Peace of the Mind and Heart

Worldwide,between 100milion and 140million women have been cut,and 3 million are at risk each year.Women and girls are subjected to FGM in 28 countries in Africa- this includes Eritrea,Ethiopia,Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda and others.

In Uganda,1 in 3 girls suffer sexual violence before the age of 18, 8 in 10 women suffer sexual violence during their adulthood(United Nations Population Fund,2021).Our mission is to end this violence and the suffering it causes.

The vast majority of victims suffer PSTD and other co-occuring trauma related disorders,as well as social ostracism, discrimination,intimidation,and reprisals from aggressors and those who support aggressors,non-offending parents,siblings,and close friends suffer PSTD too.

Additionally,entire communities are set on edge as aggressors circulate with impunity,terror strikes the heart and minds of women and girls as they walk to the market,play in the park,go to work.

Our project focuses on:

1) the social norms and practices that contribute to youth sexual violence and 

2)the culture of silence and impunity that oppresses victims and hinders their access to healing and justice.we have directly served nearly 300 trauma survivors and provided in person prevention training to over 200 youth in Uganda.

Our project has two powerful initiatives,both of which focus on achieving Gender Equality(Goal 5of the UN SDG).

Our first initiative is Prevention:-here we engage in national and international Human Rights Advocacy before the country's judicial systems.

We organise and implement information campaigns and peaceful public walks with police,military,and government officials.We also provide participatory workshops on sexual violence and youth human rights to primary and secondary school students, University,educators,parents,social service professional and government officials.

Our second initiative is Restoration.:- We provide free legal,social,psychological,and medical services to survivors and their non-offending and supportive family members.

This broad support includes trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy,family systems therapy, individual therapy,self-help groups,art,meditation,music lessons and Sports.We also provide job and economic independence training to help adolescent girls break the cycle of financial dependence on violent men

Our project's direct beneficiaries are the youth survivors of sexual violence resulting from FGM(0-24years) and other acts of violence and their non-offending family members.Most of the youth and families we serve are improverished and of indigenous descent,which reflects Africa's overall demographic.95% of the youth survivors we serve are girls.To understand the youth needs,we allow them to lead us.Our professionals follow the express wishes of the youth,as opposed to adults' perceptions of the child's best interest.This holds true except in cases when the youth or child is unable to articulate express wishes,verbally or otherwise.In 2019 we took this a step further by creating our Youths Advisory Board,which is comprised entirely of youth.We took yet another step forward,welcoming three adolescent victims and 2 FGM survivors from our center onto our board of directors as fully voting members.

The fundamental needs of the youth express to us are to heal,rediscover themselves,learn to play again,and to make new paths forward into brighter futures.

Our comprehensive model as mentioned above,harness the therapeutic value of the activities the children choose in pursuit of their chosen goals.

First we have been excelling in our work for 3years in Uganda,an intensely hostile place for human rights defenders.our expertise is second to none.We have 3yeats of first hand experience on the front-lines of healing and the pursuit of justice for youth survivors.We have trod the path thousands of times and can thus faithfully guide vulnerable children and youth and families on the arduous  journey towards healing and justice.

Second,our impact improves each year because we are open to change and growth.our greatest commitment is to understand the problems youth survivors face and to skillfully solve those problems.

We are not commited to any particular method,school of thought ,or therapeutic process ,rather,ours is a highly specialised yet dynamic approach that responds to unique needs of each youth.

Finally,we know that the model we have built in Uganda could serve as a blueprint for other centres looking to heal the whole youth and change the system around them.Given resources,we could scale this to serve and protect countless other youth.

We seek professional support in terms of mentorship from MIT solve.

This collaborative support will help us advance and scale oursolution