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Our Story

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IamSCS

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I am Somebody's Child Soldier (IamSCS) is a UK based charity dedicated to empowering former child soldiers and victims of war suffering from post war trauma and financial instability, through supporting sustainable livelihood initiatives, rehabilitation, psychotherapy and raising awareness about the social stigma attached to mental illness across Africa. The charity hopes to help create environments where former child soldiers and victims of war are not haunted by their past experiences.

Laroo Boarding School in Northern Uganda

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"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see." 

John W. Whitehead, founder, Rutherford Institute

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Our Objectives

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grunge brushEmpower

To develop the capacity and skills of former child soldiers, victims of war, women returnees and children born in captivity in such a way that they are better able to identify, and help meet, their needs and to participate more fully in society.


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grunge brushRehabilitate

The prevention or relief of poverty of former child soldiers, victims of war, women returnees and children born in captivity by providing or assisting in the provision of education, training, healthcare projects and all the necessary support designed to enable them to generate a sustainable income and be self-sufficient. 

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grunge brushEnhance

To enhance and advance the education for the public benefit by raising awareness about the impact of mental illness in Africa.

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grunge brushRelief

The relief of sickness and promotion of good health through provision of psychotherapy for rescued child soldiers still suffering from post-war trauma in Northern Uganda and to build rehabilitation centres for the continued provision of on-going psychotherapy given to rescued child soldiers and victims of war.

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our long term mission:

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Our ultimate goal is to be able to open rehabilitation centres to provide on-going psychotherapy for former child soldiers and victims of war across the continent, starting in Northern Uganda and to sponsor sustainable livelihood initiatives that will have a long lasting impact on the lives of former child soldiers, victims of war and their families.

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Why Psychotherapy?

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Despite media attention over the years, mental health response has been limited in Northern Uganda. Ovuga’s study, on mental health and child soldiers in Uganda reports, that out of 58 girls and 44 boys, 87.3% of the children reported having experienced ten or more war-related traumatic psychological events; 55.9% of the children suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and 88.2%, symptoms of depressed mood.

Post-traumatic stress disorder among former Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) child soldiers in Northern Uganda is still very prevalent. In a recent study by Jan Stochi, at least 6 years after the war, 95% of former child soldiers linked their depression and anxiety to war related experiences. Emilio Ovuga’s report highlights the huge unmet need for psychological services among former child soldiers of the LRA.

Laroo

Achieving IamSCS Psychotherapy Objectives


Abraham Maslow, one of the proponents in psychology, suggested that human needs could be made sense of in a hierarchy. He illustrated his hierarchy in the form of a triangle.


Maslow’s hierarchy can be a useful way of illustrating the progression and goals of I am Somebody’s Child Soldier

As a charity we may be at the bottom of the hierarchy at present, however we have been able to fulfil some physiological needs such as providing food, clothing and access to business opportunities.

Maslow Triangle

After physiological needs comes safety. In exploring how this need is met, we will work closely with schools and local communities in Northern Uganda where child soldiers and victims of war are based. As a charity, our aim is to improve on the safety of children and victims of war that we have demarcated as our client group.

After the need for safety come emotional needs such as love and belonging. IamSCS will work on helping children and victims of war form new healthy relationships at school, home and at work. In addition, we aim to facilitate befriending groups so that rescued child soldiers and victims of war are able to help encourage each other in psychologically healthy ways as they recall life during the war.

After fulfilling the needs of belonging there is the need of esteem. IamSCS will work closely with the local community to design a bespoke psychological model for the charity that aims to improve victims of war and children’s self-worth after the basic needs are met with our main objective being to empower the children and victims of war. So for example, offering small business loans with training and support to vulnerable individuals that have completed education and want to become entrepreneurs. Businesses could be small projects such as rearing chickens in order to sell them to the local community for profit.

A fulfilled human being is believed to have reached self-actualisation.

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​Support Our Vision

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IamSCS is currently in the process of building strong community relationships and partnerships in order to launch effective campaigns to help provide rehabilitation and psychotherapy support for former child soldiers and victims of war in Northern Uganda. We are working through an integrated three-part model that addresses the problem in its entirety: immediate psychological needs and counteracting long-term effects of undiagnosed mental illness in communities.

​Why is it that child soldiers must flee our African nation to seek treatment for mental ill health as refugees avoiding discrimination because of their past? This is largely due to the social stigma, in Africa, attached to mental ill health and the discrimination experienced by victims of war.

The charity is in constant need of donations to support our field research. To help us reach our goal, please donate and help make a difference