The conflict in Northern Uganda caused widespread trauma and destroyed systems of care and support. Mental health services are often virtually inaccessible to those suffering from trauma, depression, and other mental health needs in Northern Uganda. We at THRIVEGulu, in pursuit of our post-conflict trauma healing mission, are working hard to change this.
In partnership with Save the Children International, we are currently working with school communities at 16 primary schools throughout Northern Uganda to build their capacity to respond to the mental health needs of children and their caregivers. As part of this project, we are bringing mobile mental health clinics to these underserved communities so that they can have the opportunity to see qualified psychiatric doctors and nurses, and receive life saving medication and treatment.
A few weeks ago, we held one of these clinics at Parak Primary School, about 30km outside of Gulu. A total of 54 women, men and children were treated throughout the course of the day. Austin Ojara, THRIVEGulu’s project coordinator, introduced the program to the community members and provided a basic education session on common mental health issues, signs and symptoms, as well as treatment options. He said, “People in rural areas lack awareness mental health issues not because they don’t want to know or don’t have the capacity to know, but because they don’t have the people or resources to guide them.”
Mr. Okot, who lives in the community of Parak, said the program had helped them a lot. Now they understand that mental illness can be treated and is nothing to be afraid of, whereas before many people believed it was a result of witch craft. He told us: “We wish that this kind of service could continue in our community, because the health centers are very far away and we always face many challenges getting to them. Even for families with a bicycle, it is a two hour ride to the health center.”
Through this project, THRIVEGulu has also trained community lay counselors to provide frontline outreach and support in their communities; trained teachers to respond better to the mental health needs of their pupils; provided mental health education sessions to thousands of pupils and their caregivers; and conducted mental health assessments in the schools to deliver the most appropriate, targeted treatment to those in need.
This partnership with Save the Children is in its fourth and final year, and has had an invaluable impact on the healthy development of the next generation in these communities. However, there is still an overwhelming amount of need, and even as the conflict recedes further into the past, the effects of trauma continue to live on and be passed onto the next generation. We at THRIVEGulu will continue to fight to continue delivering these vital services in the years to come.
