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We arrived at St Monica’s to find a gated complex with very pleasant green fields, trees and buildings. There were girls in their green school uniform and small children playing. As we arrived a very young boy ran towards us with a huge smile on his face. As the sister got out of the car he threw himself around her leg and gave her a huge hug. Geoffrey, as he was called, gave us all a high five or a hand-shake. We later learned that this beautiful smiling boy was born in the bush after his mother – Janet – was abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Janet was abducted by the LRA and forced to become a slave wife. She then rose to the level of commander in the LRA. Over the next few days we met many women and their children in similar situations as Janet. After learning about the impact St Monica’s has had on so many peoples lives I dread to think what would have happened to these young women and their children were it not for St Monica’s.

BY Emma O'Shea, excerpted from her report to SCAIF Scotland’s Aid Agency
(http://www.sciaf.org.uk/about_us/blogs/emma_o_shea_in_uganda_and_kenya_2007/st_monica_s)

Sr. Rosemary and the toddlers at their class

I am Acen Monica 18 years old, formerly abducted by the LRA. I lost my father when I was still at home. Soon after that my sister who is now 20 years and I were abducted, my sister stayed in the bush for 9 months while I stayed for one and a half years. On returning from the bush, I found my mother dead leaving my young brother with the relatives. We too joined the family of my uncle. The wife of our uncle is very difficult and wants to keep us just like slaves and should not have the right to education. A relative had kept my young brother 8 years old and managed to put him in school and is now in primary two but unfortunately this care giver died in august 2007. This boy returned to the wife of my uncle who promised never to let this boy return to school since she has no money for him, her children are studying normally. This has stressed me greatly.

Acen Monica

Nancy, a returned abducted girl cut with a machete and her daughter Peace

St. Monica Vocational School. One of the most promising approaches to education in northern Uganda is the vocational programme offered to formerly abducted mothers (FAMs) in Gulu. The programme aims to provide basic literacy and numeracy skills to FAMs and to train them in vocational training such as catering and tailoring. These skills are necessary to enable the young women to earn a living. In addition, the school has a crèche for the young children of the FAMs. It also offers some counseling services because the young women have been through horrific acts of violence – physically maimed, emotionally scarred and raped. Some of the young women are also HIV positive. In an interview with the Director of the Centre (Sr. Rosemary), she said how difficult it was to work with young women who have been maimed, raped and lost their childhood. She asked me, “How do you tell a young woman who has gone through all this and has a small baby – that she has AIDs?”

Alternative Basic Education in African Countries Emerging from Conflict, Carolyn Dennis (Africa Educational Trust) and Alicia Fentiman (International Research Foundation for Open Learning), for the Department of International Development 2007.

Night commuter girls in their dormitory at St. Monica -- Their beds are papyrus mats.

The group comprised eight girls, now studying on vocational training courses at St. Monica’s. All girls were formerly abducted by the LRA. Lengths of period in captivity ranged from one year to seven years. The students all discontinued formal education following abduction.

Key issues:
·        All of the girls interviewed have witnessed and experienced atrocities. Some of the girls felt able to give fairly detailed accounts of their abduction.
·        All participants expressed regret that their education had been interrupted and were keen to continue with their studies. The girls also, without exception, voiced sincere gratitude for having escaped from the bush and for the opportunity to attend the vocational training courses.
·        Without exception, participants saw the value of basic education and see education as a key to future successes.
·        Some of the participants stated that they felt “too big” to resume primary education on their return from the bush.
·       The participants all acknowledged finances as a preventative factor in terms of resuming education. Participants acknowledged that for various reasons it might be hard for those who have lost the chance to attend basic education as children to resume such study as adults. Therefore they recognized the value of vocational training courses to equip them with a skill/trade. Adult literacy should be part of such a program of study.
·      The girls who were able to talk freely of their experiences in captivity have clearly been through some horrendous experiences and some stated that they did not feel able to concentrate on their return from the bush which may indicate a need for counseling. Moreover the girls focused much more on their experiences in captivity than on their education, again indicating a need for counseling.

Record of focus group discussion held at St. Monica’s, Gulu.

Sr. Pauline with toddlers at the day care center being helped by some friends

Archbishop of Gulu Archdiocese, His Worship John Baptist Odama and Sr. Rosemary with a returned baby