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Gettysburg College

Publication Date

Fall 2013

Program Name

Uganda: Post-Conflict Transformation

Abstract

Northern Uganda has been beleaguered with political unrest and rebellion for over two decades. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has wreaked havoc on the entire northern population, causing lives to be lost and leaving a stain of physical and mental trauma that will last forever. Children, having been the most affected during the war, are still feeling the influence that the LRA has left behind. This study sets out to try to understand the phenomenon of street children in post-conflict northern Uganda, specifically in Gulu Municipality. The phenomenon of street children is considered to be one of the most prevalent issues in the developing world that demands to be addressed. The problem needs to be understood, attended to, and solved, lest it continue to threaten many societies in developing countries around the world.

Research was conducted within a four-week time frame, and included a part-time internship with the Charity for Peace Foundation (CPF) in company with a series of interviews with street children from Gulu Municipality, NGO workers from CPF, and additional informants. This paper finds that there is a strong relationship between the effects of insurgency and the factors that cause children to live on the streets of Gulu as well as the challenges that the children face. It also finds that there are few organizations and interventions put in place to assist this group of vulnerable children; And the few organizations in Gulu that are addressing the issue lack resources and funding to provide a comprehensive approach to handling this phenomenon.

Disciplines

Community-Based Research | Family, Life Course, and Society | Inequality and Stratification | Peace and Conflict Studies | Politics and Social Change | Regional Sociology | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social and Cultural Anthropology | Social Welfare

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