In 2009 I spent quite some time with the students and former child soldiers at Friends of Orphans Rehabilitation Centre in Pader, Northern Uganda. I was also lucky to re-unite with many of the youth when I returned to Northern Uganda earlier this year!
The short video clip below is from my first trip, and was taken on my second day at Friends of Orphans, just as I was getting to know the young women and children, who had in their recent pasts served as child soldiers in Joseph Kony‘s LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army).
The video is classic… Enjoy!
Ebony at Friends of Orphans from Ebony Butler on Vimeo.
Although my method is not a common technique used in child soldier rehabilitation and re-integration efforts (in fact I think it may have never been used anywhere in the world before this!) I do know for a fact that it works – and if not kissing, at least being friendly; funny; open and a little bit ‘Ebonesque’!
The students at FRO Uganda opened up to us immediately after the little kiss with Moses, and I do believe this helped in building the strong relationships we had with the students. Getting everyone laughing and happy was a great building block that lead to many of the former abductees, both boys and girls, wanting to become friends and engage in conversation, which then lead to them confiding in and trusting us. This also resulted in the beginning of new and long-lasting friendships, which have stood the test of time…
Related articles
- UNICEF warns of child soldiers in Mali (bikyamasr.com)
- Moving the world: from child soldier to community servant (northcountrypublicradio.org)
Tagged: africa, child soldiers, crimes against humanity, documentary, Joseph Kony, kony, kony2012, Lords Resistance Army, lra, media, Military use of children, Northern Region Uganda, northern uganda, Pader, Pader District, rehabilitation, uganda, video, Vimeo
