Former Child Soldiers are Tomorrow's Leaders
You can help Former Child Soldiers in Uganda take control of their future
We are excited to announce that this upcoming August our colleagues at Anorak Denmark will travel to Uganda to support our team of former child soldiers in Gulu who are creating their own reintegration and prevention organization so they can make their own decisions and take control of their own futures.
As a champion for these kinds of grassroots solutions, you have unique opportunity to help us in this campaign. With one click to our INDIEGOGO generosity page, you can help:
- Support the direct and sustained engagement of former child soldiers in all aspects of the work; from setting priorities and designing programs to management and evaluation.
- Meet the basic daily needs of education, health care, nutrition, shelter and employment for ex-child soldiers and children impacted by the violence.
- Support the coordination of prevention and reintegration services to improve efficiency and bridge the existing organizations and initiatives in the region.
- Help the collaboration with government ministries and departments to monitor, improve and shape the implementation of policies that impact ex-child soldiers.
- Facilitate the sharing of information, tools and insights gained through the creation of this organization to equip and inspire other grassroots partnerships for reintegration and prevention.
How did this project get started?
A group of former Child Soldiers in Uganda has partnered with the Goldin Institute, the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative and Arigatou International over the past five years to organize and support youth leadership. These partners have already laid the foundation and now it is time to finalize the project and start the organization.
This partnership builds on the Goldin Institute’s work in 2007 in Colombia to establish a model national level platform for child soldier reintegration which has been sucessfully adopted to Uganda.
With your support, the ongoing work of the National Platform for Child Soldier Reintegration in Uganda will be fully driven by the former child soldiers themselves.
Your support will make a direct and meaningful contribution
Your donation will help us build on the successes of the last five years of organizing and bring this vision of a powerful new child soldier driven organization to reality. Your investment will enable expert organizational development facilitators to support the team in Gulu as well as complete the legal work and development to launch the organization. All funds that are donated beyond these start up costs will go directly to support local projects designed and run by former child soldiers in Uganda.
Global Associate Malya Villard: In Her Own Words
Making Progress in the Fight Against Gender-based Violence
On behalf of KOFAVIV, the Commission of Women Victims helping women Victims, I extend our appreciation to everyone who has helped to provide services to women and girls who have been victims of sexual violence in Haiti. The 2010 earthquake led to significant increase in insecurity and impoverishment in a country already coping with economic hardship and instability. The natural disaster impacted negatively the nation as a whole, where everyone was grieving over the loss of a loved one, their homes, or both. People had to take shelter in public areas or parks as the government didn’t have the resources to safeguard affected individuals and areas.
As a result, there was a rapid increase in the number of women and girls who were attacked in the months after the earthquake shattered Haiti.
We are happy to report that the number of incidents documented by KOFAVIV have steadily decreased from 2010 to 2015:
| Year | Girls | Women | # Incidents |
| 2010 | 640 | ||
| 2011 | 246 | 202 | 448 |
| 2012 | 212 | 226 | 438 |
| 2013 | 158 | 151 | 309 |
| 2014 | 86 | 74 | 167 |
| 2015 | 37 | 28 | 65 |
Sadly, the ratio of arrests to incidents remains relative low due to a justice system that has meager technical and human capital resources. In too many cases, there is still no justice for victims and their families. However, with the financial assistance of the supporters of the Goldin Institute, we are making progress.
Thanks to your support, charges have been pressed against a small but growing percentage of defendants who have been prosecuted and convicted. Moreover, the Goldin Institute’s team of male sensitization agents continues to provide physical security within our facilities as they continue their outreach programs to bring anti-GBV awareness.
The team is working together to ensure that victims are encouraged to come forward swiftly, get medical and pyscho-social assistance, and press charges within 72 hours at local precinct. These interventions and services are crucial. Sadly, our team was needed on March 30th when an infant (2 years 6 months old) was raped by a young 22 year old man. The defendant was convicted of rape and is currently serving 15 years in prison. The conviction is significant for the family and also the justice system. Although the family wasn’t able to afford a lawyer, our partners at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, provided pro-bono legal services to the victim and her family every step of the way and succeeded in obtaining a measure of justice.
We have built crucial relationships with the Police captains in Port-au-Prince, Potay St Joseph and Precinct Potay Leoganne, where increased police action has resulted in defendants who have been arrested for alleged rape charges against women and adolescents. Too often, however, the defendants are released before the victims even get home, which endangers the victims’ lives further. This year, we will target people and organizations in Haiti who can help make a difference, such as the Chief of Police, governmental representatives, the Minister of Justice, media outlets and hospitals. We will continue the outreach programs in prevalent areas and camps such as Petion Ville, Matisan, Cite Solei, Kafou Fey, Gran Ravinn, Tibwa, Gran Gwav, Laskawobas and Okay Maniche.
We hope to continue this year and many years to come with these outreach programs because of the ongoing success, even in the most vulnerable communities. Hopefully, the outreach programs will help build awareness and action from all sectors, public and private, and to make our neighborhoods a healthy environment for our women, young girls and their families.
Sincerely,
Malya Villard Appolon
(with thanks to our friend and colleague Marie Boursiquot for translation assistance)
Remembering our Colleague and Friend, Xulhaz Mannan
Today we remember our friend Zulhaz Mannan for his courageous voice against discrimination and his role in defending the rights of all Bangladeshis, especially those most marginalized. Along his with friend Mahbub Tonoy, Zulhaz's life was cut short on April 25th, 2016 in a murder inspired by hatred and bigotry. Zulhaz's life was a testament to his thoughtful and caring spirit which was evidenced through his work with the U.S. Agency for International Development and as the editor of Roopbaan, the country's only LGBT magazine.
We are one of the many privileged to have worked with Xulhaz and will cherish the memory of his kindness and wisdom as we continue the work informed and enriched by having worked with him to improve micorcredit from the perspective of borrowers in Bangladesh. Our shared vision of peace, justice and equity lives on and the work continues.
The circumstances of Xulhaz's death, makes the news even more difficult to report, as he and Mahbub were murdered in his Dhaka apartment by an al-Qaida-linked group.
Full details and more background on how progressives and peace activists like Xulhaz are becoming targets to wider-spread violence by extremists, can be found in this piece at NPR news.
Interfaith Groups Work Towards Peace in Mindanao
This story summarizes the hopes of interfaith groups dedicated to building peace in the southern Philippines. These peace activists, including our friend Father Angel Calvo, continue to advocate on behalf of the peace process that would bring an end to the decades-long conflict between the Muslim and Christian populations of Mindanao.
The sentiment of those quoted in the story, closely reflects that of our Global Associate, Dr. Susana Anayatin. Although not in attendance at the gathering in Zamboanga City, Dr. Anayatin added her viewpoint:
[quote] I agree that Peace in Mindanao remains elusive despite our peacebuilding efforts. It is very complicated now because of the election campaign period and effects of the long dry spell. We cannot just preach peace to empty stomachs ... many people are hungry because they cannot plant food crops. Poverty in rural and urban areas increases. Issues of global terrorism attributed to Muslims is also affecting our peacebuilding efforts as some crimes committed here are allegedly committed by ISIS sympathizers. [/quote]
For more on this issue, and to see how Susana's work in rebuilding the water supply to school children and the wider-population of Mindanao goes hand-in-hand with furthering the peace process, visit our issues page here.
A Call for Proper Justice
Our Executive Director, Travis Rejman recently wrote this editorial in the Huffington Post calling for the right justice to be considered in the case against Dominic Ongwen.
Ongwen has received international attention because of his role as a high-ranking soldier in Joseph Kony's Lords Resistance Army. To be sure, his crimes against humanity are not to be debated - as a leader within the LRA, Ongwen's actions were responsible for thousands of children and their families being killed, maimed and displaced. As Travis penned in his piece:
[quote]Major General Ongwen's roles in these atrocities is not in question. Demanding justice is not in question. The meaning of justice is."[/quote]
Because Travis co-authored the Huffington story with our longtime partner in Uganda, the retired Reverend Baker Ochola, the proper context was able to be provided on the nuanced meaning of what justice would be in this case, especially to those in the communities most impacted by Ongwen's actions. To many in these communities, Ongwen first and foremost was a victim himself in being abducted into the LRA as a child soldier.
The overwhelming call, especially by religious leaders in those communities, points to the desire for Dominic Ongwen to be returned to his homeland, where he can face justice at the hands of those most informed to determine what this will look like. To them, a faraway international court like the ICC is not the proper authority to prosecute and punish a former member of their own community. Read on for the full story at this link.
Update: Since the publication of the Rejman/Ochola piece in January, the International Criminal Court ruled that it would be holding over Dominic Ongwen for full trial at the Hague. We will continue to follow this story.
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Philippines Accomplishment Report: 2015
The words driving our mission, Building Grassroots Partnerships for Global Change, were put into practice over the past year in the Philippines. And after another year building capacity in the southern Philippines, we can modestly say that we were successful in this endeavor, sustaining our presence in flood and conflict affected areas in Cotabato City and the Maguindanao Province. Through developing partnerships with local communities, the Department of Education, local government officials, and the Filipino military, the Goldin Institute was able to successfully implement the following projects from January to December 2015:
1. Access to Clean Water:
The Goldin Institute installed a total of 18 water pumps; (12) in public schools in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao Province, (3) Division Traning School, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, (1) Cotabato City, (2) Markatz Orphanage, Sultan Kudarat.
2. Promotion of a Culture of Peace:
Part of gaining access to safe and clean drinking water is promoting an environment of peace in the community. The Goldin Institute Philippines accomplished this task by conducting a series of twenty lectures and orientations on a wide array of subjects. The 2,000 participants from various sectors and communities in Cotabato City and the Maguinadanao Province learned of environmental protection, gender and cultural sensitivity, alternative conflict resolution, and human rights. These lectures were integral to maintaining civil peace between the citizens and paramilitary forces, the root of previous unrest.
3. Child Soldier Prevention:
The four decades of armed conflict between the government and rebel forces in Maguindanao have increased the incidence of child soldiers amongst government and rebel forces. Children under 18 are forced to join rebel groups such as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front, Abu Sayyaf, and government forces. Ordered by teachers or leaders to support a side of the conflict, it is not uncommon for students to disappear from classrooms. The Goldin Institute carefully advocates for child soldier prevention in the following ways:
- Through our School Brigade, we distributed school supplies, hygiene kits, provided food, and free haircuts to 300 elementary students at Mother Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, for the start of the 2015 school year. We partnered with teachers, parents, military personnel and officers, as well as members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The Goldin Institute is proud of the fact that, for the very first time, Filipino military and rebels worked hand-in-hand, face-to-face, to serve a future generation of leaders. Mother Kabuntalan is a place of both armed conflict and a region prone to natural disasters like floods. It is one of GI’s adopted “Schools of Peace” in the Philippines. We provided schools in this region with water pumps, conducted peace seminars for parents, teachers and students, and facilitated the construction of brand new school buildings equipped with six classrooms, which was funded by the Japanese Embassy.
- Since September of 2015, Dr. Susana Anayatin’s graduate students from Maguindanao State University (MSU) initiated a visit to Markaz Aytam Orphanage in Gang, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. The orphanage consists of 280 male Muslim war orphans ranging from seven to eighteen years old. The Goldin Institute provided them with food and sports equipment and took the opportunity to survey their needs, such as hygiene, sanitation, food, dormitory repairs, and availability of water facilities. GI provided (2) water pump units as well as infrastructure repairs to make sleeping arrangements more comfortable. Dr. Anayatin’s graduate students provided provisions for rubber slippers as most orphans were bare-footed during the initial visit. Through a generous American donor, a set of garments are being sewn for each orphan during prayer.
This project would have been a lot more difficult without the power of social media. After sharing our stories of struggle and progress online, we were assisted with basic needs for the children, both by government and private sector donors. These needs included bedding, dormitory repairs, medical and dental assistance, food, and some television sets for the children’s enjoyment.
Reflecting on our accomplishments for 2015, we can humbly say that we were effectively and carefully able to impact the peace process in Mindanao. Through our local grassroots movements, we hope to continue this progress and contribute to offsetting the impact of climate change.