Restore Former Child Soldier's Project
Restore Former Child Soldier Project Synopsis
Testimony
“Life was hard in captivity. All we knew was war. I was forced to do many bad things and we always lacked basic necessities. “But when I came back to my village, I continued being traumatised. Memories keep coming back and I think that I would be abducted again so I used to fear a lot and was not happy. The therapy I got from World Vision has made life easy for me and my friends. We have similar problems and we discus how to overcome them. This helps us to forget about our worries and not bother about some community members who talk bad things about us,” says Acen Josephine, a 30 year old returnee who was abducted in 2001 as a teenager.
In the year 2010, World Vision implemented a Area Recovery Program (ARP) in Lokole and Parabongo Sub Counties Agago District with an objective of addressing the education, livelihood, and psychosocial needs of the formerly displaced persons who had returned to their original homes from the IDP camps.
§ The ARP was to prepare the community for more meaningful development programmes.
§ Psychosocial support was one of the interventions that were provided to the identified adolescents who were identified to have symptoms of depression. It was recommended that psychosocial support project is carried on to spscifcially support the former child soldiers (returnees).
§ The Pscyhosocial support project was delivered using the Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Groups (IPT-G) model/approach. Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a time-limited (six months) psychotherapy for depression.[1]
§ Although there was indication of some registered progress in reduction of depression related symptoms among the adolescents, it was on the other hand found out that there was still more effort required if the adolescents are to significantly overcome the problem of depression.
§ In year 2013, World Vision started an Area Development Programme (ADP) with an aim of consolidating outcomes of the ARP to address Child Wellbeing related conerns.
§ Restore Former Child Soldier project is among the implemented projects in the ADP. It has recruited a total of 197 (101 Female, 96 Males) clients facilitated by 16 (8F, 8M) volunteers with a about 1182 people as indirect beneficaries.
§ The volunteers took clients through group discussions for a period of 16 sessions (4 months). The volunteers were fully provided with the necessary requirements/items including technical support supervisison to be able to implement the IPTG weekly sessions.
§ post assessment exercise was conducted and the results indicated that 151 (71M, 80F) representing 85% participants that completed the IPTG intervention were participated. The assessment was done using principles of Diagnostic Statistical Manual version four (DSM IV) for assessing depression symptoms. 134 (69M, 65F) representing 89% of those post assessed indicated a reduction in depression symptoms compared to the pre assessment results.
§ After the completion and graduation from IPT-G, beneficiaries were trained in Start Your Business (SYB) and Improve Your Business (IYB) an aproach that has supplement on the skills acquired from IPT-G. Todate, various groups have started IGAs in different enterprise like hairdressing, craft making, liquid soap making, communal/joint work force in farming of sun flower, beans ,
§ The intervention led to restored psychosocial wellbeing and increased functionality of former child soldiers. (outcomes increased child welbeing)
§ There are reports that members of the have changed attitude and increased respect to the elders
§ Former 16 IPT groups have formed into Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) – World Vision has supported these Associations with Training in loans and credit management.
§ 16 Self Help groups have been formed enageged in a range of community development programmes like doing communual farming – World Vision supported the groups with 32 oxen and 16 ox-ploughs
§ World Vision collaborated with local leaders to identify and recommend IPT-G participants
§ World Vision partnership with Makerere University Department of Mental Health and Community Psychology to adopt institutionalizing the intervention as course unit under their Bachelor of Community Psychology program and conducting action research will enable most of the communities in need to such support access and benefit from the intervention.