This Life Drop-in Shelter
Donation protected
Rebuilding the lives of Critically Vulnerable Children in the War torn Northern Uganda
The long journey of pain, loss and trauma started over 20 years ago when the Lord Resistance Army rebels led by Joseph Kony began his war in Northern Uganda. The LRA Rebels operated in the region between 1987 and 2006, spreading fear and terror throughout the North and North-Eastern Uganda. They tortured, killed and abducted over 20, 000 children, recruiting them into Child Soldiers. More than 1.5 million people were driven into Internally Displaced Persons` Camps (IDPs); which basically became a death trap for many.
Mercy Akongo, the Founder of This Life Foundation spent over two years working with displaced people within the Camps and the rural Northern Uganda. While in Northern Uganda, Mercy picked up 18 extremely vulnerable orphaned children and she started supporting them by providing their basic needs including education. The needs of these children has gone high since they are now in higher classes and there are also so many children abandoned in Camps in Northern Uganda as people resettle them into their communities with no help at all. To be able to support more of these children and provide the support that they seriously require, Mercy started up This Life Foundation.
Through This Life Foundation, she hopes that more children will be supported to deal with the transition within the IDPs and villages as people move back to their original homes where they were driven away from over 20 years ago. This Life Foundation supports the kids who have lost their parents in the war and now left with no one to help. And as people go back to their original homes, they are left stranded with nowhere to go, no food, shelter and are not in school for luck of support. We are supporting these children through our Volunteer Mentors who play a vital role in their daily lives. The foundation also sponsors kids` education and supports children`s health needs. Most of the children we support are highly traumatised and struggling with mental health issues, which is affecting their lives and performance in school for those we have put in schools. They need extra support with their school work including psychosocial support.
Mercy is raising funds to construct This Life Foundation Shelter (All Colour Cafe), an emergency drop-in home for critically vulnerable children. The Shelter will contain;
1. A Sick Bay: This is where sick orphan children living by themselves will rest and be looked after with love by our volunteers during day as they recover instead spending time by themselves within an unhygenic environment, hungry without support.
2. A Library: We need a library within the Shelter so that disadvantaged children can access book to help with their studies and a place where volunteers (teachers) can provide extra support to children performing poorly in school over the weekend.
3. Psychosocial Support: Most of these kids have seen terrible things, others have been made to do horrible things by the rebels including being forced to kill their own families. They need counseling to enable them live normal lives.
Please help us restore their lives by supporting us to put up the shelter to provide a safe space for volunteers to support the kids.
"After my undergraduate graduation in 2007, I decided to go and work in the war-torn Northern Uganda. I worked with war victims in villages, temporal shelters and in Internally Displaced Person's camps (IDPs). Before going to Northern Uganda, I thought I knew what pain was and the meaning of trauma but working directly with war survivors in Northern Uganda gave me a proper definition of pain and the meaning of trauma, I understood what suffering meant watching the pain and suffering painted in mutilated lips, noises and ears, stories of children forced to kill their own families members, mothers forced to watch their own little infant children cooked alive in pots, and the cries of many orphaned children, 'I Hate This Life' stared me in the face every single day. I love kids, and i want to help them, i will die a happy woman knowing my contribution has put smiles in the faces of these kids because their future has been secured" ~ Mercy Akongo
"One thing that never left my head is a story of a little girl, six (6) years old. In 2008 while working in Northern Uganda, I rescued a six (6) years old girl who was raped by a 26 years old man. I remember her torn rotting body that was laying on the floor, three days after she was raped and left to die untreated. I remember the cry she gave as we try to dress her up for the hospital, she looked at me and then looked at her grandmother and in her little voice screamed, "Leave me, do not touch me, I HATE THIS LIFE". This sight and sound broke me and I promised myself and God that I will work to make the world a better place for children such as this; hence This Life Foundation" Mercy Akongo www.thislifefoundation.org
In Picture: Mercy and Orphaned children in Northern Uganda
I invite you to help me support these children and thanks to our community volunteers who are already doing so much work.
Thank you!
Mercy Akongo
Founder, This Life Foundation.
The long journey of pain, loss and trauma started over 20 years ago when the Lord Resistance Army rebels led by Joseph Kony began his war in Northern Uganda. The LRA Rebels operated in the region between 1987 and 2006, spreading fear and terror throughout the North and North-Eastern Uganda. They tortured, killed and abducted over 20, 000 children, recruiting them into Child Soldiers. More than 1.5 million people were driven into Internally Displaced Persons` Camps (IDPs); which basically became a death trap for many.
Mercy Akongo, the Founder of This Life Foundation spent over two years working with displaced people within the Camps and the rural Northern Uganda. While in Northern Uganda, Mercy picked up 18 extremely vulnerable orphaned children and she started supporting them by providing their basic needs including education. The needs of these children has gone high since they are now in higher classes and there are also so many children abandoned in Camps in Northern Uganda as people resettle them into their communities with no help at all. To be able to support more of these children and provide the support that they seriously require, Mercy started up This Life Foundation.
Through This Life Foundation, she hopes that more children will be supported to deal with the transition within the IDPs and villages as people move back to their original homes where they were driven away from over 20 years ago. This Life Foundation supports the kids who have lost their parents in the war and now left with no one to help. And as people go back to their original homes, they are left stranded with nowhere to go, no food, shelter and are not in school for luck of support. We are supporting these children through our Volunteer Mentors who play a vital role in their daily lives. The foundation also sponsors kids` education and supports children`s health needs. Most of the children we support are highly traumatised and struggling with mental health issues, which is affecting their lives and performance in school for those we have put in schools. They need extra support with their school work including psychosocial support.
Mercy is raising funds to construct This Life Foundation Shelter (All Colour Cafe), an emergency drop-in home for critically vulnerable children. The Shelter will contain;
1. A Sick Bay: This is where sick orphan children living by themselves will rest and be looked after with love by our volunteers during day as they recover instead spending time by themselves within an unhygenic environment, hungry without support.
2. A Library: We need a library within the Shelter so that disadvantaged children can access book to help with their studies and a place where volunteers (teachers) can provide extra support to children performing poorly in school over the weekend.
3. Psychosocial Support: Most of these kids have seen terrible things, others have been made to do horrible things by the rebels including being forced to kill their own families. They need counseling to enable them live normal lives.
Please help us restore their lives by supporting us to put up the shelter to provide a safe space for volunteers to support the kids.
"After my undergraduate graduation in 2007, I decided to go and work in the war-torn Northern Uganda. I worked with war victims in villages, temporal shelters and in Internally Displaced Person's camps (IDPs). Before going to Northern Uganda, I thought I knew what pain was and the meaning of trauma but working directly with war survivors in Northern Uganda gave me a proper definition of pain and the meaning of trauma, I understood what suffering meant watching the pain and suffering painted in mutilated lips, noises and ears, stories of children forced to kill their own families members, mothers forced to watch their own little infant children cooked alive in pots, and the cries of many orphaned children, 'I Hate This Life' stared me in the face every single day. I love kids, and i want to help them, i will die a happy woman knowing my contribution has put smiles in the faces of these kids because their future has been secured" ~ Mercy Akongo
"One thing that never left my head is a story of a little girl, six (6) years old. In 2008 while working in Northern Uganda, I rescued a six (6) years old girl who was raped by a 26 years old man. I remember her torn rotting body that was laying on the floor, three days after she was raped and left to die untreated. I remember the cry she gave as we try to dress her up for the hospital, she looked at me and then looked at her grandmother and in her little voice screamed, "Leave me, do not touch me, I HATE THIS LIFE". This sight and sound broke me and I promised myself and God that I will work to make the world a better place for children such as this; hence This Life Foundation" Mercy Akongo www.thislifefoundation.org
In Picture: Mercy and Orphaned children in Northern UgandaI invite you to help me support these children and thanks to our community volunteers who are already doing so much work.
Thank you!
Mercy Akongo
Founder, This Life Foundation.
Organizer
Mercy M Akongo
Organizer
Campsie NSW
