Latest News - October 2006

From the Frontline Website:

THE FRONTLINE’S General Dr. Robi Sonderegger has returned from Uganda! Below is a recent interview with him containing some great news from the FRONTLINE..

You've just come back from the FRONTLINE battleground in Northern Uganda. We're eager to hear what happened?

We're alive! It's always great to return home, and safely at that.

This latest trip was an overwhelming success as we launched the 12 part EMPOWER trauma rehabilitation program for the first wave of refugees in the largest refugee camp (Pabo, 65,000 people).

In collaboration with Boston University, we administered a series of assessments to evaluate the degree of trauma experienced by those victimised in this war against children.

We trained up 24 key facilitators and watched as the program took on a life of its own.

The testimonies of the participants detailing recovery, new outlook, and hope for the future were outstanding.

It was so encouraging to see the EMPOWER program grasped with such enthusiasm.

Another 1000 people commenced the program the week we left.

We now have a permanent staff of 12 program facilitators (Northern Ugandan locals) who have taken the baton with a vision of rolling the program out to 1 million refugees throughout the Northern Region up to the boarder of Southern Sudan. .

Has the war situation improved since your last visit?

This is the 11th cease fire and peace talks and so everyone in the Humanitarian industry is holding their breath to see if it holds. However, the people on the ground are already living with a new sense of freedom.

Refugees are starting to travel a little more freely, and there is talk of decongesting camps and returning people to their villages.

Nonetheless, the clear and present danger remains.

What is THE FRONTLINE working towards now?

Now that we have implemented trauma rehabilitation training in the Gulu district, we will now move to the Lira region to assist the hundreds of thousands of displaced families living in other refugee camps.

The shoes raised from the SOLE SAVERS project have been shipped and should be arriving soon for distribution.

In the new year, the FRONTLINE will more than likely cross the Sudanese boarder and start implementing the EMPOWER program for traumatised victims of the LRA in Sudan.

To help break the cycle of violence, the program is currently being translated into Arabic and should be ready for implementation by March 2007.

What can I do at home to help the situation in Northern Uganda?

Keep spreading the word and sharing the vision with others.

We can only affect change in this forgotten part of the world if people become passionate enough about the abducted, abused, and traumatised children to make a difference.

Be informed, make a choice, get involved!

VISIT THE FRONTLINE WEBSITE TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF WAR CHILDREN IN NORTHERN UGANDA