Mission:To promote peace and protect the rights of war-affected families in Uganda
through advocacy, psychosocial support and community empowerment.
Who they serve:Children and families affected by the war in
northern Uganda
What they do:
Advocacy for abducted children and for peace
Home-based counseling for the children who have
escaped or been released
Provision of school fees
Teaching income-generating skills
Help with payment of medical bills
Year founded: 1996, by a group of mothers
Website:
None available
Needs:
Funds for construction of a trauma counseling center
An empowerment program for formerly abducted
girls who return with children
Human resource staff to manage the growing staff
team
Expansion of core programs to more counties and
villages
Four wheel drive vehicles to access more rural
families
School sponsorships for released children and
those born in captivity
Their story:
The first case of child abduction by the LRA in Uganda was in
1991 but it received little attention from government or international
community. Abduction by the LRA continued in different isolated cases in
villages of northern Uganda. Parents and
communities did not know how respond. CPA was formed immediately after the
abduction of 139 school girls from St. Mary’s College Aboke on the night of October 10th, 1996. For the first time, the LRA had abducted
children of highly educated parents who formed an association to advocate for
the children’s release. They invited other parents from the region whose
children had been abducted to have a stronger voice. They were advocating for release
of all abducted children and child soldiers,rehabilitation
of released children, and peace
in Uganda. The organization works through grass 500 different parent support groups and
100 youth groups; each with an average of 25 members. They have a resident community representative in
each community.
