Youth Leaders for Restoration and Development - YOLRED

Northern Uganda, as the epicenter of the conflict between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), is relatively peaceful today but suffers from an unaddressed legacy of psychological trauma, stigmatization and distrust, high level illiteracy rate as well as safeguarding issues. This burden falls heavily on stigmatized former child soldiers who have returned to war-weary and traumatized communities. Social networks that are supposed to assist in healing community relations deteriorated during and after the
war.

While many ex-combatants received psychosocial support while in the rehabilitation/reception centers, our community driven oral testimony research with former combatants clearly shows that these services were necessary but insufficient in the cause of reintegration. War-affected communities have understandable difficulty in accepting former combatants. The war eroded social norms and patterns, leaving families separated and relationship ties strained with weakened traditional and legal governing institutions and reduced access to basic services.

Our Goals is to ensure that the severely traumatized young people of Northern Uganda living a Just, peaceful and productive lives

Our Mission is to help severely traumatized young people of Northern Uganda to become physically and psychologically healed and able to initiate and sustain their livelihoods.