Taking action
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Taking action
Since the launch of the Kony 2012 campaign many young people have wondered how they can help Uganda and the war children in Central Africa. The following domestic and international organisations are amongst the many groups doing aid work in the region. Whatever action you take it is important to research the organisations before making any commitment, just as we have encouraged you to do with 'Invisible Children' in this libguide.
International Organisations
"Engineering Ministries International (eMi) is a non-profit Christian development organization made up of architects, engineers and design professionals who donate their skills to help the poor around the world step out of poverty and into a world of hope." (eMi website)
International Rescue Committee
"The International Rescue Committee responds to the world's worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives." The International Rescue Committee has been working in Uganda since 1998. They aim to "protect women and children from violence and exploitation by fostering a safe environment and encouraging education, and is supporting farmers and small businesses, and helping communities promote peace and long-term development." (IRC website)
"BRAC is a development organisation dedicated to alleviating poverty by empowering the poor to bring about change in their own lives." Since their launch in Uganda in 2006, "BRAC has become the largest development organisation in the country and a major provider of microfinance." (BRAC website)
Caritas Internationalis is "a confederation of 165 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide." "Conflict in northern Uganda has forced 1.7 million people – nearly 90 percent of the region's population – to leave their homes for 200 camps. These people are almost entirely dependent on humanitarian support and three million Ugandans need food aid every year. In addition to improving access to food, Caritas Uganda promotes a range of initiatives including democracy building, gender equality and HIV and AIDS eradication." (Caritas website)
"CAFOD is the official Catholic aid agency for England and Wales. They work with partners in more than 40 countries across the world to bring hope, compassion and solidarity to poor communities, standing side by side with them to end poverty and injustice. They work with people of all faiths and none." In Uganda, CAFOD "work on issues such as farming, peace-building, drought, emergency feeding, advocacy and HIV." (CAFOD website)
UNICEF believes that "nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress. UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path." They believe "that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity." (UNICEF website)
Amnesty is "a campaigning organisation; it's what we do. Our purpose is to protect people wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied." (Amnesty website)
Accounting for International Development
"Accounting for International Development (AfID) offers accountants the opportunity to use their skills to make a genuine difference while gaining invaluable hands-on experience in the international development sector." (AfID website)
"International Refugee Trust (IRT) was founded 1989 to help improve the lives of refugees, internally displaced people and returnees around the world. We are there when the big agencies move on. We focus on small scale projects and are comitted to seeing the full project through." (IRT website)
"The Enough Project fights to end genocide and crimes against humanity, focused on areas where some of the world’s worst atrocities occur. We get the facts on the ground, use rigorous analysis to determine the most sustainable solutions, influence political leaders to adopt our proposals, and mobilize the American public to demand change." (Enough website)
"Oxfam is an international confederation of 17 organizations networked together in 92 countries, as part of a global movement for change, to build a future free from the injustice of poverty. We work directly with communities and we seek to influence the powerful to ensure that poor people can improve their lives and livelihoods and have a say in decisions that affect them." (Oxfam website)
"War Child International is a family of independent humanitarian organisations, working across the world to help children affected by war. War Child International currently consists of three implementing offices: War Child Holland, War Child North America and War Child UK." (War Child website)
Summary of links:
Ugandan and African Organisations
The vision of Refugee Law Project is "that all people in Uganda enjoy their human rights, irrespective of their legal status. This vision is supported by relevant international laws as well as the Constitution of Uganda." (Refugee Law Project website)
Christian Counselling Fellowship
The Christian Counselling Fellowship is "a community-based organization in Pader, northern Uganda, committed to promote Christian values and provide services to war affected women and children." (Christian Counselling Fellowship website)
Gulu Support the Children Organisation - GUSCO is "and indiginous NGO working to promote the well-being of war affected children in Northern Uganda through provision of Psycho-Social Support, Capacity building of communities, education, advocacy and peace building." (GUSCO website)
"Lacor Hospital is a private, non-profit Ugandan hospital, whose mission is to guarantee affordable medical services in particular to the most needy." (Lacor website)
"Information for Youth Empowerment Programme (IYEP) is a grass-roots NGO located in Bardege Division, Gulu Town in northern Uganda. The organization was founded in July of 2004 by a group of former child soldiers who had recently escaped from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), and a handful of locals who had never themselves been abducted but who wished to stand in solidarity with LRA escapees in the community." (IYEP website)
The Lalela project aims to "provide educational arts to youth affected by extreme poverty to spark creative thinking and awaken the entrepreneurial spirit." (Lalele website)
The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative
The Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative (ARLPI) is "an interfaith peace building and conflict transformation organisation formed in 1997 as a proactive resonse to the conflict in Northern Uganda." (ARLPI website)
"Congo Now! is a coalition-led campaign to raise awareness of the continuing violence and civilian suffering in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Congo Now! is campaigning for effective political action from the UK government to ensure that the UK maintains and strengthens its efforts on the DRC." (Congo Now! website)
"Grassroots Reconciliation Group rehabilitates former child soldiers and helps reconcile them with their communities, establishing economic, educational, and community growth in war-torn northern Uganda." (Grassroots website)
"Resolve works with activists, policy experts, and civil society leaders to identify and build support for policy measures that can help end LRA atrocities and enable affected families and communities to survive and rebuild their lives." (Resolve website)
"Hope North is a 40-acre campus in northern Uganda where refugees, orphans and former child soldiers find a place to call home. It is a living and learning community with an accredited secondary school, vocational training center and full time Ugandan staff of fifteen." (Hope North website)
"Concerned Parents Association (CPA) Lira is a child focused organization formed by a group of parents affected by the abduction of children by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda." (Concerned Parents website)
"Plan has worked in Uganda since 1992 to help improve the quality of life of disadvantaged children, their families and their communities. Plan is working through Child Centred Community Development, which is a rights-based approach in which children, youth, families and communities are active and leading participants in their own development." (Plan information sheet)
"Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) is a Ugandan civil societal, non-governmental, non-partisan, non stock, non racial, non religious and non-profit making human rights organisation established in 1994 with a country-wide mandate. HURIFO's head office is located in Gulu district northern Uganda." (HURIFO website)
Justice and Reconciliation Project
"The Justice and Reconciliation Project (JRP) empowers conflict-affected communities to participate in processes of justice, healing and reconciliation. We aim to promote sustainable peace through actively involving war-affected communities in research and advocacy. Since 2005, JRP has played a key role in transitional justice (TJ) in Uganda through seeking to understand and explain the interests, needs, concerns and views of communities affected by conflict." (JRP website)
African Youth Initiative Network
African Youth Initiative Network (AYINET) "are a grassroots non-governmental organization working in Uganda. We work directly with victims and their communities to ensure a future of peace, justice and dignity for all." (AYINET website)