By Erin Hunt

So we’ve been talking about northern Uganda and the differences I observed between when I first visited in mid-2006 and when I went back with OA this spring. The parts of northern Uganda where OA works is home to the Acholi people who are one of the many ethnic groups in Uganda. The Acholi make up about 5% of the Ugandan population and speak a language that sounds very different from the Bantu languages of the southern part of the country. Many of my Acholi friends have told me that some other groups in Uganda are suspicious of them because there is a stereotype that Acholi are warriors who like to fight – I don’t know how accurate or prevalent those views are but I do know that many people in Kampala had never been up north and thought I was a little crazy for going up there all the time. I recently found a blog (linked here) that hasn’t been updated in a few years but it provides some insider views about Acholi culture that you might find interesting.

In 2006 many of my colleagues and friends talked about the breakdown of Acholi culture due to the conflict. This makes sense – think about what makes up your culture, and your community. Would things stay the same when everyone is forced out of their homes and into crowded camps? No one is able to work or even leave the camp because of the conflict and all authority is skewed.

This was one impact of the war that I couldn’t see because I had no reference of what Acholi communities and families should look like, but I quickly learned that neither did my Acholi peers. People my age had to ask their elders for guidance on what was ‘normal’ for their society.

This year when OA was in Gulu, I was able to see some aspects of Acholi culture re-emerging. As I’ve mentioned before there were signs that families were returning to more traditional living arrangements in homesteads or small farms instead of internally displaced persons camps. In the soccer camps for peace, the Youth Coalition for Peace (OA’s partner in Gulu) was working to support the re-building of Acholi culture. The daily peace talks often included traditional teachings and, as you may have seen in this video blog, Acholi dance was incorporated into the daily warm-up activities. The Youth Coalition for Peace (YCFP) also supports local dance and drama groups across the region who use those mediums to promote cultural resurrection. As we are planning future projects in northern Uganda we are working with the YCFP to find even more ways to tailor the coaching curriculum and the soccer camps for peace to Acholi culture.

By Erin Hunt

So last week I mentioned a  bit about the physical rebuilding that is going on in northern Uganda and some of the changes I saw between when I first arrived in Gulu back in 2006 and coming back this spring with OA.  There is another type of rebuilding that is going on in the Acholiland (the main tribe in Northern Uganda is the Acholi) but it is much harder to see than new buildings.  People are rebuilding themselves after traumatic events from the war.

Due to the nature of the conflict it took quite a toll on the mental health of some people.  I won’t get into the kind of atrocities that occurred here but you can check out the SWAY reports to learn more about the experiences of youth during the conflict, needless to say some people in Gulu are dealing with issues of trauma.

Our local partners, the Youth Coalition for Peace (YCFP) are all trained in peer to peer counselling to help provide support to others in their communities.  I’ve seen them in action and they can be very effective either as counsellors or as a referral to other mental health resources in the community.  This is one of the reasons I was really happy to be working with the YCFP again.  We didn’t know the background of the children who were coming to the camps so it was great to have mentors who also had experience counselling.   The links made at the soccer camps have given the children another adult who they can turn to if they need it.

By Erin Hunt

It’s been a few months since the end of our pilot project in Gulu, Uganda and with the reporting done, plans for Rwanda moving along and discussions just starting for the next phase in Uganda, we finally have a moment to reflect on our time in Uganda. This was my first project with OA but not my first time in Northern Uganda. I first arrived in Gulu in August 2006 right before the LRA and the government signed their ceasefire and after a number of work visits I moved up there for a while in 2007. So in a way this was a homecoming for me.

As you know, OA is working in Northern Uganda because the region is emerging from over 20 years of conflict. Communities are rebuilding themselves, both physically and emotionally. The first thing I noticed as we arrived back in Gulu after two years was the physical changes to the area. Families are rebuilding their homesteads in areas where it wouldn’t have been safe to stay even a night in 2006. In town, I cannot even count the number of new buildings, businesses and houses which have been built in just two years. Although there some new buildings, there is still a long way to go in the rebuilding process – most of our friends and colleagues do not have running water at home, health care is no where near adequate and the scars of conflict are still fresh and very apparent. But those are all topics for further blog posts, at the moment let’s just say that it’s a really exciting time in northern Uganda – the communities we are working with are rebuilding themselves but there is still so much left to do.

By Gavin
The Play Soccer So They Can community has gotten off to a decent start with a list of clubs, schools and individuals joining the effort. There is Bays United (Youth and Senior) in Victoria. There is every youth in the Boys and Girls Club, in Nanaimo (thanks to OA’s volunteer,Fernando Polanco) who is going to play soccer on the 25th of Sept. There are a few games planned for LA, thanks to OA Volunteer Becca Clyde. A few activities planned in Manitoba (thanks to OA volunteer Surien Fourie). And, there are a few other games planned (e.g., the U of A men’s soccer team, some more games in Victoria, and a few universities in Eastern Canada). Our eventual goal is to have every soccer game that is being played on a specific weekend (in Canada and the US), each year, to be about supporting war-affected youth. We genuinely believe that this community has the potential to be the easiest and most engaging way to make an actual difference in life of someone whose childhood was robbed due to a violent conflict. What’s easier than to play soccer so they can?

We need YOUR help to make this year’s start as big as possible. We are looking for individuals who want to engage their soccer communities in this year’s event. The dates are the 25th-27th of September, but if those don’t work for you, and other dates do, then pick a date that’s better (ideally, it’s fairly close to our dates!). Email gavin@oaprojects.org with your ideas.

I should also say that although we are going to be having a yearly PSSTC weekend, inspired and passionate individuals should host as many soccer games or events as they want. The more soccer being played in this capacity, the more support there will be for soccer-based community building in Northern Uganda and Rwanda.