In Imvepi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda, Africa’s hunger crisis was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as severe international food relief cutbacks. In response, we initiated a hybrid agriculture program designed to provide the youth we serve in Imvepi supplemental food relief, while also giving them the training, tools, and supplies they needed to grow their own food. Now we are thrilled to announce that the agriculture initiative has proved to be a resounding success – and your support made this possible!
UPDATE: Uganda & Nigeria, October 2022
In what the British Red Cross is calling “the worst food crisis in 40 years,” some 146 million people across Africa are experiencing extreme hunger. War and conflict, climate shocks, and soaring inflation have conspired to create a perfect storm of hunger in countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan. In response, we devised a hybrid program to provide supplemental food relief, agriculture start-up packages, and agricultural skills training.
GROWING FOOD INSECURITY AMONG REFUGEES IN UGANDA
A looming hunger crisis is taking hold among refugee populations in Uganda for the second time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This time, a confluence of two concurrent events – drastic reduction in food relief and a rapid surge in inflation – have brought South Sudanese, Congolese and other refugees living in Imvepi Refugee Settlement and other camps close to the brink of starvation.
SPOTLIGHT: THRIVE Project Volunteer Carolyn Baldwin
If you had asked Carolyn Baldwin a few years ago whether she thought her sewing skills would someday help young women half a world away stay in school, she might have shrugged you off with a laugh. In fact, that’s more or less how she reacted when Krista Brown, ChildVoice Donor Relations and Outreach Coordinator, first approached her about volunteering to help make reusable menstrual pad kits for ChildVoice’s THRIVE Program.
Interview with THRIVE Project Volunteer Carolyn Baldwin
Volunteers have been a key part of the success of ChildVoice’s programs over the years. Our volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Sometimes, they possess a skill set they never would have thought to be of use to war-affected youth living in a far-off country. One such volunteer is Carolyn Baldwin, whose considerable sewing skills have made her an integral part of our THRIVE reusable menstrual pad programs. Carolyn is not only a volunteer; she and her husband, Mark, are committed Amplified donors and give monthly to ChildVoice.
ChildVoice recently sat down with Carolyn to discuss her background, her interest in humanitarian aid, and how her sewing skills have proved far more valuable to ChildVoice’s THRIVE Project than she could ever have imagined.
Three Adolescent Girls, Three Stories of Heartbreak and Hope
Margaret is a 17-year-old South Sudanese child mother. She and her grandmother fled to Imvepi Refugee Settlement in northern Uganda to escape war in South Sudan. Sarah suffered ongoing domestic abuse in her home in Uganda. She was once beaten so badly that she was hospitalized and unable to use her hands for several days. Fatima escaped from the hell of a violent forced marriage in December 2021. At the age of 14, she was abducted from her village in Borno, Nigeria by Boko Haram.
A Celebration of Openings!
A Shadow Pandemic: Teen Pregnancy
On January 10, 2022, Uganda reopened its schools to some 15 million students, ending 83 weeks of school closure—the longest of any country during the COVID-19 pandemic. But lost education is not the only casualty created by the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns. A “shadow pandemic” has emerged in a number of countries across the globe: sexual violence and exploitation of women and girls.
Flipping the Script
As we start this new year, I have a challenge for all of us. What if we completely flipped the script on how we see overseas trips? What would happen if we saw our international hosts not as recipients of our charity but rather as providers of their knowledge? What would happen if we all made a commitment to replace asking “what will you do on your overseas trip” with “what are you hoping to learn?” What if we truly listened to those who return about the wisdom they gleaned and actually incorporated some of the lessons they learned into our own lives? What would happen if we went on overseas trips and were okay with just being?
Hope and Renewal for Traumatized Nigerian Youth Amid Tragic Loss
The resilience shown by many of the traumatized adolescent girls we serve is amazing. But their hopes and desires for renewal can be buried deep under the layers of physical and mental pain they are wrapped in. Peeling those layers away takes a lot of nurturing care and patient guidance – even when the girl or boy involved is already showing you how much they want to heal. Here are the stories of two such remarkable girls.
Flavia: Restoring Her Hope for the Future
Given what she has been through, it might seem somewhat surprising that Flavia can speak positively about her dreams for her future. By the time Flavia made the decision to flee escalating violence the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC or “Congo”), her world had already descended into chaos. But her refusal to give in to despair speaks to the spiritual strength she has displayed ever since her arrival at ChildVoice’s Lukome Center.
Finding My Second Home
I first went to the Lukome Center in May 2019. I was 9 years old. To be honest, I did not like the idea of going. I thought that it would be miserable, dirty, and hot. But my parents said that we were going as a family so I didn’t have much of a choice. My one goal was to not completely hate it and maybe have some fun.
The Night of the Flying Termites
Our second to last night in Uganda started like any other but then something unusual happened. We were at chapel and all of a sudden Agnes started catching bugs in the air. Soon after that, other girls joined in as well. . . We could not believe it. We will get to try the termites we have heard so much about!
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!
Situation Report: Uganda & Nigeria
Lockdowns in both countries have created unintended issues for their sizable refugee and internally displaced persons populations, most significantly hunger. At Imvepi Refugee Settlement in Uganda, some families are reporting that children are getting just one meal a day. ChildVoice caseworkers have also documented at least five cases of attempted suicide. . .