War Child UK

War Child UK is working with over 30 primary schools in Northern Uganda to provide access to basic education and psychosocial activities for young children, including sports, dance and drama, as well as access to healthcare and prevention and response to abuse.

For more than twenty years, northern Ugandans were caught in a war between their government’s military and the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army. The violence killed thousands of civilians and left over 1.5 million displaced internally within the country. It was only in late 2008 that relative peace came with concerted dispersal of the rebels. Rebel leader Joseph Kony had abducted civilians and at least 25,000 children over the last 10 years, to use as soldiers, human shields and sex slaves. This legacy of horror amongst the most vulnerable is what the charity War Child seeks to overcome.

Today, many children are living in camps, either orphaned or separated from their families and care givers, which leaves them vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and neglect. War Child is putting in place community-based child protection and education programmes to help safeguard them.

Because formerly abducted children spent a lot of time with the rebels (sometimes a few years), they are too old to go back to primary school. War Child offers literacy and numeracy courses to help them catch up. A Comic Relief funded initiative is providing not just accelerated learning but also entrepreneurial skills.

Building Child Protection Systems in schools and communities:

Establishing 16 REFLECT groups
Establishing and supporting 3 child protection committees
Establishing and support 12 child rights clubs in schools
Providing child protection referral and direct services for about 4000 children
Directly reaching an estimated 6000 children with health referrals, education, and psychosocial support services

Education, skills and community based child protection services:

Enrol and support 1200 children into primary schools
Provide accelerated learning and entrepreneurial skills training for 240 young people
Life skills and awareness raising reaching 15000 people including children and young people
Building the capacity of three local organisations

The charity aims to reach 15,000 children directly and an extra 135,000 members of their communities. The Pader district, where accountants’ help is being sought, is remote. Many of the neighbouring NGOs are emergency services which are now closing down their operations. The need to start capacity building locally is urgent.

'An important part of WCUK's role is to help build the capacity of our local partners so that they can be more effective at reaching many more children affected by the conflict. When we talk about the effectiveness of the funds we provide and manage on behalf of the children, communities and our donors, sound financial management is one gigantic pillar we cannot afford to compromise.'

Ebrima SAIDY - Country Programme Coordinator, Uganda

War Child works with children affected by war in Iraq, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. They work with children who have been hit hardest by the joint forces of poverty, conflict and social exclusion. Their groundbreaking work with former child soldiers, street children and children in prison has supported and helped thousands who would otherwise not have been able to reintegrate with their community, gain access to education or enjoy sustainable livelihood support.

The children they work with participate directly in decision making and project design. In this way the projects reflect their needs.

War Child works closely with other aid organisations and local and national government to ensure the knowledge and skills gained through their work are shared with as many people as possible. In this way they are able to help many more children than they can hope to reach directly.

They work alongside local partner organisations in a way that involves children and their communities directly. The organization uses what it learns from them to support the most marginalised street children, children in conflict with the law and children formerly associated with fighting forces. Practical initiatives alongside local, national and international advocacy ensure the long-term protection of these children.

To find out more about War Child UK's amazing work please click here

Registered UK charity no. 1071659