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>View discussions about this entry Country: Uganda
Organization: Friends of Orphans (FRO)
Sector Focus - Civil society
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1999
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - Friends of Orphans rehabilitation and vocational Program aims at empowering, rehabilitating and reintegrating former child soldiers, orphans and vulnerable community impacted by war and HIV/AIDS.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - Atim Kikoma Let Me Do it Myself rehabilitation and vocational Program aims at empowering, rehabilitating and reintegrating former child soldiers, child mothers, orphans, women heading vulnerable households and vulnerable community impacted by war and HIV/AIDS. Through skill based and self employment oriented vocational training, human rights, livelihood support, peace building and conflict management programs followed by capital input donation to launch sustainable income generating activities.
It’s a multi-sector approach, cross cutting between education, vocational training, rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants to the communities, support to their livelihoods, income-generation and economic empowerment of vulnerable community to eradicate poverty. The project aims at building capacity of former child soldiers, orphans and women heading vulnerable households to enhance their reintegration into the community, create self employment, improve on house hold incomes, nutrition and create awareness among the local community on peace building and conflict resolution. Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - It is through participatory role appraisal where FRO mobilize the community to support the program, identification and registration of the beneficiaries is done by the community. Orientation of the beneficiaries, vocational training along side rehabilitation, counseling, human right, lively hood support, HIV/AIDS, peace building, conflict management and resolution training is done by FRO. Assessment and supervision of the beneficiaries and reintegration is done, this is followed by capital input donation to launch sustainable income generating activities.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - Atim Ki Koma was launched as rehabilitation and vocational training centre for former child soldiers from multiple sub-counties and IDP camps of Pader District, northern Uganda. These former child soldiers all have endured horrible experiences as a result of the war and some became mothers before their time. Until Atim Ki Koma was organized, these child soldiers had few options and little hope of becoming self sufficient. Now, they are on the road to self-sufficiency.
Friends of Orphans built a small facility as its rehabilitation and vocational training centre on land donated by a woman councilor (Local leader) in Pader Town Council IDP camp. Friends of Orphans recently acquired a large plot of land, upon which Atim Ki Koma’s new facility is being built. The facility will also become a secure and landscaped compound which will provide a dignified and secure setting for Atim Ki Koma’s beneficiaries, equipment and supplies. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - We have existing partners. We get them through our supporters, well wishers and volunteers. Some contact us themselves and some through the awards we have worn.
Friends of Orphans have so far worn two international awards. One from Free the slaves based in Washington DC, we are the 2008 international award winner of Free the Slaves, Harriet Tubman award. The other one is peace building award. Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - A society in which the vulnerable are empowered to achieve their full potential and contribute to the development of their community.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - Currently we are serving more then 2,000 former child soldiers, orphans, child mothers and women heading vulnerable community in rehabilitating, reintegrating and empowering them. We are supporting their livelihood, food security and helping them to establish sustainable income generating activities.
We are supporting more than 1,000 vulnerable children in primary school and more than 100 vulnerable children in secondary school. More than 20, local community groups with a minimum of 40 people.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - Access to education for former child soldiers, child mothers, orphans and children from vulnerable families have been improved.
Family life planning, overall health, nutrition and mental well being of the war impacted communities have been improved. Successful and sustained businesses and income generating activities to fight poverty among the war communities has been established. Rehabilitation of war victims like former child soldiers, child mothers, orphans, vulnerable women heading families have improve their wellbeing and situations.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - Former child soldiers, orphans, land mines victims, vulnerable women heading families and community affected by war and HIV/AIDS in Northern Uganda. The target groups have lost out parts of their limps as a result of landmines lost out on formal education as a means to acquiring employment. Orphans and vulnerable women have lost their husbands/parents who were the source of income to the families.
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - The initiative is financed through fund raised from foundations, cooperates, locally raised by the organization through sale of products made from the vocational centre and individuals.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization - Annual budget;
Annual revenue generated; Number of staff: Friends of Orphans was founded by Ricky Anywar Richard in 1999 and is administered by former child soldiers, orphans and abductees from Pader District, all of whom were and continue to be affected by the war in Northern Uganda. It is a fully registered non-for-profit NGO, registration number S 5914/5010. From their experiences as former abductees and orphans many of whom lost immediate and extended family members, friends and neighbors and suffered displacement led them to commit to the ongoing and unmet needs of their community displaced in IDP camps and resettlement communities. The mission is, to contribute to the empowerment, rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, orphans and to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. • Annual budget $600,000 • Annual revenue generated $600,000 • Number of staff: full-time 9, part-time 5, community based volunteers 36) What is the potential demand for your innovation? - The conflict has left many people as victims; many children have been abducted, tortured, raped and killed leaving the remaining people with a lot of trauma and no sources of income to support themselves and their families. There is need to restore the capacities of the community to support themselves.
Until FRO rehabilitation and vocational training centre was organized, these former child soldiers had few options and little hope of becoming self sufficient. Now, they are on the road to self-sufficiency. What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Lack of information on potential donors who could finances the sustainability of the initiative. Lack of modern/improved infrastructures/facilities like equipments and tools that could be use for production to raise funding locally through sale of products made from the rehabilitation and vocational centre. These would include things like bread, furniture, bricks and blocks, and other services which could raise money locally for the sustainability of the initiative.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - Ricky has used his child soldier experiences as motivation to found Friends of Orphans a registered NGO whose mission is to contribute to the empowerment, rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, orphans and to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. He conceived the idea to found FRO while working on his university degree in 1999. FRO is administered by former child soldiers, orphans and abductees from, all of whom were and continue to be affected by the war in Northern Uganda. The vision is a society in which the vulnerable are empowered to achieve their full potential and contribute to the development of their community.
Ricky’s reason for founding Friends of Orphans demonstrates his impressive character, resilience and determination. The following excerpt describes his rational for founding FRO. When I escape from the bush I was helped, supported and put into formal education. I saw from my own experience that if former child soldiers could be supported, they are still useful human beings and good citizens. I would like to give an opportunity for each of them. They can also still succeed in life. A recent survey curried out by FRO in the three district of Pader, Kitgum and Gulu indicates that children who went under difficult situations when supported become brighter than other children; they tend to concentrate in their work because they don’t want to go back where they have been before. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Abducted at the age of 14 Ricky has gone from a child soldier to a developmental activist who has dedicated his life to giving voice, opportunity and hope to those afflicted by slavery in Northern Uganda. His life experience as a child soldier in the Lord's Resistence Army are beyond comprehension. Instead of allowing this experience to overtake his life, it has become his motivation to build a thriving NGO which is creating the needed positive change and opportunities.
Contact Information:
Anywar Ricky Richard
Founder/Executive Director Friends of Orphans (FRO) (NGO) Discussions about this entry |
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Dear Ricky
Thanks for sharing your project on Changemakers. I had the chance to go to northern Uganda and the camps around Pader and Kitgum 3 years ago and I applaud the work you are doing with the citizens there. I wonder how you go about reintegrating people, especially the women who experienced rape and other cruelties into the wider community after such an ordeal. It was my experience that many of these women were not accepted back into their families or groups.
Perhaps you could also talk about local support for the programmes. How are local actors involved in your work?
Finally, you write that more money could be generated with adequate technology and equipment. What are you thinking of in particular here. Perhaps someone could help if they know what exactly you are looking for.
All the best from Berlin,
Heather Cameron
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Heather Cameron
Professor
Free University Berlin
University Challenge
Dear Anywar Ricky Richard;
I was very impressed by your entry. It seems as though you are doing great work and have identified and developed crucial services that former child soldiers in Northern Uganda are in need of. I am particularly impressed that Friends of Orphans is run by former beneficiaries-, which not only provides them with continued and sustainable livelihoods but also ensures that the people you aim to help work with staff that understands their needs, concerns and barriers to successful reintegration.
I think it might help to strengthen your entry if you expand upon some of the specific activities and services your organization offers. For example, you say that you provide livelihoods and empowerment- but how do you operationalize these goals? What is your overall conceptual framework and what specific outcomes for each of the four over arching goals- training, rehabilitation, reintegration, empowerment-are you trying to achieve? You say that you support adolescents through primary and secondary school. This is great example- can you share others?
I look forward to hearing more about this great initiative!
Laura Cardinal
Public Health and Human Trafficking Specialist