The Comboni Samaritans of Gulu

Gulu, Uganda
In partnership with the International Refugee Trust

The Comboni Samaritans is a community based organisation made up of 40 local people who are mentored by the Comboni Sisters.This remarkable group was started in 1992, its members are local to the area and all of them are determined to be Good Samaritans for the many people who have had their lives torn apart over the last twenty years by the rebels of the LRA as well as by HIV/AIDS.

At first they concentrated on helping those suffering from HIV/AIDS and this work they still do, but this soon snowballed. They set up their orphans and education programmes to help children, not only those whose parents had been victims of disease, but who were killed by the Lord's Resistance Army. Just about every family has been affected by HIV/AIDS and/or Lords Resistance Army violence, creating thousands of orphans and child-headed families.

Over the last two years and following the signing of peace accords between the government and the LRA, security and peace has greatly improved. Whole communities who were living in displaced people's camps are returning to their homes to rebuild their lives. Thousands of abducted children have been released by the LRA and many other children have lost one or both parents and are reliant on extended families. These children survive with deep emotional scars due to their traumatic experiences of rape, witness to murder and other atrocities.

In many villages in Northern Uganda the schools have either been totally destroyed or are in a terrible state of repair. It is vital that schools can function properly because without education the people of Northern Uganda cannot possibly hope to restore the area to its previous prosperity.

The Comboni Samaritans have achieved considerable success and last year won second prize in a Ugandan government voluntary sector awards programme for best practice and financial transparency.

Major Activities include

Physiological support to People living with HIV/AIDS & Orphans and vulnerable children
Community follow-up of patients on ARV to monitor adherence
Treatment of Opportunistic Infection in People Living with HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns
Education support to OVC
Economic empowerment to the Beneficiaries
Construction of school infrastructures in six schools in Amuru & Gulu Districts

International Refugee Trust

The International Refugee Trust (IRT) is a UK registered charity which focuses generally on small, longer term projects that address the most urgent needs of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) all over the world.

As a partner with the Comboni Samaritans of Gulu, the IRT is now concentrating its resources on the Samaritans’ Primary Education Programme and over the coming three years they are going to support:

Building 7 classrooms in six primary schools
Building 14 latrines in each of the six schools
Provision of desks, chairs, text books and sports equipmen
Establishment of simple income-generating projects at each school
The cost of 300 orphans to attend school - uniform, exercise books, exam fees
Training teachers to deal with traumatised children
Building the capacity of school management committees and parent teacher associations
Manage the schools and ensure children attend school
Running awareness campaigns on the rights and needs for girls to attend school.