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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
YOLRED: Now Open for Business
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. Our organization is the first organization in northern Uganda that is designed and run by former combatants and dedicated to serving and reintegrating our peers.
Before having our own space, we were previously limited to working at an array of restaurants around the Gulu community until the appropriate location could be found and secured. We now have a four room office located on a parcel of land 50x26 meters large. Although YOLRED is renting the property for now, rent is secured over the next seven months, through September of this year. Including a reception area, the YOLRED office accommodates our accounting, human resources and administration teams, as well as one large office space allotted for program team and community meetings.
Having our own office space is really a big accomplishment to both YOLRED and the community we serve. Now we have the security of having a space where we can plan, monitor, organize and meet. Other former combatants who are looking for support will now have a central and known place to come for help. My colleague Charles Okello put it best when he said:
"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. Its now easier for us to be visible to the national and international organizations that need to hear the perspective of former combatants".
Furthermore, having our own space will make it easier for us to operate efficiently and at a lower overall cost. Above all, having our own office is creating a great deal of good will with the community around us who can see a tangible display that we have a level of leadership, professionalism and support that many thought was impossible for former combatants.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far and we hope to welcome you in our new reception room if you travel to Gulu.
Youth Leaders from East Africa Tackle Violent Extremist Recruitment
East African communities have been struggling to respond to the rise in the recruitment of children into armed conflict by a range of violent extremist groups. In Kenya, the September 2013 attack on the Westgate mall by Al-Shabaab left over 67 dead and 175 injured echoed the terror of the bombing of the U.S. Embassy on Nairobi by Al-Qaeda-aligned terrorists in 1998. Between 2012-2014, Kenyan National Police tallied 312 people killed and 779 wounded in terrorist attacks according to Human Rights Watch. Extremist violence has increasingly become a security priority for the Kenya goverment and a deepening concern in Kenya’s civil society, especially as extremist groups are actively recruiting vulnerable youth for missions inside East Africa, in conflicts like Syria and even further abroad.
To address the issue of countering violent extremism and minimizing the risk of youth being radicalized, the “Regional Youth Forum on Countering Violent Extremism: Deepening Cooperation in Combatting Violent Extremism” (CVE) occurred from August 29-31, in Nairobi, Kenya. The training was part of a five-year “Regional Peace Programme” to foster unity and collaboration with regional youth and a wide variety of youth-focused organizations. Along with Arigatou International, the Goldin Institute hosted the gathering with Norwegian Church Aid, the Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC), the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Somali Family Services, icco Cooperation, and BRAVE in mobilizing young people to engage in a shared dialogue toward finding concrete steps to achieve lasting solutions.
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It is widely understood, and recognized, that generally young people comprise the population most vulnerable to extremist recruitment due to factors such as unemployment, housing instability and insecurity, hunger, low educational opportunities, social disconnection, as well as individualized, internal factors including trauma. Consequently, the primary drivers of the forum were fifty young people from Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia supported by members of regional and international NGOs (non-governmental organizations) who attended.
“One of the take-aways from the youth participants was that women and children are quite involved in the radicalization,” notes Dr. Dorcas Kiplagat, Network and Programs Manager for GNRC and former Goldin Institute Global Associate. “The understanding of violent extremism needs to be deepened with more people actually knowing about the process of radicalization. The Kenyan government is doing much, but people are complaining that the government isn't doing enough. There needs to be organization and education on what’s happening. The partnerships between government and civil stakeholders needs to be deepened, as well.”
A worry for Dr. Kiplagat is that too often conversations about countering violent extremism don’t occur strategically, nor with regularity. For the most part, they’re high-level conversations which rarely engage the grassroots community which isn’t given the opportunity share thee on-the-ground perspective. This meeting in September was an important step in embedding these conversations within a credible, regional strategy.
“There needs to be greater opportunity for dialogue,” she notes. ‘We identify those involved in the extremist campaigns, but many times we don't empower them with knowledge and skills to resist. There is no one answer. It is the marginalized regions that are behind in terms of economic development. Young people in those situations feel excluded, and vulnerable. We can say religion is a main drive, but it's not. Christians have been attacked here in Kenya, but then we see Muslims coming to the defense of Christians, so it can't be blamed on that.”
By the forum’s end, youth participants and host organizations developed solid commitments and concrete plans of action for work in their home communities throughout East Africa. These included, among others: consistent engagement with youth; keeping a gender-lens on the radicalization of young people; identifying and working with the appropriate government section(s) addressing violent extremism; increasing employment opportunities and sustainability for individuals at-risk of recruitment; and, interfaith dialogue and mobilization being activated on the programmatic level.
ICCO Interchurch Organization for Development Cooperation) representative Angeline Nguedjeu made the closing remarks on the final day of the forum, recognizing that its realization was for indeed a “vision,” but that short and long-term goals to achieve were important to establish as soon as possible.
Former Child Soldiers in Uganda take the Lead
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 Acholi ethnic group from communities such as Gulu and Kitgum, as well as the areas surrounding them, children bore an overwhelming weight not only as combatants, but also in carrying a stigma which has typically left them marginalized and overlooked as young adults today.
YOLRED, or the “Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development,” aims to address the challenges endured by former combatants with a key distinction which separates it from other well-meaning NGOs (non-governmental organizations) both local and international: YOLRED was founded by formerly abducted child soldiers to serve other young adults with the same shared experience. It is the only group of its kind to be designed, founded and led by members of the community which it serves.
Its origins come out of mobilization of just under 200 former combatants from across Northern Uganda to capture and document oral testimony about their respective experiences in the civil war. Through a partnership with the Goldin Institute and local supporters, the core team of YOLRED led the effort to collect over 150 peer-to-peer interviews with former abductees about their experiences and insights.
Not unlike child soldiers in other countries who are undergoing the formal DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration) process without long-term support, many of those individuals who participated in the story collection project recounted being stigmatized, left homeless and struggling in poverty. The Goldin Institute in partnership with Arigatou International and Cartitas Counseling Training Institute worked with regional Ugandan leaders to support these child soldiers to assume agency and leadership over their own destinies.
Equipped with this knowledge and the sense of solidarity developed through the research process, these community researchers produced the “Alone and Frightened” report to restore these voices to the conversation about reintegration and laid the foundation for an organization dedicated to achieving the aspirations of former combatants.
In a ceremony attended by partners from the Goldin Institute and a wide range of local partners, YOLRED was officially launched on August 27, 2016 in Gulu after years of careful planning, listening and outreach. YOLRED’s five co-founders – Geoffrey, Charles, Janet, David and Collins -- seek to support all young people who were impacted by the civil war, including ex-child soldiers, abductees, the displaced, the children of former abductees and child mothers throughout Northern Uganda. Indicators of well-being including health, education, employment and livelihood, as well as peace and security. The team is actively restoring the communities that were torn apart by the conflict and taking steps to prevent the abduction of children into conflict in the future.
In preparing for the launch of YOLRED, the team partnered with the Goldin Institute, Arigatou International and Anorak who worked with YOLRED’s leadership to develop a five-year plan detailing its organizational structure and its primary initiatives including reconciliation, entrepreneurship and agriculture.
"I am happy for Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development, as a platform for former child soldiers. As a leader of the organization, I will [help] ensure that our problems and the solutions are implemented are locally. The output of this organization must be felt and seen in the communities." -- Geoffrey Omony, Co-Founder, YOLRED
Further, the credit union scheme is not only intended to provide low and no interest loans but also financial literacy for those without bank accounts nor a credit history. Grassoots entrepreneurs will be supported in their start-up efforts and encouraged to be peer mentors to others seeking to create businesses or authentic leadership in civil society and government. YOLRED will be critically evaluating all of its programming at key stages of its development.
Presently, the organization is applying for support from the IDEO Youth Empowerment Challenge, as well as Echoing Green for general operations as well as capacity building.
We invite you to learn more about YOLRED and how to get involved at www.yolred.org.
Follow Along as Former Child Soldiers Launch Reintegration Organization
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 launch of the platform.
The team was able to share their vision with the public and was received with support from the community and different official stakeholders, NGO's and religious institutions. You can download the brochure that was distributed at the launch event here.
It has been an honour to see the fruit of over four years of hard work come to a big milestone, see the members of YOLRED rise and start to carry out a vision they have had on the inside for years. View our most up-to-date slideshow below:
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[img path="images/AnorakUganda010.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Participate in Workshop on Strategic Planning[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda011.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Meet with Community Partners Throughout Gulu[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda013.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Participate in Workshop on Strategic Planning[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda014.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Participate in Workshop on Strategic Planning[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda015.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Meet with Community Partners Throughout Gulu[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda016.jpg"]Anders from Team Anorak meets with Grassroots Community Leaders in Gulu[/img]
[img path="images/AnorakUganda017.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders Meet with Community Partners Throughout Gulu[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/dianeG.jpg"]GI co-founder Diane Goldin meets with community leaders on the project[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/w_danes.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders and ANORAK organizers, Morten and Anders enjoy casual moment for photo opportunity[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/geoffery_work.jpg"]Team leader Geoffery meets with Grassroots Community Leaders in Gulu[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/trav_trav.jpg"]GI Executive Director Travis Rejman with colleague Charles Okelo and family[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/women_colors.jpg"]YOLRED participants display the local colors[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/dianeG.jpg"]GI co-founder Diane Goldin meets with community leaders on the project[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/w_danes.jpg"]YOLRED Leaders and ANORAK organizers, Morten and Anders enjoy casual moment for photo opportunity[/img]
[img path="images/Anorak_August2016/geoffery_work.jpg"]Team leader Geoffery meets with Grassroots Community Leaders in Gulu[/img]
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Currently we are supporting the team in enacting their communications and outreach plan for both local and international supporters. In particular, we are providing some consultative support over the next two weeks to help them create their own website as an ongoing place of information and updates from YOLRED. Watch for an announcement in the next newsletter for the new website!
Now lies a lot of hard but exciting work for YOLRED, but with great support from the Goldin Institute, Arigatou International and wise partners on the ground, the team feels equipped and empowered, ready to reach out to their communities. We are very excited to follow the team’s progress in this coming period.
August 20th Update:
The Uganda team is working late hours these days with Team Anorak to be ready for the launch of YOLRED that will take place in only 6 days. The team is mobilising the community though many visits to local leaders and various sites in northern Uganda, they are also putting final touches on their leadership structure and preparing all the details for the launch next Saturday.
August 19th Update:
Along with my colleague Morten, I am pleased to share an update from our first week here in Gulu, Uganda with our partners from the emerging organization, Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development (YOLRED). We are inspired by the wisdom, creativity and passion that the former child soldiers of Uganda bring to the leadership of creating and managing their own organization. For the first time, former child soldiers themselves will determine their own strategies for reintegration and prevention.
To help finalize the organizational design, we have facilitated several workshops, helping the YOLRED team clarify and document the mission, vision and principles of this new organization.
We have also together made great progress in defining the organizational structure and plan to ensure that these young leaders will have the platform and support they need to acheive their ambitious mission.
These discussions with the YOLRED leaders have been informed by a wide range of key stakeholders including leading NGO’s, government offices, religious leaders and family members.
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First, through our conversations with community partners, we are raising awareness and enthusiasm among the stakeholders in the area. At the same time, this highly creative processes with the YOLRED team is designing solutuions to the missing pieces of their strategy and bringing a deep and inspiring cohesion and shared vision with the team.
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We look forward to keeping you updated as we move towards the public launch of YOLRED in the coming weeks.
If you have questions or suggestions, we're happy to hear for you.
Sincerely,
Anders and Morten, Team Anorak
