School of Liberal and Performing Arts (SLPA)

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Browsing School of Liberal and Performing Arts (SLPA) by Subject "Abducted children"
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    The role of visual arts in post conflict reconstruction in Northern Uganda.
    (Makerere University, 2014) Nagawa, Harriet
    The Lord Resistance Army (LRA) insurgences in northern Uganda affected the lives of people living in Acholi and Lango sub-regions for over two decades. During and after the war efforts were made by the Government of Uganda and different organizations to reconstruct and rehabilitate the war affected areas. There was both physical and social infrastructure reconstruction under the northern Uganda reconstruction programmes. Likewise, there was psycho-social rehabilitation of formerly abducted children and other children who greatly experienced the trauma of the war. This study focused on the role of visual arts in post conflict reconstruction of abductee children and others who were traumatized by the war. It examined how visual arts were used as a tool in the psycho-social rehabilitation of these children. It was guided by the objectives of assessing particular types of visual arts as psycho-social rehabilitation tools and their effectiveness in peace building amongst children. The concern was to determine visual arts as a methodological approach in achieving peace and training the war affected children in northern Uganda and how these drawings and writings were used. To achieve the objectives the study designed different methods and tools. The methods used included semi-structured interviews, participant observations, semi-directive focused group discussions and reviews of different writings on the LRA war. The triangulation of different approaches helped in availing a deeper insight of the effectiveness of visual arts in psycho-social rehabilitation of these children. The purpose was to follow the thinking and perspective processes of the victim children in order to understand their feelings about the war. The results identified different types of visual arts drawn plus the writings by the children expressing their feelings. It also revealed how peace building organizations in war affected areas used visual arts to make such victims to express themselves and recall their experiences of the war. This helped the children to build self-confidence, teamwork and sharing ideas. As a teaching method in schools in Uganda, the drawings and writings by these war affected children helped them in reconstructing their creativity and imagination. Results showed that visual arts as a teaching-learning approach helped a lot to reconstruct the lives of affected children. As observed by many scholars, the resulted concluded that visual arts can be useful in reconstructing the lives of war affected children. What is needed is creating public awareness.
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    Stakeholders participation in the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Northern Uganda: A case study of Gulu Municipality
    (Makerere University, 2016) Opu, Pamela Mutoni
    The purpose of the study was to investigate the participation of stakeholders in the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality following the cessation of the conflict in Northern Uganda. The study was prompted by observations and media reports of the continued plight of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality despite interventions by the government of Uganda and other stakeholders. Specifically the study sought to assess the role of the government of Uganda in the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality, to establish the contribution of humanitarian agencies and the civil society in the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality, to evaluate the participation of other stakeholders in transforming the lives of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality. A case study design based on a field survey was adopted and a total sample of 100 respondents including 60 formerly abducted children in four divisions of Gulu municipality and 40 key informants was covered. This was based on the conviction that the stakeholders determined the outcome of the reintegration of the formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality. The primary data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and focus group discussions in order to gauge perception of reintegration and levels of participation. Consequently, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected on the post-conflict recovery programs and their integration of formerly abducted children from the field work in Gulu district. The results of the study revealed that the contribution of the government of Uganda towards the attempted reintegration of formerly abducted children was quite modest compared to that of NGOs. It was further indicated that the formerly abducted children and the local communities were not actively involved in planning and implementing reintegration and recovery programs. The study also established that the government of Uganda was a service provider rather than a regulator during the reintegration process. Consequently, in order to improve the reintegration of formerly abducted children in Gulu municipality, the study recommended that, the government of Uganda plays a more active role by designing its own National Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program to cater for the specific needs of formerly abducted children and other returnees associated with the LRA. It was also recommended that, there should be active involvement of the formerly abducted children and the local communities in all aspects of reintegration and post conflict recovery programs and that, NGOs should operate in an atmosphere of strict supervision and regulation by the government of Uganda.