A Joyous Reopening!

The past year has presented the world with heartbreaking challenges. The pandemic shows no sign of ending soon, but thankfully, the Lukome Center—where we bring traumatized Ugandan and South Sudanese girls who need a safe and nurturing space to heal—has reopened, and our students are finally getting back to their normal routine!  

After months of being locked down, many of our students were afraid the Lukome Center would never reopen. Caring and committed donors helped to prove them wrong!  Here are the stories of two such students – Janet and Viola, adolescent girls who both became child mothers due to being
sexually exploited.

“I was very happy when I got the news over the radio that the center was reopening.  Now I can finish my studies!” - Janet

When Uganda’s school closure mandates went into effect, Janet wasn’t prepared to go home on such short notice. “I didn’t have any hope of coming back to the center because the pandemic spread to the entire world,” she said. “I was very scared about the future.”

Life quickly became difficult. All too soon, Janet ran out of money for even the most basic necessities. Worse yet, hunger became an ever-present specter, and she struggled to keep her child, Joevin, fed. Now that the Lukome Center has reopened, Janet is eagerly looking forward to concentrating fully on her studies and graduating with marketable skills she can use to support herself and her child. But for now, she just wants to enjoy being back. “The first thing I want to do is clean my hut!” She said. “And to see my friends and teachers who I have missed dearly.”

“I want to concentrate on catering and bakery courses so that I can pass my [vocational] exams!” - Viola

Like Janet, Viola was also convinced that because of the pandemic, she and her child, Ivan, would never be coming back to the Lukome Center. She had little choice but to return to the Imvepi Refugee Settlement. “Life at home became very difficult,” she said. “My grandparents rejected me. They refused to accommodate me until [Imvepi] elders got involved.”

Her son Ivan also suffered, coping with hunger day after day. Viola’s only solace was the opportunity to meet with some of her fellow students from the center who had also returned to Imvepi. “It was very helpful to have access to some friends,” she explained. “I was able to share emotional support with them.”

Thanks to donor support in 2020:

• 646 THRIVE reusable menstrual pad kits were distributed to adolescent girls in Nigeria and Uganda.

• 202 counseling sessions were held at Girl Empowerment Centers.

• 806 food relief packages were distributed to adolescent girls and their families in Uganda.

The students aren’t the only ones who are overjoyed to be back at the center. As Stella, a ChildVoice counselor put it: “On the day the students started arriving, [I felt] joy, happiness, and love – especially for the toddlers! The first thing we did for them was welcome them warmly and give them something to eat, because they came hungry.”

We simply can’t continue to do this work without your support. Please consider making a donation today.