only for the FARC and other guerilla groups. We have to lay down the weapons of our language and thoughts that lead us to be violent in our homes, with our children and neighbors, in our places of work and worship.

As we look at ourselves and compare it with the reintegration process that is taking place for the demobilized, we can see that all Colombians need training and support, not just the FARC. We all must train ourselves to handle our emotions, act with compassion, to accept differences, and to be agents of positive change in society.

Ask yourself: What should I disarm in my own life? What can I contribute to a new culture of peace?

Unite in Empathy

"Taking the first step" fundamentally means that we need to recognize each other, empathize with each other's experiences. We need to begin by listening and trying to understand the paths travelled by the other without judging.

When we talk about FARC, we are not simply talking about an illegal armed group that it is demobilizing, we are talking about people. In this case, we are talking about more than 10,000 people, more than 10,000 families, more than 10,000 stories filled with very human experiences, pains, dreams and longings.

In this sense, research conducted by the National University of Colombia is instructive as it illuminates the human toll of the conflict. Through the census, we can glimpse the humanity of the people involved in the conflict. For example, we now know that most of the former combatants are peasants, 66% of whom came from rural areas, and that the war stole the childhood of almost half of them because 47% of them were recruited in their childhood.

Many are surprised to know that over one third of all combatants are women and girls, and nearly as many have a physical or mental ailment. More than half of those who recently demobilized have children, and since the signing of the agreement peace until March of this year, we have seen a “baby boom” with more than 77 babies born and 114 women pregnant in the demobilization camps. This surge in pregnancies shows their longing to start a new life and the hope they have for a better future.

We have learned a great deal about our demobilized neighbors through this groundbreaking study. For example, less than 300 have university degrees, with 57% having only primary school and just 21% possessing a secondary-level education. We know that demobilized Colombians are eager to take advantage of the chance to learn and further their studies.

To finish this small attempt to understand and empathize, we have learned also of their dreams and desires. Given that most of the demobilized are peasants, 60% want to return to the countryside and dedicate themselves to agricultural work. Thanks to the peace agreement, we have an opportunity to support these farmers as Colombia works to transition away for the production of illicit crops like coca cultivation.

By listening, we can see that the demobilized are fellow Colombians who are similar in so many ways. We can ask ourselves: What if we had been in their place? What would I have done? As we collectively take these first steps, we will uncover many more threads of connection that stich us together as we weave our future as a country.

Build Community Together

Once again, it is worth highlighting the words of the Pope Francis who ignited a spark of hope for reconciliation and a new future for Colombians:

"Reconciliation, therefore, becomes substantive and is consolidated by the contribution of all; it enables us to build the future, and makes hope grow. Every effort at peace without a sincere commitment to reconciliation is destined to fail.” -- Pope Francis

This peace is for all of us to share and depends on all of us to achieve. Conflict and violence in Colombia not only materializes through armed groups, but manifests in gender–based violence, violence against children, homicides, in everyday quarrels or interpersonal violence, crime, corruption and other types of violence that we live with day by day. All of us must recognize and seize this historic moment in which we have the opportunity to end the cycle of violence. Let’s take this chance to reflect about who we are as a society and work together towards who we want to become. The whole world is willing to give us a hand to achieve the peace that we have all longed for.

One of the best ways to contribute in this process is to become leaders and social entrepreneurs as an exercise of responsible citizenship. Anyone can work for love: We do not need a degree or a salary to transform our culture. We must only listen, recognize the needs of our community and contribute towards addressing them from our own abilities, knowledge and efforts.

The story of Colombia is unique. At the same time, we know that we can learn from our global partners and share what we have learned with communities across the globe. In Colombia, we look forward to taking the next steps on our journey towards peace with the support of the Goldin Institute's global network.


Celebrating the First Anniversary of YOLRED

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 been reflecting on the relevancy of our programs and identifying what works well and what does not work well as a reintegration strategy for the war affected community. We hope that sharing our journey will help others who are working on issues affecting the former child combatants.

This attached report focuses on our activities of the past few months, but we will share a full report with the network at the end of the year. Watch the next newsletter for that report which will include information about a big event we are hosting in our community in Mid-December.

Thank you to our partners around the world who have been following the work of YOLRED. We hope you will share the work that YOLRED is in doing to directly address issues affecting ex-child-combatants. As the only organization designed and run by former combatants, YOLRED stands as an example that we returnees can contribute positively to our communities.

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In the attached report, you will learn about our progress over the past few month in providing support to former combatants. The progress is hard-earned, as the young people we support face serious difficulties:

- Many children born in captivity have no trace of their family, and consequently no sense of identity or belonging.
- Many of these children do not go to school because their parents can’t pay fees or no parent to pay.
- Female ex-combatants are face additional stigma because of being associated with LRA atrocities and sexual abuse.
- There is a consistent low economic status for former combatants.
- Rejection and social stigmatization endure for returning fighters.

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A participant in our programs, Lakot Jackline, sadly has to deal with many of these difficulties. Jackline was abducted as a child during the civil conflict with the LRA, but is now 39. The incredible trauma of her past and the stigma she faces today is compounded by her HIV positive status, making it very difficult to raise and care for her nine children.

Despite these difficulties, former combatants have made some great progress at the YOLRED center. She has benefitted greatly for our new music therapy programs which offers her a chance to heal and connect with others. In addition to Jackline, we recently helped two brothers who had been estranged to reconcile through our ESPERE forgiveness and reconciliation program.

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In addition to our programs here in Gulu, I was able to share the tools and methods of YOLRED with a global audience this year. This spring, I travelled with my colleague Arach Janet to participate in the 5th International Forum of the Global Network of Religions for Children as part of a delegation led by Goldin Institute Founder Diane Goldin.

As the only organization designed and run by former combatants, YOLRED stands as an example that we returnees can contribute positively to our communities. Thank you to our partners around the world who have been following the work of YOLRED. We hope you will support and share the work that YOLRED is in doing to directly address issues affecting ex-child-combatants.

READ THE FULL REPORT