The Children of Attiak! 10/21/2010
Posted by Richard Oneka, Gulu Uganda Overview: There are over one million children in Uganda who are not going to school and the majority of these are in Northern Uganda as a result of the 23 years of conflict and high level of HIV/AIDS infection in the region. As many as 25% of children in Northern Uganda have lost one or both of their parents and 9% of all children are total orphans. 12% of women age 30-40 are widows and this rate is twice the rate in other regions of Uganda. Recent statistics show that the drop out rate of children from schools in Northern Uganda is 37% compared to the national average of 13%. Further, 80% of adult women in Northern Uganda have not completed primary school and only 9% of adult men completed secondary school, and drop out rate is 6% among children age 13 years. While the enrollment rates of children in secondary education continue to increase in other regions of the country, the rate in northern Uganda has decreased over the last 23 years due to the conflict. UNICEF estimated that over 36,000 children have been abducted and recruited as child soldiers. Many of the children who returned have not managed to join formal education and higher institutions of learning because they have either stayed in rebel captivity for many years or their parents can not afford to pay them in secondary schools. The low level of education in evidenced by only 54% literacy rate in Northern Uganda, poor performance in schools and high dropped out rates at 40% are major factors hindering poverty reduction and development in Northern Uganda. The Children of Attiak! The children in Attiak are the most affected by the two decades of armed conflicts. The most affected categories of children are the child mothers, orphans including HIV/AIDS orphaned children, former child soldiers, child headed families, and children living with AIDS. According to a report from UNOCHA 2002, about 73% of the population living in IDP Camps are children and women who are the most vulnerable in the community. The 1995 massacre has had long impact on the children of Attiak as many orphaned left by the parents killed in the massacred did not get opportunities to access education and many became child-parents without skills to earn living and thus are unable to adequately support their children in schools and afford health services. HIV/AIDS has also devastated Northern Uganda including Attiak in the region. According to the recent report from the Ministry of Heath, HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Northern Uganda is 12%, which is twice the national prevalence rate. The epidemic has left hundreds of children orphaned in Attiak while many more are living with AIDS. Because parents living with AIDS are weak to engage in economically viable activities like farming, they are not able to adequately provide for the basic needs of their children and many orphaned children have dropped out of schools and engaged in child labour to earn living. The grave living conditions in the IDP camps with high level of poverty among the population has created a situation where many parents and guardians are not able to meet the basic needs of their children in Attiak. These orphans and other vulnerable children are faced with the problems of lack of basic school requirements, lack of life skills and parental guidance, child labour, child headed families lack food and other basic non-food items, early pregnancy, poor health and malnourishment, hopelessness as they dropout of schools, child prostitution, poor housing and poor health care services.All these problems have impacted negatively on the survival, growth and development of the orphans and other vulnerable children in Attiak. Caleb’s Hope has come in to save and improve on the quality of life of children of Attiak with a mission of Building a School for “The Children of Attiak”. The school is highly anticipated by the people of Attiak to provide “The Children of Attiak” with quality education and opportunities to accelerate their social interactions, creativity, thinking and cognitive learning process for mental and physical growth and development processes into adulthood. On behalf of “The Children of Attiak”, I have the honor and pleasure to invite you to become a Friend to “The Children of Attiak” and Join us in making their Future Bright by Donating to Project Build! Comments02/24/2011 20:57
My Grandmother is over eighty and still doesn't need glasses. Drinks right out of the bottle. Do you agree? Leave a Reply | AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesJune 2011 Categories |
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