Uganda

For the past ten years Uganda has struggled with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in its northern regions. Presently, an estimated 500,000 people live in squatter displacement camps. Hundreds of thousands of children have been directly traumatized. Many have lost one or both parents in the war.

As a war-torn country, there are many opportunities for COTN to meet the needs of Uganda’s suffering citizens. In June 2006, COTN launched its first outreach into this region of Uganda with a trauma team led by Counseling Director Sue Harrell and her husband Ed. This team included several African Bible College Students from Malawi and Uganda as well as professional counselors and support staff from the United States. The team began in the town of Lira by training pastors and lay leaders to identify traumatized children and to effectively minister to their needs. The team has since ventured into displacement camps leading approximately 10,000 children in a large-scale, specially designed trauma curriculum. Small grief groups are being formed with those children that are exhibiting traumatic symptoms in hopes that they will find healing and can be released from the fears caused by trauma.

Uganda has also been plagued with a high HIV rate and many children have become orphaned by this pandemic. COTN desires to implement a newly designed Orphan Foster Care Model. This new model will empower existing churches within geographical areas to care for its orphan population.

COTN will begin to build a team of committed board members and hopes to establish a fully functioning NGO Board by January of 2007. A steering committee has been organized with local leaders. Together, COTN will move forward with a coordinated plan that provides care to both those children and families traumatized by the war and the orphan population in and around the city of Lira. In addition plans are now being finalized for the summer of ‘07 which will include counseling teams, internships, and Venture Teams. Your partnership is vital to the success of this endeavor.